MADISON, Wis. – In recent decades, “Diversity” has been the buzzword most tossed around the University of Wisconsin system.

What does it mean? That depends who you ask. But what you’ll get from the UW System is an answer along the lines of maximizing “the educational benefits of diversity, maintaining inclusive, equitable, and safe institutional environments”

Um…yeah.

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What you might not know, is that many UW System schools have made “Diversity” courses mandatory for students in order to get their degrees. (You know, because nothing prepares you more for a career as a chemical engineer than a 1-credit course in “Cultural Diversity.”) As the system prepares to make cuts, many school administrators and professors; like those at UW-La Crosse, are fretting over the potential loss of “diversity courses” as schools prioritize their coursework.

Will Van Rosenbeek, professor and pride center director at UW-La Crosse says diversity and multicultural programs are some of the most necessary classes needed at the university level… especially in light of recent national headlines.

“At times like this we always worry that some of general education courses that might be out there, might be some of the classes that may be cut. Our world is ever changing and growing and we need to be prepared for that and we haven’t been prepared in the past, and we are barely preparing our young people for their future in regard to the changes in diversity in this world,” says Van Rosenbeek.

He says the university could be one of the only places students are able to learn about diversity.

“We need to have some of those discussions, and often, families don’t talk about these tough issues. But we should be having conversations so it isn’t a topic area that we are afraid to talk about,” says Van Rosenbeek.

UW- La Crosse chancellor Joe Gow says the university is working to avoid targeting particular program cuts.

“Our commitment to diversity remains stronger than ever and certainly that would not be a place that we would want to cut back,” says Gow.

So how “diverse” is Wisconsin?

According to the  most recent U.S. Census data, 88.1 percent of Wisconsin residents are listed as “White.” Not exactly the opportune environment to draw upon for a “diverse” student body – if of course diversity is determined by race alone.

So how “diverse” is UW-La Crosse? The most readily-available numbers at the website, CollegeFactual.com say the school has “diversity” numbers similar to Wisconsin’s demographics.

At the flagship campus of UW-Madison, the numbers don’t show much diversity either.

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So what has all this decades-long pursuit of diversity gotten the UW System? On a demographic level, not much. But then again, that’s hardly ever the point of classes like this.

Many of these courses are nothing more than chances to indoctrinate captive undergrads on topics such as white privilege, liberal social justice programs, and other things with no connection whatsoever to the degrees these students are seeking. Diversity of thought, debate and discussion, the very tenants on which higher education was built upon, appears to be given a back seat as usual.

Perhaps the best place to learn about diversity is in the real world, not on a college campus where groupthink still runs wild.

Authored by Kevin Binversie
Originally published here

Published with permission