Diversity itself is educational at a university

Regarding “Cal Poly shouldn’t care about diversity,” Jan. 21:

The point of a great university is to educate. Diversity itself is educational. When there is no diversity, there is only one class of student at a school. That class has historically been wealthy white students. When there is no diversity, there are no students other than wealthy white students. So the child of less wealth or of color is excluded from the university and, therefore, excluded from the benefits gained from a university education. But equally important is that the student at a nondiverse university does not have a chance to broaden his or her social horizons and associate with and learn with and from people outside of his or her class.

So diversity benefits those traditionally considered to be “diverse,” that is nonwealthy or nonwhite students, and it benefits the wealthy white student by introducing him or her to the “diverse” population of his or her culture.

Diversity won’t make students get higher grades, but it will educate them.

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Diversity itself is educational at a university."