WHEN THINKING about the planned diversity center to be located on the third floor of Newcomb Hall, one of the first things to come to mind is Derek Zoolander's "center for kids who can't read good and want to do other things good too." While the planned center will obviously not have Ben Stiller teaching children to read, it will equal the fictitious Zoolander center in general uselessness.
This plan is indicative of the growing perceived need for general political correctness within our society. It is far too easy for a group to slap the title of "diversity" on to a given project, idea, or informal lounge with the flawed belief that this will suddenly solve all of the racial problems that some claim exist around grounds. The need for the center is not real in the least, and this, like other projects, is simply conceived by certain student groups and administrators to justify their continued self existence by utilizing jaded buzz words like "diversity," and "multiculturalism."
Looking at the project from a very basic stance, we can see that very little is actually being done besides slapping the big "diversity" label on it (which may be alone enough to please some). According to previous reports, the budget for this project is around $150,000 coming from several sources, including a gift from the class of 1996. Of course the big question of the moment is what does this $150k buy for us, the students? Evidently there will be soft chairs, tables on wheels, new carpeting, paint, and a 61" plasma television -- err excuse me, that is to say diversity soft chairs, and a diversity television, etc. After all, the biggest thing that the $150,000 will purchase for us is a healthy helping of buzz-words.
The stated purpose of the center is to provide a resource space for all students to come to together, as well as serve as a physical space promoting diversity. Now, I could be horribly mistaken, but it does indeed appear that the Newcomb Hall informal lounge is currently accomplishing the goal of providing a resource space for all students to interact (without the politically correct buzz-words of course).
Some have claimed that the current lounge is not used to its full potential by the student body. While I personally have a meeting in the lounge at least once a week, these claims may be correct. That being said, there is little reason to expect that this new center will be used any more than the current lounge (unless of course, football games are being shown on the diversity-powered plasma TV).
According to M Bruce, the chair of the Minority Rights Coalition, "the development of the space articulates what I hope will be an institutional commitment to bettering the relationships within and across our communities." The Coalition's own literature describes the center as "a safe and empowering space for minority students and an educational hub for the whole University." Now, these are all very nice, buzz-word filled goals, however it is necessary to break them down to what they really will accomplish. At the very core, all of these ideals can be accomplished just fine in an existing lounge without spending $150,000 on plasma TVs and plush carpeting.
I have long been a proponent of the concept that the color of one's skin should be a non-factor in every day dealings at a public university. Unfortunately, in certain scenarios a diversity center could be a step in the wrong direction if it is misused. Most proponents of the center argue that it will still function as a lounge and act as a "safe and empowering space for minorities." Why would we push to separate any sort of minorities into their own little safe and empowered world? If diversity is our goal, how can we rationalize the creation of a center that emphasizes our differences when we have a perfectly good lounge that emphasizes being together with fellow students regardless of minority or majority standing?
I am sure that the planners of this center have nothing but the best intentions in mind. However, this very project is indicative of the diversity fad that is sweeping the country at the moment. We must realize as a society and as a University that diversity training and diversity centers are not going to solve problems simply by paying lip-service to the ever more hackneyed notion of diversity.
(Daniel Bagley is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at dbagley@cavalierdaily.com.)
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