Diversity can only enhance university

Column by Wesley Robinson

I have lived in Kentucky for almost nine years, and while I have become quite accustomed to Lexington and Louisville, one of the main reasons I still feel like a visitor is the cultural climate of the area.

I was born in Tacoma, Wash., in an area with completely different ethnic demographics. Don’t believe me? Fly into the Seattle-Tacoma Airport and take a look at how diverse it is as you enter the city—it’s a night and day difference compared to Lexington or Louisville, the state’s two most diverse cities.

On the other hand, my mom is from Arkansas, and my dad is from South Carolina, so their upbringing included experiencing the end of Jim Crow and the arduous task of integration. Their parenting reflected a more cynical view of race relations than I or my two siblings have. As a result of the vastly different environments that we were socialized in, my siblings and I have a hard time understanding why their worldview stood where it did.

I didn’t understand where they were coming from at all, until they split and our newly composed family, excluding my dad ended up in Kentucky. I had spent my life amongst such a relatively diverse population, to the point where race, color and ethnicity wasn’t something that I really even noticed.

Fast forward to Kentucky and you have a major contrast.

Not everyone in Washington, or in the more culturally varied areas of the U.S., embraces diversity and not everyone in Kentucky looks at race relations like its 1865, but the difference would astound you. With frequent regularity I am one of very few people of color wherever I am as opposed to being part of a naturally inclusive population that thrives on its diversity.

It’s commonplace for people to have a diverse group of friends where I am from, whereas in Kentucky, I tend to be like that one black friend that comedians refer to in the social commentary portion of their acts. My friends have made statements that I am “different” from other black people, to which I reply, exactly what are black people supposed to be like? I’m placed in a role where people probe into the way I dress, talk, eat, think, in addition to the age-old question about the way my hair looks and grows.

From the strangers, or people outside of my group of friends, I get strange looks and comments from people who look at some of the friends that I have with such a mortified and confused look as if we are totally different species — and that’s just not from people that don’t look like me.

At UK the goal of diversity is to break down the barriers so when people look at each other they can make that organic connection that heats up the melting pot that is this country. Roughly two-thirds of my life has been spent in environments in Washington and California, where such diversity existed, and it’s no coincidence some of the best schools, highest rates of education, largest industries and many other great aspects of the U.S. have dwelled in that part of the country. While statistics may not suggest an overwhelming difference in the raw numbers and percentages between the two states as a whole, there is a palpable feeling of cultural awareness when you make a trip to Washington.

A recent letter to the editor questioned UK’s ability to assist students in broadening our horizons and experiences through diversity. I would say creating an environment where a culture of inclusion  is the norm is the best start. UK has preached diversity between blacks and whites for too long and the scope of its actions speaks to tolerance and not acceptance.

Hiring faculty and staff whose sole focus is to work on diversity empowers students to come together and create groups that advocate for such broadening experiences.

Nobody is losing anything by improving diversity. At UK, as it should be anywhere else there are diversity issues, the goal is to empower individuals who have lacked a voice. The idea is to have people consciously thinking about one another so that when you have a meeting, you don’t just get pizza for meat eaters. When there’s a new construction project on campus, you make sure it’s handicap accessible or when you recruit for athletics, you have an individual that can identify with the players that are being sought after.

We have a unique opportunity at UK to rub elbows with some of the best and brightest in the country in a relatively care-free environment, void of a lot of societal pressures that our parents lived with where family would disown you for socializing with another race or raciallyinvoked violence would leave you scarred for life.

Cross boundaries, break down barriers, make yourself uncomfortable for a change. Take the time to meet somebody new that’s different from you in one way or another. I cannot promise you’ll enjoy it or leave the experience with an all-encompassing feeling of multiculturalism, but I can’t emphasize enough how much your view of life will change if you sincerely sit down and take the time to get to know people.