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Why should diversity of race matter? And if it does matter, shouldnt we be sending talent scouts around the world and country to find representations of unexpre

Why should diversity of race matter? And if it does matter, shouldnt we be sending talent scouts around the world and country to find representations of unexpressed races? (Eskimos, Sherpas, gypsies, etc) if there are superior races, then it's fairly unequivocally a bigoted process no?

hackinthebochs 8y ago
It depends on whose perspective you're taking. For example, diversity matters because a college like Harvard is attempting to prepare its student body to be leaders of society. Being in a diverse environment that more closely mirrors society plausibly is more conducive to leadership growth than being in a homogeneous environment.
- solveit 8y ago
  Which society? Because last I checked, just China and India made up half the world, and Harvard wanted to produce global leaders or whatever they're calling it these days.
  - hackinthebochs 8y ago
    The U.S. society, obviously. The prestige of Harvard is derived from its reputation as being the institution that forges American business and political leaders.
alarge 8y ago
Are you asking about diversity of race only? Or diversity in general? The argument is that a more diverse student body creates a better educational environment for everyone - it broadens the experience. In addition to your academic studies, you learn about interacting with people who are different from you. People who think differently, reach different conclusions, even when confronted with the same data. Racial diversity is only part of the equation. You also want gender diversity and class/income diversity - any of the major factors that shape how we view the world.
rayiner 8y ago
Harvard doesn't exist in an ivory tower. Harvard is preparing graduates to go out into America, where 30% of the population is Hispanic or black. It is a good thing for society if the future academics, politicians, and business leaders educated at Harvard reflect that community. It is also critical for the 70% of Harvard that is white and Asian to be exposed to the diversity of their country. Most of these kids come from enclaves where they may literally have never had a black or Hispanic friend until they get to college. (I grew up in that kind of area and I can't name a single black or Hispanic person I knew well enough in K-12 to remember their name). Having future politicians, judges, etc., graduate ignorant of the society they live in would be a disaster.
- brighton36 8y ago
  How are black/hispanic people different than 'us'? Aren't we just reinforcing racial stereotypes by presenting them as different? Don't we otherize 'them' when we do this?
  - rayiner 8y ago
    They’re different because their lived experience is one of being black or hispanic in america rather than white. The median black household makes 1/3 less income than the median white household. Whatever social forces exist to make that true—that’s what is different. (Note that this is different than simply being a white person who grew up in a lower income household. A black person who grows up in a household making $100,000 still experiences an America where that is an exceptional income for a black household, and only a bit above average for a white household. Every black person experiences the social forces that cause that huge income gap; some are just more fortunate than others or achieve more even accounting for those forces.) Diversity isn’t about you, it’s about how society treats the group you’re a part of. Concrete example: I’m about the least “diverse” person you could meet. I’ve had friends literally forget I’m not white (“wow we’re the only white people in this theater”). But I’m brown and my wife is white, and a majority of Americans disapporved of such marriages until 1998 (when I was 14 and had just gotten a kick-ass PC with 300 MHz Pentium II). When Trump was elected, my wife was low key making contingency plans to move to Germany. Frankly, she’s kind of a prepper anyway. And I’m not worried about Trump or Bannon. But if shit does go sideways, I doubt the jack booted thugs are going to be like “oh, you go to church and subscribe to National Review? Free to go!” Society “otherizes” people-you don’t do it by recognizing that fact. (And genuinely, I’m not complaining. I think life here is pretty great for immigrants from Muslim countries—Americans are incredibly welcoming, much more so than the people where I’m originally from.) But at least part if my point of reference for that is how much better off we are than African Americans, who are treated like second class in their own country.

hackinthebochs 8y ago

It depends on whose perspective you're taking. For example, diversity matters because a college like Harvard is attempting to prepare its student body to be leaders of society. Being in a diverse environment that more closely mirrors society plausibly is more conducive to leadership growth than being in a homogeneous environment.

solveit 8y ago
Which society? Because last I checked, just China and India made up half the world, and Harvard wanted to produce global leaders or whatever they're calling it these days.
- hackinthebochs 8y ago
  The U.S. society, obviously. The prestige of Harvard is derived from its reputation as being the institution that forges American business and political leaders.

alarge 8y ago

Are you asking about diversity of race only? Or diversity in general? The argument is that a more diverse student body creates a better educational environment for everyone - it broadens the experience. In addition to your academic studies, you learn about interacting with people who are different from you. People who think differently, reach different conclusions, even when confronted with the same data. Racial diversity is only part of the equation. You also want gender diversity and class/income diversity - any of the major factors that shape how we view the world.

rayiner 8y ago

Harvard doesn't exist in an ivory tower. Harvard is preparing graduates to go out into America, where 30% of the population is Hispanic or black. It is a good thing for society if the future academics, politicians, and business leaders educated at Harvard reflect that community. It is also critical for the 70% of Harvard that is white and Asian to be exposed to the diversity of their country. Most of these kids come from enclaves where they may literally have never had a black or Hispanic friend until they get to college. (I grew up in that kind of area and I can't name a single black or Hispanic person I knew well enough in K-12 to remember their name). Having future politicians, judges, etc., graduate ignorant of the society they live in would be a disaster.

brighton36 8y ago
How are black/hispanic people different than 'us'? Aren't we just reinforcing racial stereotypes by presenting them as different? Don't we otherize 'them' when we do this?
- rayiner 8y ago
  They’re different because their lived experience is one of being black or hispanic in america rather than white. The median black household makes 1/3 less income than the median white household. Whatever social forces exist to make that true—that’s what is different. (Note that this is different than simply being a white person who grew up in a lower income household. A black person who grows up in a household making $100,000 still experiences an America where that is an exceptional income for a black household, and only a bit above average for a white household. Every black person experiences the social forces that cause that huge income gap; some are just more fortunate than others or achieve more even accounting for those forces.) Diversity isn’t about you, it’s about how society treats the group you’re a part of. Concrete example: I’m about the least “diverse” person you could meet. I’ve had friends literally forget I’m not white (“wow we’re the only white people in this theater”). But I’m brown and my wife is white, and a majority of Americans disapporved of such marriages until 1998 (when I was 14 and had just gotten a kick-ass PC with 300 MHz Pentium II). When Trump was elected, my wife was low key making contingency plans to move to Germany. Frankly, she’s kind of a prepper anyway. And I’m not worried about Trump or Bannon. But if shit does go sideways, I doubt the jack booted thugs are going to be like “oh, you go to church and subscribe to National Review? Free to go!” Society “otherizes” people-you don’t do it by recognizing that fact. (And genuinely, I’m not complaining. I think life here is pretty great for immigrants from Muslim countries—Americans are incredibly welcoming, much more so than the people where I’m originally from.) But at least part if my point of reference for that is how much better off we are than African Americans, who are treated like second class in their own country.