Diversity Deviancy
"What about diversity?" the economist Walter Williams writes in his latest syndicated column.
Diversity is nothing less than a craze on most college campuses. Despite budget squeezes, universities have created diversity positions, such as vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion; director of diversity and inclusion; manager of diversity recruitment; associate dean for diversity; and vice president of diversity. Some diversity chiefs—such as the vice chancellors of diversity at the University of California campuses in San Diego and San Francisco—have annual salaries that top $250,000. That doesn't include the millions of dollars spent staffing and equipping diversity offices.
The original motto of our nation, E Pluribus Unum—meaning "out of many, one"—was proposed for the first great seal of the United States by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson in 1776. It recognizes the diversity of the American people. You can bet that the campus call for diversity is everything but a patriotic celebration of America. If anything, it's a condemnation and criticism of the United States and Western values. The academic vision of diversity calls for the celebration of people based upon their race, religion, genitalia, and sexual behavior. And the last thing academic diversity means is diversity in thought, opinions, and political affiliation. Taxpayers and irresponsible donors foot the bill for this deviancy.
Walter Williams
Intellectuals argue that diversity is necessary for academic excellence, but what's their evidence other than plausibility? Here's what they need to explain. Japan is a nation bereft of diversity in anything. Close to 99 percent of its population is of one race. Whose students do you think have higher academic achievement—theirs or ours, who are diversity-rich? According to the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment, the academic performance of U.S. high-school students in reading, math, and science pales in comparison with their diversity-starved counterparts in Japan.
