By Chris Diaz
Diversity matters. I am a Pilipino American, a member of the
second largest Asian Pacific American community present here in the
United States. Like many younger Pilipino Americans, I was born and
raised in this country feeling unconnected to my community’s
rich history.Â
Growing up, my education did not focus on the Pilipino American
experience. This made me believe that things such as race
didn’t matter anymore, and that the activism of the 1960s had
already solved the problem of racial oppression.
As a student at UCLA, it was the diverse set of people I
interacted with that challenged the perspective I had coming into
this university. This diverse set of people has led me to
think critically about both sides of both words in the term
“˜Pilipino American.’
My interactions with this diverse group of people in and out of
the classroom have allowed me to see the connections my individual
actions have with the larger movement towards positive social
change.
Nonetheless, one can never have true diversity if there is not a
mixture of people coming from different races, ethnicities,
genders, sexualities, religions and classes. Whether we
recognize it or not, our identities and perspectives have been
influenced by all of these aspects.
For example, our race and ethnicity carry with them implicit
experiences. The word “˜adobo’ causes me to react
differently than people from other communities because I grew up as
Pilipino. In addition, growing up Pilipino has given me a
different set of values regarding family.
Likewise, an individual growing up as a woman in a society full
of gender roles carries with it a different set of
experiences. This idea also applies to one’s experiences
growing up with a specific sexuality, religion or class.
This is where true diversity comes from: a diversity of
people. From these people comes the diversity of experiences
and ideas.
For many others and myself, it has been the interaction with
this type of true diversity that has made education here at UCLA
fulfilling. Essentially, when we interact with people coming
from different experiences, the quality of our education in and out
of the classroom improves.
Studies have shown that a more diverse student body in the
classroom encourages college students to become active in their
education. Students in a diverse setting are more likely to reflect
on the material, and, more importantly, act upon it.Â
Studies have also shown that a diversified student body and
curriculum increases the encouragement as well as motivation to
learn for all students. These students become more involved in
the educational material, show a stronger likelihood of applying
for graduate schools, and have improved learning of intellectual
and academic skills.
Lastly, research indicates that the interaction students receive
in a diverse setting helps prepare them for the interaction with
people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds they will
encounter following graduation. These students leave college with
the larger cultural understanding that is needed to live and
function in our increasingly global society.
Despite the benefits diversity has to our education, it is
something not fully embraced at this university. Although UCLA
prides itself as a campus that has a diverse student body and some
of the strongest ethnic studies centers available, many students go
through this university without really understanding the importance
of diversity.Â
First of all, the diversity of incoming UCLA undergraduate
classes throughout the past six years does not match the levels
before the ban on affirmative action through the passage of
Proposition 209.
In addition, we are currently the only campus in the University
of California that does not have any form of a diversity
requirement within the General Education requirements. It is
unfortunate that UCLA has yet to bring issues of diversity to the
general education we all receive.
Ultimately, when we don’t have a diverse student body or
curriculum, we lose more than just the visibility of different
communities. We lose an integral aspect of our education.
The most important thing we lose, however, is our ability to
connect and relate with people coming from different communities on
the most basic human level. We lose the ability to converse
with those from different communities and overcome negative
preconceptions of each other. We lose out on the potential life
experiences that would challenge us into becoming more engaged in
our education and our world.