Boise State committed to diversity despite political ‘venom’

In many cohorts pf students (UG, PG, and on to post-doc), diversity training seems to have a long way to go. At a conference at a Scottish university I attended in 2018, there were attendees from all parts of the globe, mixed at presentations of course, but then they all gathered at a central atrium for a buffet lunch. It took less than 3 minutes for every attendee (90% were students) to coalesce into mono-ethnic groups; Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, African, White, etc. On a smaller scale I have obserced this mono-ethnic clustering, where there is a choice as to where to sit/stand, many times over. Seems we are still a tiny bit 'tribal'.

Consider a tree. Does a leaf despise another leaf merely because it grows on a different branch? Of course not, that would be silly. We are all branches of the same tree, us human beings, we all spring from common roots. Of course we are different, but fundamentally we are all the same. That's all we need to know, but we need to really understand it!

This article makes no attempt to identify the criticisms of diversity training. Is the university a place of training, or education? Learning or indoctrination? Diversity training typically comes heavily wrapped in an ideology which commonly generates division and animosity, stereotyping people based on skin colour and ethnicity. The entire movement (that is what it is) must permit dissent if it is to remain viable in university settings. At present it does not permit deep questioning or divergence from its ideological doctrines. And it typically heavily shames, punishes and isolates those who challenge its philosophical presuppositions. It’s also closely connected to radical political groups, some of which have engaged in widespread censorship, bullying and violence, while the universities and institutions remain silent about that. That is tacit approval of censorship, violence and bullying, the very things that diversity training proposes to redress. This self-contradiction lies at the heart of the backlash it is now engendering.