<p>well understood kwu, but here is where i think it is worth a good conversation about race...</p>
<p>race is a tricky thing because if you were to ask underrepresented minorities if there is enough representation they would emphatically say no (take out the athletes, non-identifiers, etc. and the number often is lower than you think), but other people will often say "isn't it enough?" at the heart of this disjuncture is a question of perception.</p>
<p>i will say that unless it is something you think about often (whether you are majoritarian or minority) then perhaps you will think it does not matter, and perception is not something that is uniform across a race - yes you can show me blacks and hispanics who disagree with what i say. but it is often documented in surveys of racial microagressions that cultural misunderstandings affect minority populations far more aggressively than they do majoritarian individuals. no matter where you live you will hear things, see things, or have things happen to you that will suddenly take you aback, it is a natural situation. but what happens more often for minority individuals is the sense of attack (in part because of historical oppression). critical mass as a concept is imperfect, but overall it is the sense of being part of a community that is welcoming, that is understanding and that you are not forced in part to be friends with the other dozen or so black folk even if you have nothing in common (we may desire to not like each other too). this is why being part of a community that embraces diversity is critical. yes, new york is a real ignorant place sometimes, but it is also a place that is not afraid to wear its racialism on its sleeves and have open conversations about what it means to be a white person living at the cusp of Harlem. from growing up in exurbia i can say this kind of conversation is often suppressed and a sense of isolation is more pronounced. this has nothing to do structurally with the desires of the college nor students who attend, but it is a very 'real' byproduct of racialism (note i use this word and not racism) in this country and the fact that in each of our own daily interactions we often dismiss the importance of race (when it is so often the subtext of what is going on). [i'm proud of eric holder for talking about this in such a frank way.]</p>
<p>so i understand perhaps that to many, even many other hispanics and blacks, a conversation around ethnic composition sounds superfluous. i think that if we are to merely review the sociological studies behind it that we would come to the conclusion there is much change left to happen. and as a matter of individual and mental strength - i think that many do not realize what some individuals face on a daily basis being the only african american in an honors class, the only hispanic in student government. though we are apt to consider our own struggles as unique, add onto it at times the pressure and weight of an entire ethnicity (and equally the stereotypes and denigration of that ethnicity) and you would understand the isolation i am referring to. but another layer - those of us do not want you to read this and to immediately jump to pity or disgust, there is still an echo of equality in mind and not to be treated special. how universities and us as student ought to negotiate this delicate relationship is up in the air. a theory of critical mass has some currency because it argues that there needs to be diversity within the minority pool itself (socioeconomic, geographic) that can mirror diversity of the university. false diversity or diversity-baiting often is the idea that some institutions admit people that would under no conditions actually relate with each other with the expectation that they will form a cohesive subcommunity. this is not possible unless values, goals and ambitions are in line. a recent immigrant compared to a long time american hold separate values far more in hispanic and black populations than in asian and south asian groups, but the university calls them both the same thing. this is something that is problematic throughout - especially in racial data collection - but it is especially in the case of underrepresented minorities where a percent number is all of a sudden supposed to be a harbinger of actual change.</p>
<p>and sorry denzera for bringing it off topic. to relate back to the post in general. i think that to any individual who wants to consider a college and its 'feel,' that the question of diversity ought to be in mind. this does not have to be your primary focus, but it is worth asking the right questions.</p>
<p>and kwu, i do not know your background beyond what you have said here and no disrespect to you. but in the conversation around affirmative action, the primary fallacy is approaching it as if there is a solution. inequality (racial or otherwise) will always be a point of differentiation and contestation in society. pretending that we will have a mission accomplished banner is naive and doesn't truly understand the psychological and sociological bases that prevent individuals from certain subgroups to succeed. in fact there is talk nowadays that the white male applicant pool has become so small that some schools have begun to act affirmatively to ensure that that voice is part of the college community.</p>