At UW-Madison, there has been a lot of buzz about different plans to promote campus heterogeneity such as the older “Madison Plan” and other efforts of outreach to different minority groups. The most recent plan for multiculturalism on the UW-Madison campus in 2009 is “Seeding Inclusive Excellence,” which has received much criticism from many journalists and professors in the university. For example, an economics professor at UW-Madison argues the idea of Inclusive Excellence has a “superficial… appeal” and the solution is much easier than most would believe:

Simply admit all students, whatever their race and ethnicity, based on their academic qualifications and their likelihood of graduating within six years. Making this determination does not require sophisticated research. The data needed to make such decisions are readily available (Hansen, 2009).

Hansen’s argument is understandable, but there are two simultaneous phenomena that make Hansen’s claim a problem: First, UW-Madison does care about improving on-campus heterogeneity with respect to race. Still, the problem with improving cultural variety for UW-Madison is reaching to out-of-state students, because if they did base admissions on what Hansen and others with similar views believe, then the UW-Madison campus would never become diverse. This is where the second phenomenon comes into play: Wisconsin is not a racially mixed state to begin with, having almost a 90 percent population of whites (U.S. Census Bureau). This goes directly with the fact that over half (about 56 percent) of UW-Madison’s students are from Wisconsin with another 15 to 25 percent from adjacent states (Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa) with similar ethnic demographics as Wisconsin. These factors will inevitably create a non-diverse campus — and it has, with about 87 percent of the UW-Madison student population being white (according to 2008 UW-Madison demographics). This shows how admitting students simply on academic qualifications will never lead to improved racial variance. If UW-Madison truly wants to be a multicultural campus, it has to do more outreach to different communities — ethnically, geographically and in many other ways.

Some may argue ethnic variety isn’t important to the UW campus, but if the college experience is supposed to prepare students for the future, then we should be given the tools needed to be successful in the workforce. The country is becoming more culturally mixed, and this is reflected in the changing demographics of the American workforce. I think ethnic inclusiveness is imperative to the UW and the college experience because after college, one’s success is often reflected by how well one works with others, and this inevitably ties into racial variety.

As a minority student myself, I often feel out of place. This is not to say I feel hostility from my white peers at UW-Madison, but in many situations, there is often a noticeable sense of discomfort and tension. For example, being the only black student in my math lecture of 250-plus students sometimes plays out with me receiving odd and reluctant reactions from fellow classmates when trying to create study groups. This is a small example, but an instance like this can play out in a lot of different ways, and it gradually builds up until it culminates into minority students becoming cynical toward the university; minority students begin feeling like they have little to nothing to offer to the college and that leads to them feeling out of place. Imagine spending day and night working in a place where you don’t feel welcome. There have been points in time this school year where I felt like leaving UW-Madison and quitting college altogether, not because I was struggling academically, but because I did not feel like I was wanted or socially welcome. In college, social prosperity is equally important as academic prosperity, yet it feels much harder to accomplish the former on the UW-Madison campus; this is especially the case among different cultures on campus. This accounts for the lower percentages of minorities graduating on campus. I’m not implying majority students are being deliberately discriminatory toward minority students, but I’m beginning to understand that there’s more to these racial tensions. For many students from different backgrounds, it is totally natural to feel a sense of awkwardness toward something you’re not used to.

For many UW-Madison students who come from small towns, ethnic variety has never been an issue, let alone a thought. Growing up in a racially homogeneous neighborhood is perfectly fine, but once a student gets to college, it becomes much different. Being around people from different backgrounds from one’s own can become awkward, and this can lead to some obvious tensions. These tensions aren’t made directly by another student because he/she is a minority, but because the other student noticing them is not used to being around minorities. For many students on the UW campus, it’s not a matter of disliking other minority groups, but becoming comfortable around them — and this can only be accomplished in one way — exposure.

This is not to say there aren’t white students or students of other cultures who are comfortable with multiculturalism; many students may be from large cities, such as Milwaukee, Chicago, or even Los Angeles, for example. Maybe some students just don’t feel uncomfortable with being around different groups. Either way, success has definitely been visible in multicultural learning and understanding, regardless of race, on the UW campus. The issue is that these students who are open to multiculturalism are not the majority on campus. If this were not the case, these issues of multicultural discomfort would barely exist.

The other issue is UW-Madison has made the system where the students who are “multiculturally comfortable” can engage in dialogues and programs with other students like themselves, ignoring the majority of students, who are uncomfortable with reaching out to different cultures. For example, I attended a discussion about on-campus diversity. There were about 200 people from all different backgrounds in attendance, and though the discussion was interesting and enlightening, I ultimately had a depressing realization that night: Everybody in attendance at that discussion had already shown interest in campus multiculturalism by simply showing up. What’s depressing about that realization is that this is the way it has always been. Although UW-Madison has some heterogeneity in culture, religion, location, etc., the people who engage in these “multicultural dialogues” often have the same positive views on cultural campus inclusion. The current programs in place to advocate multiculturalism aren’t even being used by those who need it the most — the small town, white students who have grown up around people like themselves, who are hesitant to engage in conversations and activities with minorities. Until UW-Madison advocates for these “multiculturally uncomfortable” students to engage in multicultural activities, the students with the same views and ideals will continue meeting to talk about the obvious issues and action will never be taken on them.

Sometimes, the best way to (socially) open somebody up is by putting him/her in an environment he/she is not used to. As in my case, growing up in Los Angeles, I was born around different cultures, and I had no choice but to embrace them, but it has overall made me a much wiser individual. Unfortunately, this is not the case on the UW-Madison campus, given it is almost 90 percent white. Still, there is another way to successfully expose students to different cultures — curriculum. If students have enough exposure to different cultures in their academia, then there inevitably will be less tension and discomfort when they are around minorities. Once this happens, there will be more multiculturalism on campus, and students will start learning and embracing one another for their differences, instead of isolating themselves or others. This is diversity in its purest form — when people from any and all backgrounds find a need in meeting different types of people in hope of self-betterment and networking. The current system UW-Madison has in place, with the one class “ethnic studies” requirement is not enough for students to make the first steps in stepping out of their comfort zones to diversify. One semester cannot teach students what they may learn over a 4 to 5 year period if they are shown early in their college career that being open to different cultures is necessary and imperative to their own betterment, internally and for the workforce.

If UW-Madison realizes and fixes these issues, then we no longer need to debate whether minorities are capable of succeeding. With the proper resources and support, any student is capable of succeeding, and this will be reflected with equity in success across the board, regardless of race and ethnicity. UW-Madison is capable of becoming a institution that welcomes multiculturalism, but only when we challenge students to step out of their comfort zones and reach out to one another, regardless of any creeds or affiliations.

David Persley ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in applied mathematics.