Diversity: the art of thinking independently together. —Malcolm Forbes, entrepreneur, founder of Forbes magazine

What Is Diversity?

There are few words in the English language that have more diverse interpretations than diversity. What does diversity mean? Better yet, what does diversity mean to you? What does it mean to your best friend, your teacher, your parents, your religious leader, or the person standing behind you in a grocery store?

Diversity means different things to different people, and it can be understood differently in different environments. In the context of your college experience, diversity generally refers to people around you who differ by race, culture, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, abilities, opinions, political views, and in other ways. When it comes to diversity on the college campus, we also think about how groups interact with one another, given their real and perceived differences.

“More and more organizations define diversity really broadly,” says Eric Peterson, who works on diversity issues for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). “Really, it’s any way any group of people can differ significantly from another group of people—appearance, sexual orientation, veteran status, level in the organization. It has moved far beyond the legally protected categories that we’ve always looked at.”^[2]

Surface Diversity and Deep Diversity

Surface diversity and deep diversity are categories of personal attributes, or differences in attributes, that people perceive to exist between people or groups of people.

Surface-level diversity refers to differences like ethnicity, race, gender, age, culture, language, and ability, in other words, traits that are quickly observable in a person. People often make subtle judgments at the same time they identify these differences, which can lead to bias or discrimination. For example, if a teacher believes that older students perform better than younger students and then gives slightly higher grades to the older students than the younger students, this is a biased action based on perception of the attribute of age, which is surface-level diversity.

Deep-level diversity, on the other hand, reflects differences that are less visible, like personality, attitudes, belief systems, and values. These attributes are generally communicated verbally and nonverbally, so they are not easily noticeable or measurable. Deep-level diversity in a classmate may not be noticeable until you get to know him or her, at which point you may find that you are either comfortable with these deeper character levels or not. But once students gain this deeper level of awareness, they focus less on surface diversity. For example: At the beginning of a term, a classmate belonging to a minority ethnic group whose native language is not English (surface diversity) may be treated differently by fellow classmates in another ethnic group, but as the term gets under way, classmates begin discovering the person’s values and beliefs (deep-level diversity), which they find they are comfortable with. The surface-level attributes of language and perhaps skin color become less noticeable as comfort is gained with deep-level attributes.

Positive Effects of Diversity in an Educational Setting

Diversity matters in college because when you are exposed to new ideas, viewpoints, customs, and perspectives, which invariably happens when you come in contact with diverse groups of people, your frame of reference for understanding the world expands. Your thinking becomes more open and global. You become comfortable working and interacting with people of all nationalities and gain a new knowledge base as you learn from people who are different from yourself. You think “harder” and more creatively and begin to perceive in new ways, seeing issues and problems from new angles. You can absorb and consider a wider range of options, and your values may be enriched. In short, diversity contributes to your education.

Consider the following facts about diversity in the United States:

• More than half of all U.S. babies today are people of color, and by 2050 the U.S. will have no clear racial or ethnic majority. Communities of color are tomorrow’s leaders, and college campuses play a major role in helping prepare these leaders.
• In 2009, while 28 percent of Americans older than 25 years of age had a four-year college degree, only 17 percent of African Americans and 13 percent of Hispanics had a four-year degree. More must be done to adequately educate the population and help prepare students to enter the workforce.
• Today, people of color make up about 36 percent of the workforce (roughly one in three workers). By 2050, half the workforce (one in two workers) will be a person of color. Again, college campuses can help navigate these changes.^[3]

All in all, diversity brings richness to relationships on campus and off campus, and it further prepares college students to thrive and work in a multicultural world.

There is only one way to look at things until someone show us how to look at them with different eyes. – Pablo Picasso

How Do You Add to the Diversity at WCC?

WCC has a diverse student body, so you will likely take classes with students from many walks of life. Which of these categories best describe you and your fellow students?

Traditional Students

Traditional undergraduate students typically enroll in college immediately after graduating from high school, and they attend classes on a continuous full-time basis at least during the fall and spring semesters. Traditional students are also typically financially dependent on others such as their parents, do not have children, and consider their college career to be their primary responsibility. They may be employed only on a part-time basis, if at all, during the academic year.

Nontraditional Students

Nontraditional students do not enter college in the same calendar year that they finish high school. They may not have a high school diploma, or they may have received a general educational development degree (GED). Some nontraditional students attend classes part-time due to full-time work obligations, or they may be full-time students who approach their education in much the same way they would a job. They are more likely to be financially independent, to have children, and/or to be caregivers of sick or elderly family members.

International Students and/or Nonnative Speakers of English

International students are students who travel to a different country for college or university. English may or may not be their first language depending on their country of origin. Non-native speakers of English are students whose first language is not English. These students may be international, immigrant, refugee, Puerto Rican, or others. Some non-native speakers of English take ESL courses to improve their English skills. Others test directly into college level English courses. International students and non-native speaking students enrich our WCC campus by adding cultural diversity and offering various perspectives.

First-Generation College Students

First-generation students do not have a parent who graduated from college. College life may be less familiar to them, and the preparation for entering college may not have been stressed as a priority at home. Some time and support may be needed for first-generation students to become accustomed to the college environment. These students may experience a cultural shift between school life and home life because their families are generally unfamiliar with the outside of class and paperwork requirements of attending college.

Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities have a wide range of skills, abilities, and strengths. These individuals may have various diagnoses including but not limited to the areas of neurological, physical, psychological, and medical conditions. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the College ensures that admission, services, activities, facilities, and academic programs are accessible to and usable by qualified students with disabilities.

Westchester Community College provides a mainstreamed learning environment for students who identify themselves as having a disability with Disability Services office. WCC Disability Services staff are committed to providing accommodations and collaborating with the College community to ensure equal access for students on an individual basis. Students must be able to function independently, are responsible for informing the College of their individual needs, and must provide the appropriate accommodation documentation for services. Reasonable accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis.

For additional information, please visit: https://www.sunywcc.edu/student-services/disability-services/

Working Students

Many students are employed in either a part-time or full-time capacity. While balancing college life with work life may be a challenge, time management skills and good organization can help. These students juggle being a student and being an employee, which can be very much like working two jobs at one time.