A matter of diversity

UNC is a community which prides itself on being accepting of others’ ideas in an open, intellectual environment.

But the extent to which that is true may not be as clear-cut as we assume.

There is a larger issue of self-segmentation, and dare we say, self-segregation, that occurs on campus and across our state.

Today culminates another well put-together, fantastic Martin Luther King Jr. week, with festivities that only a segment of campus partook in.

During the last few years, the week’s planning committee has brought in Soledad O’Brien, Andrew Young, Cornel West and Maya Angelou, among others — an impressive lineup of prominent national leaders. Unfortunately, the committee’s efforts have not been successful in reaching a wide audience.

In addition to the big names, the smaller events have proven to be valuable for everyone, which makes it even more disappointing that participation in the week has been widely limited to groups with ties to the Black Student Movement.

Like MLK week, there are other weeks throughout the year that are mostly attended by a particular segment of students and fail to be totally inclusive of UNC as a whole.

This type of self-segregation can limit a person’s views and political ideology.

A Public Policy Polling survey conducted this month shows that although North Carolinians are more accepting of the black community, only 53 percent would support a gay candidate and 40 percent would support a Muslim candidate.

King’s message of bridging divides is lost when limited to one corner of campus. It can even lead to staunch ideologies reflected in voting tendencies.

Political views and beliefs are one thing, but candidate support should not be a question of race, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. The fact that North Carolina voters would be willing to rule out candidates based on these characteristics is troubling.

Much of what made King a legendary leader was his vision to reach across barriers and not advocate only for the advancement of one group, but all of humanity.

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MLK week and the poll results are undoubtedly eye-opening. But these two findings can also be constructive in that they give us a chance to realize there is still work to be done.

Open-mindedness as a concept is unwavering. But it can be twisted by the human nature that causes us to seek people who are similar to us.

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UNC certainly should look to King’s vision and actively work to bridge segments of campus. If we want to improve our college environment, we must strive to experience more than what we are comfortable with.

UNC should serve as an example for the rest of the state to follow, much like King did for America.