Diversity: the word that best defines our current social climate. Wherever one might look, training, requirements and conversations about diversity dominate every bit of attention the American public has to offer. This emphasis has originated from modern universities, who are criticized as breeding grounds for social justice theory. And to the extent that such accusations are true, UNC is no exception.
My view of the University is rather simple: the University is a place where those students who are the most talented should go after high school to continue their education. Attempts to create lasting social differences through universities can be better achieved by other means. Thomas Sowell elegantly explains the ramifications of cultural norms on the success of individuals in his book "Black Rednecks and White Liberals;" cultural norms which are more effectively molded by a unit of influence smaller than a college; perhaps a church, a family or even a community father figure. Despite the good intentions of college administrations, these diversity measures have no place in the meritocracy that university life should be.
Let me put aside this objection momentarily. Perhaps diversity should be hallowed as the prime jewel of an elite university. This seems to be the view that many among both the student body and the administration hold. I would be fine with such a view if diversity was valued across all metrics. Unfortunately, neither UNC students nor our administration value actual diversity.
The UNC administration has actively advocated for measures that promote diversity, but these transformations have been limited to metrics of race and gender. How, then, can our administration claim to care about diversity? Consider the lack of intellectual diversity in our faculty. Where, then, are the measures to hire conservative-minded professors?
Perhaps the most egregious oversight in this search for “diversity” can be found in the class level of UNC students. Consider the fact that one-fifth of our student body comes from the top 20 percent of family earners while only 3.8 percent of UNC students come from the bottom 20 percent. This lack of diversity is certainly impactful considering the difference in worldview that class background can and will have; a cursory glance at "Hillbilly Elegy" will convince you of this fact. There are a nearly infinite number of reasons why lower income students attend school at lower rates than those of higher income. Yet, I object not to the numbers themselves, but the hypocrisy of focusing on the most marketable forms of diversity while ignoring the lack of class diversity. Especially when class privilege is the most legitimate form of modern liberal privilege theory — although the advantages that high IQ grants have been widely overlooked by the left.
