Yes, I think "diversity" has become a catchphrase used to "empower" members to get "on the same page" and "touch base" with each other.
Can you tell how much I detest corporatespeak??!?!
Anyhoo, sigmagrrl, good topic.
I agree 100% - the word has lost its actual meaning and become lazy shorthand.
If you go by the dictionary definition, I definitely was in a diverse chapter. We ran the gamut in terms of personality, appearance, majors and background. But if you go by what people assume today when you say "diverse" - we weren't at all. But then again, the college wasn't either. I think when I was there the African-American population was only like 150 out of 6500.
It's odd that you bring this up now. I was just reading a letter to the editor regarding the topic of diversity in colleges. The writer stated that the first real "diversity" in higher education came with the GI Bill at the end of WWII. Many, many men who would never dreamed of going to college suddenly had the means and the opportunity to do so. It changed college forever from being only for the mid and upper class to something that everyone believed they could achieve.
That's what diversity is supposed to mean, but I think that has all but been lost nowadays. I think it's just people say to try & look PC.
[This message has been edited by 33girl (edited April 02, 2001).]
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