Letter to the editor: Despite appearances, diversity is alive and well on the Plains

Affirmative action is currently an issue in the Supreme Court, so this topic is all too relevant.

A strong argument for affirmative action in college admissions is that it helps to increase diversity in the classroom. The hope is, and I happen to believe this, that a diverse classroom today will lead to widespread acceptance of different cultures, personalities and beliefs in the future. It is meant to create a forum where we can discuss differences and overcome the obstacles relating to them.

Perhaps it is linked to our 81.5 percent white student population at Auburn, but here we hardly have such a forum (save, I am sure, for a few open-minded classes).

Given various choices for a group assignment that involves a presentation, a couple options stuck out to my group members. They were options from which we should, apparently, keep away. One touched on race and the other on homosexuality. Their objections: "I don't want to offend anyone." "I don't want to touch that." "I don't want it to get awkward."

As far as the assignment went, whatever option we chose satisfied me. The objections to these specific options, however, struck a chord. All of my group members are white and, I have inferred, straight.

Are we afraid to talk about race or homosexuality? Of course we are.

We may not have the most diverse campus, but diversity still exists here. Work always toward acceptance and appreciation of others, similar and different.

Tyler Lahti

Senior

Accounting