Earlier this week, in one of my classes, we had a lecture on
diversity. Diversity is a pretty broad term, but few understand what it really
means. That includes me. The United States claims to be a diverse country, but
statistics show otherwise. As far as races go, white is still the most
prevalent race and Christianity is still the most prevalent religion.
On any given day at the University of Florida, I hear
between three to five languages other than English. So, from my perspective, UF
is a pretty diverse campus. But I suppose that nationally, it’s not so true.
Some embrace diversity, and others fear it. This Tuesday, my professor and our
class tackled the subject of diversity and ended up with some pretty
interesting conversations.
We started out with a game called “Four Corners”. Normally,
this game is harmless. People spread out amongst the room in four numbered
corners and if your number is called, all the people in that corner are out.
This repeats until there is one winner. Well, our corners were “numbered”
Agree, Strongly Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Our professor read
statements to us that were somewhat hot button issues and the class would
slowly spread out. We then discussed why each group believed what they
believed. There was to be no judging, because we are all friends. Although
there were no mean words said, I know from the looks on some people’s faces,
mine included, that people were having to bite their tongues.
Our first question was a warm up. 1) “Admission to colleges should be based
solely on academic performance”. It was about a 50-50 split between agree and
disagree. I, myself was on the disagree side. While I do see academics as a
large part of admission, I believe that those applying should also be judged on
involvement and success outside of school. Maybe not with the same weight as
school, but definitely considered. We then moved on to question 2) “Everyone
has the same opportunities. Successful people just work harder.” Again, the
class was pretty evenly split between agree and disagree. I again found myself
on the disagree side because I believe that success is largely due to work
ethic, but I also know that not everyone is given the same opportunities,
whether it’s economic or social.
Then things got intense. 3) "My religion is the only true
religion". Oh goodness. Can’t say I didn’t see that one coming. The class split
up slowly, everyone watching the other’s movements and eventually settled out
into a group of people in all four categories. Most were in disagree or
strongly disagree, I was in strongly agree. No one wanted to start discussing
why, even though everyone felt very strongly about this subject. Religion in
school, since when? I am a Christian. I’m not afraid to say it, because it’s
part of who I am. (If you don’t agree with me, I hope you’ll still come back
and read my blog though) However, I’m not so good with wording things right
under pressure, so luckily, there were a couple other people on my table who
shared my beliefs and discussed with the class what we believed. Those who
disagreed made their “arguments” and the discussion ended. The air in the room
had changed. Everyone was on edge, and I knew what was coming next. Gay
marriage or abortion. I was right.
4) "Is it okay for a gay couple to adopt a child?" Again, very
strong, but differing opinions in our class. I was on the strongly agree side.
While I may not agree with the choices of gay or lesbian couples, I in no way
find it my place to judge them and their ability to parent a child. My favorite
couple on TV’s hit comedy Modern Family is Cam and Mitchell, a gay couple with
an adopted child. Now I know it’s TV, but I don’t see any reason why a gay
couple can’t adopt a child and provide that child with the love that they
deserve. After a few heartfelt comments from some of my classmates, the
discussion and class ended.
I’m not sure if our class grow closer that day, or if we
created an awkward tension. While it wasn’t an easy lesson to talk about, I
enjoyed the discussion and listening to my friend’s opinions. So, now that
you’re probably all riled up, I’d like to hear your opinions. You can share
your opinions on any of the questions or on the idea of discussing these topics
in school. I’ll read through them and post a few online anonymously unless asked not to. Send your stuff to gainesvillegoodies@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment