Last time I checked, the word diversity did not mean race. In fact, Webster’s Dictionary simply defines diversity as “variety.”

And last time I checked, variety didn’t mean race, either.

The debates about diversity on the University of Wisconsin campus center on race, as race is the most obvious difference in all students. The question I ask then is: Is race really the biggest difference in all of us? Science tells me that it’s not. Race is just a tiny part of our double helices.

First, I must clarify my argument by asserting that race is an important subject in this university, in this city and in this country. We should always strive to celebrate our racial differences, as it holds significant value that our country has come so far with relation to race.

That being said, it seems unfair to all students to put racial diversity up on a pedestal, as if it was the only way to celebrate the differences between us. There are students at UW from all racial and ethnic backgrounds attending our university, but these are not the only types of background a student has to exhibit. I am Caucasian and I am female. These things do not define me. These things may give me certain advantages or disadvantages, but they do not define what my mind holds.

It can be said more minority students attend schools that offer a lower-quality education than most white students receive, but a lower-quality education does not necessarily mean one is destined to be less intelligent.

When the university strives to celebrate diversity and admit a diverse freshman class, race should not be a deciding factor. It is understandable we want to offer acceptance to minorities, but the grounds on which we admit them is simply prejudiced. Maybe a minority student gets accepted to college because they are a minority, but what does that celebrate other than an arrogance toward the person’s real achievements, qualifications and personality that would add to the atmosphere on campus?

By admitting minority students in order to fill a quota, the university tells those minority students that they wouldn’t be good enough otherwise. Perhaps someone is and perhaps someone isn’t, but the practice of affirmative action in college admissions sends an outward message that there is a possibility that they weren’t. Maybe minority students don’t really care about the reason for their admission so long as they get admitted.

The fact is, our campus is diverse no matter what races we represent. It isn’t just about outward appearances either. Sure, we all dress differently and talk differently, but on the inside, we are all different, too. Obvious, right? We can see this diversity when we talk to someone new or we can see this diversity on a larger scale when we imagine all the student clubs, programs and organizations available for involvement. Campus Women’s Center, Ad Club, Student Spill, WASB, The Badger Herald, ASM, Sigma Chi, GUTS and Kinesiology Club are just a small portion of the variety of opportunities at UW-Madison. Even this short list is proof enough that we are a diverse university.

We don’t have to measure our diversity by racial standards. The university is obligated to keep track of the numbers and, in fact, these numbers help rank the university. Racial diversity, however, is just a small piece of the diversity puzzle. These numbers, though, do not define our university. They do not define it as diverse or not. The human race is disparate enough without race as a factor.

While the school does applaud other types of diversity, when it comes to admissions and talk about how diverse our campus is or is not, the conversation always seems to gravitate toward race, when in fact the conversation should glorify the differences in all people. It should celebrate the fact that we have such a diverse climate regardless of race.

Maybe the university can measure us based on race and feel justified in doing so, but as students of higher education, we owe it to ourselves — no matter what our color — to measure each other based on other differences. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye toward race, but rather, we should embrace it enough to accept it as a minute part of our differences.

Jaimie Chapman ([email protected]) is a junior intending to major in journalism.