Students at the University of Wisconsin often take full advantage of the resources offered to them and strive to live up to the expectations put forth by the institution. The name UW-Madison carries a lot of weight post-graduation, but the success Badgers can have has been limited by the lack of ethnic diversity among students.
Vector Solutions, a training and risk management firm helping educational and professional settings, laid out the benefits of diversity in their article about how diversity in education is crucial to student success. Those benefits are invaluable, including improved worldviews through reduced stereotypes, learning through contributions from people with different backgrounds than ourselves and increased adaptability among large and varied groups.
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UW, while representing many minorities, is not representing them enough. The Badger undergraduate population is almost 68% white, followed by 9.4% international, 7.8% Asian, and minuscule numbers of Hispanic, Black and African-American students, a 2021 demographic analysis of our campus said. This extreme imbalance is undermining our preparation for the workforce where diversity is growing every year.
Once leaving UW, its predominantly white population that many students have undoubtedly grown comfortable with – whether consciously or unconsciously – will not have had the experiences needed to break cultural stereotypes. Interactions with people perceived as “different” may become awkward and uncomfortable, preventing smooth transitions from education to employment.
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Essentialization, where people are reduced to the norms of their origins, may take hold during many professional first impressions. This is not the case for all students, as many come from places across the world that boast a wide variety of inhabitants, but it is nonetheless the elephant in the room at UW.
Steps need to be taken by administrators, recruiters and students to diversify our campus in coming years. If not, the Wisconsin Experience will become compromised.
Patrick Hoey ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in international studies.
