Written by Jireh Deng
Diversity is often discussed as a lacking element in our federal politics, separate from California’s diverse population and from our minority-serving campus. I’d like to challenge that perception and turn the lens of diversity upon ourselves and critically think about how we as an honors program and as individuals inspire inclusivity in all its forms beyond liberal identity politics.
Last year, I attended an Honors event that focused on the issue of diversity within the program. This extensive workshop taught me the difference between equity and equality and demonstrated how the Honors Program was still less diverse than the general population at CSULB. This discussion on diversity and how different perspectives bring forth better solutions allowed me a critical look at the demographics within our student government.
While there is heavy representation from women of color, there are few men and even fewer Black students being heard in student government. It was incredulous to me how Long Beach has the fourth-highest black student population of all 23 campuses, yet I have barely met just a single black student government representative. It is difficult to deny my community, women of color, the celebration in their positions of power, but this workshop challenged my perceptions of real “diversity.”
I believe Honors should be looking towards ways that students can encourage proportional representation within our community and encourage inquiries into what is causing the neglect of certain student demographics.
This summer, I worked at the Pasadena Courthouse’s Self Help Center through JusticeCorps. What I experienced was one of the most ethnically diverse work environments. I had supervisors and coworkers who were of Caucasian, Afro-Carribean, Mexican, Armenian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian descent. During court watching sessions, I met an openly gay judge who had pictures of his family proudly displayed. I say all of this not to distill the people I met into their disparate identities, but to demonstrate the power of diversity inside an educational experience. Especially in the judicial system, it is important to people seeking justice that they feel represented by those sitting on the bench, the court clerks, and the security guards.
As an undergrad with my eyes set on law school, seeing a gay judge also inspires me to live authentically as a bisexual woman. Crowded in my mind are often thoughts of fear that proclaiming your sexual orientation is doom for a career in public service; constituents would see “gay” before seeing a passionate and ethical person.
What Honors also helped me realize is how insular my high school experience was, as I was living in a community that was overwhelmingly Chinese. It was a whole new experience to move to college and oftentimes be the only first-generation Chinese American. I am purposeful in all my achievements. From performing poetry about my grandparents at the Conscious Art Collection in the University Student Union to traveling to Israel as the youngest and only ethnically East Asian student leader; it is my ambition to live unapologetically and be the representation that I wanted to see as a child growing up in a conservative Chinese Christian community. However, I do not reject my upbringing. Instead, it is a driving point during discussions of contentious issues on campus.
Last year, our student government had to decide on whether to support SB 24, a state Senate Bill that would require public universities to allow students access to medical abortions. I personally identify as liberal, but as meetings became a debate mixed with personal and religious beliefs, I could understand from an ideological standpoint why so many students were opposed to the bill. The Honors community itself is not a monolith of liberal idealism, and having a developed perspective from my education and upbringing has helped me navigate difficult conversations.
What I believe our Honors College is succeeding in is having respectful discourse on hot button topics in informal gatherings and Q&A panels. Inclusivity of different ideologies is essential to diversity because courteous dialogue inspires education and breeds tolerance whereas fear divides us.
As we navigate the increasingly divisive environment around us, we must ask ourselves some hard questions: Why are certain students missing in leadership and educational experiences? What does diversity really look like ethnically? Ideologically? How do we inspire tolerance when we are faced with difficult conversations? Or when we feel like personal values are attacked? How do these issues fit within the national scope? It is part of the Honors' identity and responsibility to challenge ourselves to see beyond what the world is and to influence what can be.
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