LETTERS: Want diversity? Look around

To the Editor: As I filled out housing applications before even coming to Penn as a freshman, I asked myself what I really wanted my college experience to be outside of academics. I concluded among other things that the great diversity on the campus and the opportunity to meet and understand other peoples and cultures would go untapped unless I myself did something to become active in this sense. Thus I chose to live in DuBois College House because I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to immerse myself in an environment where I could learn about a new culture by meeting new people, participating in activities, etc. Now in my second year living in the house, I have had a fantastic experience, to say the least. I have met a lot of wonderful people from whom I have learned a great deal about the African-American experience and I have made some great friends. My advice to Wise is not necessarily to move here, but to take a more active role in altering your "separate but equal" lifestyle. Seek out new situations and learn as much about other peoples and cultures as you can. Take advantage of Penn's diversity and stray from your comfort zone. Make that effort, and the rewards will be unparalleled. Alessandro Rimoldi SEAS '02 · To the Editor: I commend Todd Wise for approaching a subject that seems to be the object of much debate as of late. Diversity at Penn is highly advertised, but rarely materializes, and the concern of the student body about this is heartening. Even so, his evaluation is inaccurate. The glaringly obvious problem with Wise's assessment of the lack of social diversity is this: Race issues are not and have never been black and white. By reducing the lack of diversity to two races, a diversity-minded person is severely limiting themselves to learning the experiences of very few people and belittling the experiences of groups of other ethnic, racial, religious, socioeconomic and sexual backgrounds and orientations By asking diversity to come to them, students do a grave injustice to the opportunities they have at Penn. The next time you see a table for an interesting group on campus that may not have any affiliation to you, go talk to them anyway. Chances are they will be ecstatic that you are interested in their culture and experiences, and the learning can go both ways. The resources are there for the asking, but if you don't break out of your comfort level, you will never experience the diversity that Penn has to offer. Archana Jayaram College '01 · To the Editor: For the past three years now, we have been reading the same columns over and over in the DP. Each column examines the University's proclamation of diversity and how the reality on campus is a far cry from this ideal. However, many of these articles include a message that the "Penn" experience for Caucasian students is not diverse because students of color, most specifically African-American students, choose to isolate themselves. To Wise and others with this sentiment, we would like to say a few things. The truth is that there are opportunities on campus for the "diverse" experience that Wise is seeking. But the University can do but so much in its attempt to create a diverse community of students. The rest is in our hands as students eager to take advantage of this privilege. We must go out and make the effort to engage and exchange. Have you ever considered joining a program like Alliance and Understanding (to promote dialogue and relations between blacks and Jews on Penn's campus) or PACE? Have you ever taken a course in the African-American Studies Department which would provide you with an intellectual background as well as classmates with whom to explore important questions? Have you ever attended a lecture, a concert or a program at Dubois College House or a party thrown by the Caribbean-American Students Association? Have you stopped in on some of the numerous programs offered this week in conjunction with Asian Pacific Heritage Week? Or have you ever simply asked an African-American student why he or she feels there is a need for Dubois house on campus? Beyond one's own personal attempt to interact with "the other" it would also behoove you to know that not all black students live in Dubois. Dubois is a college house on Penn's campus that offers the University's population a place in which to learn more about the African Diaspora and its people by ways of academia, entertainment and within a family-like environment. If you were to set foot in the house, you would probably be surprised to find out just how many residents and visitors are of different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religious affiliations, etc. At times, in our search to find common ground with others, we must first step outside of our comfort zones and engage those around us. We cannot always expect "the other" to find us. Perhaps with a little personal effort, rather than generalizing about communities at large, Wise and other students in the same predicament would find the above mentioned communities more welcoming and eager to share than they imagine. Next time try sitting on the other side of the cafeteria and joining a conversation instead of just sitting back and observing. Miriam Joffe-Block College '00 Kianesha Norman College '00 Dangerous darkness To the Editor: As Ariel Horn's column ("Act first, don't react later," DP, 10/27/99) pointed out, reactionary measures generally are not the most effective means of ensuring student safety. Another tragedy should not be the only thing that drives positive change. At exactly 11:45 p.m., all the electricity shuts down in Van Pelt Library. It is really shocking to me that this practice persists. Can you imagine if there was a moment on the New York City subway when there were no lights? Granted, the limited access to the library makes it much safer than the subway, but the predictability of this period without lights makes it a perfect time for someone to plan a theft or something worse. Those who have been at Van Pelt at this time know that it is really dark. And it does not take that long to steal something or to wound someone. Maybe the fact that I spent my high school years in New York City has made me more sensitive to this than I need to be. But my only point is that a crime is possible in this "powerless" environment, especially when this occurs at the same time each evening, thereby making a premeditated crime easy to plan. Elizabeth Glazer College '01