Diversity In Higher Education

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Diversity in Higher Education Having a college education has always been promoted and looked at as being able to possess the skills necessary to be a so called leader. Now when you think of an effective leader and leadership qualities, we throw the idea of diversity into the equation. Many believe that having a good, positive outlook on diversity and being a productive leader go hand in hand. The article Diversity in Higher Education: Perceptions, Opinions, and Views goes more into depth of the faculty, students, and societies opinions on diversity in colleges. In the article, on purpose “is to give shape and size to the topic of diversity in higher education by focusing on one element of organizational structure and culture, leadership”(ASHE Higher Education Report,…show more content…
During my senior year of high school everyone kept reminding me that because I was a white, female, American that I needed to have more credentials, such as, community service and stellar grades to help me stand out and apart from the rest of the white, female, Americans for the admittance and application process. Graduating top 25 in my class and possessing many hours of community service I was admitted to CSU Fort Collins campus. One of my friends who was an average student with no extracurricular activities and was also a Hispanic female was admitted as well. Another friend of mine who was also an average student with very minimal extracurricular activities and was a white, female, American was denied admittance. In Diversity in Higher Education: Perceptions, Opinions, and Views it talks at length about how the higher education admittance and the idea of a diverse student body are constantly being challenged. The article uses the Supreme Court decision in Bakke as an example of diversity in the higher education admittance process. In the Bakke decision, the Supreme Court claimed “the special admissions program had violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment” (ASHE Higher Education Report, 2006, p.5). Although I personally did not have an issue such as this, I do believe that many diverse individuals are given extra help beyond the average, white, Americans. This argument can be made for higher education admittance, job applications, loan applications, etc. I believe in order to continue to strive for diversity throughout that the playing field needs to be level. I do also believe diversity is an essential tool in progression, but I do not think that diverse individuals should be evaluated on different standards. In the article, one research showed that majority of the students who
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