Everyone knows DU is not racially diverse. It says so in the statistics we read in the Princeton Review, in the testimonials we read on College Prowler, and in the memes that fill our news feeds. It’s  glaringly obvious when we leave our dorm in the morning, DU students are primarily white.

Some claim that DU does little to celebrate Black History Month, and subsequently diversity.  However, I would like to argue that diversity should not be measured by skin color, but instead by what the students can offer the community.

That being said, of course, I’m all for meeting people from all different backgrounds. I think that diversity among the student body is crucial to a quality education. However, I don’t think being “diverse” means everyone has to have a different skin color.

Take for example a guy I met at the beginning of the year who is African-American. In every other way, he is similar to me. We both grew up in similar suburban towns, with parents who were fairly well-off. We went to similar high schools, participated in similar extracurricular activities and both ended up at DU.

The only difference between us is our skin color. I don’t think it would be fair to call that diversity. I’m not learning anything more from this student because he’s African-American than I would if he was Caucasian. This doesn’t only apply to African-Americans and Caucasians.

I also have an Asian friend who supposedly contributes to “diversity” on campus, but she grew up right here in Colorado.

I know there are so many other students here who fall under the same category. DU may be able to include them in their statistics about inclusive excellence because they may identify them with a certain ethnicity, but really, these types of students’ backgrounds seem to be no different than mine. This is not to say that race cannot be an indicator of differences in background, but it is not the defining factor. I care more about diversity in life experiences among my colleagues, their political views, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, hobbies and hometowns.  

These are the things that aid a good conversation in and out of class. It would be great if everyone looked different from each other on campus, but that’s just looks. Looks are nowhere near the most important aspect of a person.

I believe that while we may not see a strong variety of different skin colors in our student body, DU still manages to pull students from all different backgrounds. Yes, there is a DU student stereotype that claims that all DU students come from a filthy rich family that owns a BMW and can afford to fork out the full $50K a year in tuition.

 But I think this stereotype stems from the idea that all DU students are Caucasian, and all Caucasian people who attend private school live that lifestyle.

I have friends from all different socioeconomic statuses and backgrounds. Even more importantly, I have friends with a variety of different opinions, interests and passions. I don’t feel like I’m being cheated because most of these friends happen to be Caucasian.