By Andrew Gjefle
Whitworth is a school that prides itself on its consciousness of and open attitude toward diversity issues, encouraging students to interact with people of different backgrounds than those in which they themselves grew up. This is great of course, but unfortunately it does not seem to play out in the course of day-to-day interactions.
I’m not saying students are insensitive by any means; in fact, Whitworth’s student body is one of the most understanding, respectful groups of people I’ve ever seen. The problem is that between friend groups, polarization is rampant.
This isn’t even a racial issue; sports players eat together, academic types gather for study groups, video gamers hang out together in their rooms, beautiful people flock around looking beautiful … heck, even between dorms people hardly ever hang out. And that’s a shame. I can only think how boring that must be.
I know it’s natural to be drawn to people with similar interests, backgrounds and ideologies, but I also believe that there is something to be gained by being brave and indulging others’ concerns. It might be weird at first, but it can be incredibly rewarding. If nothing else, it might add some actual meaning to that obnoxious Whitworth buzzword, “diversity.”