Shakespeare Needs Madonna, Too

Author: Stephanie Morales

Amber Hillman's piece on affirmative action (The Middlebury Campus, Feb. 26, 2003) epitomizes the ignorance and offensiveness that continues to plague this country on issues of race and diversity. Part of a Middlebury education involves dialogue, and providing a forum where different viewpoints can be safely discussed and challenged is necessary, yet what Hillman demonstrated in her article was just how misconstrued her understanding of affirmative action and diversity is.
The value and necessity of diversity in education cannot be nonchalantly dismissed in a sentence, "The new pressure society is putting on colleges to diversify their campuses to recreate a mixed mini-society is an idealistic attempt to create a heterogeneous society."
Diversity is the only way to ensure that a full education is granted, as only through diversity can one become more tolerant, understanding, knowledgeable and enriched. This is essential and one of the ways to ensure that it happens is affirmative action.
Contrary to Hillman's piece, affirmative action's purpose is not to admit less qualified students solely based on their race in order to quell the "new pressure from society." The origins of affirmative action were to combat the rampant racism and discrimination that was denying admittance of minorities to colleges and universities as well as in the workplace.
Presently, as much as Hillman would like to think that race does not matter anymore, affirmative action is, still, just as necessary as in the 1960s. Perhaps Hillman has never been to an inner-city high school to truly understand just how complex this issue is.
I am a proud Latina from Queens; my public high school had 3500 students stuffed in a building built for no more than 1000. My classes were never less than 35 students. Personal attention was not a guarantee, neither were numerous resources to enhance my education. Taught by underpaid and sometimes under-qualified teachers and affected by constant budget cuts that decreased the number of academic counselors, paper, books and after-school programs were some of the "supposed disadvantages" that I faced. Yet despite all of this I worked with what I had and made the best of it. The reason I was admitted to Middlebury College was because I deserved it. The very fact that I could even make it to Middlebury is proof of just how extraordinary I am, along with every single minority student here that has had to deal with the very REAL disadvantages they faced.
Affirmative action, especially at Middlebury College, considers race as a contributing, not sole factor, to the "well-rounded character" that Hillman points out that applicants must have. One of the best examples, in metaphor, given to me regarding the necessity of diversity was by a very good friend of mine in the College's administration. He said that if you have one student who was raised on Shakespeare and another who was raised on Madonna and they come to Middlebury and are tested on Shakespeare, who do you predict will perform better? The type of diversity needed and the kinds of changes that should be happening in higher education are ensuring that students know both Shakespeare and Madonna.
Diversity is not about filling quotas and printing pictures of minority students on college publications.
It is about a sincere, committed effort to guarantee that a rich exchange of diverse knowledge is taking place. I challenge Hillman's claims that affirmative action would allow the admittance a large group of students who cannot handle the workload so that "the College must lower its educational standards to accommodate them." I wonder if she has seen the GPAs of the minority students here. I will willingly show my transcript and prove that instead of Middlebury lowering its standards for me I have come here and succeeded as well as contributing to other students' educational experience, like that of Hillman.
I am triumphantly learning the Shakespeare and I challenge Hillman to venture into my Madonna world.
The last time I read the paper or watched the news race still mattered. I wonder if the names James Byrd Jr. or Abner Louima mean anything to Hillman. Perhaps she recalls the racist postings on middkid.com, illustrating that race even matters at Middlebury College.
I request a formal apology from The Campus for printing such blatant, offensive misinformation and a statement from Middlebury College explaining its policy on affirmative action and continued support of it.

Stephanie Morales is a film major with a Chinese minor from Queens, New York.