Most people have been conditioned to praise “diversity” and then automatically jump to the conclusion that it requires quotas for the various groups the Left regards as important.
In today’s Martin Center article, UNC professor Mark McNeilly argues that the sort of diversity that matters is intellectual. He points out that it is simply impossible for a university to perfectly mirror the population of a state in every metric.
McNeilly writes:
To fulfill this mission, then, universities such as UNC must also promote free expression, viewpoint diversity, and constructive dialogue. Without access to, or knowledge about, different views (which can be heard and tested only in an environment of free expression and constructive dialogue), students will have a warped view of the world and support incorrect conclusions and actions. Therefore, viewpoint diversity is the diversity that is most fundamental for a university to pursue its mission. That is doubly true of a flagship university such as UNC, which has the role of producing tomorrow’s leaders, those who will set the course for the future. This does not mean that other types of diversity are unimportant. It does mean that they should not be prioritized over viewpoint diversity.
But if you bring up intellectual diversity among diversity zealots, they react with horror since they want the university to be devoted to the promotion of their belief systems.
Read the whole thing.