Most Americans say that college students need to know about
different kinds of people and how to get along with them. There also
seems to be a national consensus that colleges should have diverse
student bodies and faculties, as well as courses that focus on
diversity.
Those are the results of a new poll released by the Ford
Foundation’s Campus Diversity Initiative in an attempt to redirect the
national conversation on affirmative action.
The poll, conducted by DYG, Inc., found that a substantial majority
of Americans — 71 percent — think that diversity education does more
to bring society together than drive society apart. Additionally, 91
percent agree with the statement that “our society is multicultural and
the more we know about each other, the better we will get along.”
In a press conference announcing the poll results, Daniel
Yankelovich, who heads DYG, Inc., said that the public distinguishes
between diversity and affirmative action. Policies to achieve diversity
are seen as “a win-win situation” — everyone benefits. However,
affirmative action policies are considered “zero sum” — in which some
people benefit at the expense of others.
Two-thirds of the 2,011 poll respondents said that colleges and
universities should take explicit steps to ensure diversity in the
student body, and 75 percent said that such steps should be taken to
ensure diversity among faculty. Only 38 percent say that diversity is
used as an excuse to admit graduate students who wouldn’t otherwise be
qualified.
Additionally, the poll found that the word diversity means
different things to different people. Half of those polled said
diversity means differences in ethnicity, race, nationality, or
culture; 18 percent defined it as people with different thoughts and
ideas; 12 percent said it means different social status or economic and
education levels; and 8 percent said it means people of different
religious backgrounds. As such, about half of all those polled —
across all strata of income — said they lived in “diverse
neighborhoods.”
Between July 14 and August 4, there were 2,011 registered voters
interviewed from across the nation. The sample, according to DYG’s
report on the poll, was scientifically drawn and is representative of
all American voters — within the margin of error at plus or minus 2.2
percent.
