Reflections on the Power of Diversity in Journalism and Society

As I try to define diversity myself, I wonder what diversity means to others. According to the dictionary on my computer, diversity means, "variety; a range of different things." Curiously enough, the example sentence it provides is, "Newspapers were obliged to allow a diversity of views to be printed." With the staff of most major news outlets being primarily white, how can the information that is released to the public be considered diverse? In my opinion, it can't be! Individuals from different backgrounds see the world through unique lenses and therefore have distinct ideas to contribute. Furthermore, interacting with all kinds of people can teach you about other cultures and expand your horizons as well as your social network.

Although we all know the theory, what we really need to do is to practice what we preach! All of the staff at the Maynard Institute understand the importance of diversity. We benefit from diversity ourselves, being that our staff reflects our different ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds. We are able to share cultural experiences and learn something new every day.

I too try to increase diversity in my own community. I am involved in an organization on campus that helps increase the number of minority students at UC Berkeley and in higher education in general. Experiences have taught me that participating in a diverse classroom setting enriches the learning process. Sometimes I feel as though my college is not diverse enough when I am one of the two or three people of color in a room of over fifty students. I understand the importance of diversity which is why I can identify with the Maynard Institute's mission and values.