Increase of minorities would benefit Purdue

Enrollment of racial and ethnic minorities has increased at Purdue.

This means that this year's freshman class has the potential to learn the most of any at Purdue ever. Diversity among races, genders, classes, and ethnicities increases the knowledge base and the breadth of Purdue's singular culture.

In comparison to other public universities in the country, Purdue ranks very high, setting the Purdue education apart. The modern world, brought together by the Internet and global news networks, is becoming a multicultural one.

International students now comprise 12.2 percent of the student body, from more than 130 countries. That’s 4,965 viewpoints on the world beyond the soil of America. International issues that many close-minded Americans think don't require our thought because they don't directly affect us, will more than likely directly affect Purdue in some way.

Since Purdue graduates will either directly or indirectly affect America's foreign policy in the future, the relationships and knowledge gained here are important to our future.

After all, how can we support an "us against them" style war again if "them" doesn't represent a mysterious other place with evil citizens plotting to undermine our way of life if some of those people shared an education and a lifestyle with us?

One of the most important things one can learn in college is how to take a more global or multicultural view of college.

The 10 percent increase in Hispanic Americans and the 11 percent increase in African Americans increases the number of minorities who will be college graduates. Purdue graduates at that. The fight against discrimination in all forms has always been led by the well- educated. Discrimination is caused by ignorance and knowledge destroys ignorance.

There's still more we can do, though. African-American, American Indian, Asian-American and Hispanic American students only make up 9.3 percent of the total students on Purdue's campus. Though this number is high, it's still far from being representative of America. A tenth of a percent of an increase is an increase, yes, but we need larger increases.

n Editorial Board: Keith Thomas, Tom McHenry, Erica Sagon, Matt Poston, John Wakefield, Shawn McGann.

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Increase of minorities would benefit Purdue

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