Discriminations

The Honors Program at Central Michigan University has — or rather, had — a requirement that

honors students must complete a minimum of six to eight hours of a single foreign language at the college or university level or an alternative approved by the Honors Program director.

That requirement ought to appeal to those who believe in “diversity,” i.e., being exposed to other cultures and viewpoints. The CMU Honors Program director, however, seems to view “diversity” as, well, just more of the same stuff that students tend to get in most of their humanities and social science courses.

The Academic Senate on Tuesday rejected a proposal that would stop honors students from taking a six-credit diversity and culture class as an alternative to a foreign language.

James Jones' motion not to allow HON 150: Racism in the American Experience as an Area Two alternative failed.

This decision may not serve the goal of diversity, but it certainly is a good example of what “diversity” actually means on campus today. As a result, honors graduates of CMU will be less likely to speak French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc., but they'll no doubt be quite fluent in diversispeak.

Indeed, the more advanced of these honors graduates may even be capable of translating Princeton professor Cornell West’s recent comments on the “niggerization” of America, in which

he describes as “neither simply the dishonoring and devaluing of black people nor solely the economic exploitation and political disenfranchisement of them,” but also “the wholesale attempt to impede democratization — to turn potential citizens into intimidated, fearful, and helpless subjects.” [The full article in which Prof. West’s comments occur are available to Atlantic subscribers or those willing to pay for it here.]

Or maybe not.