The Case for Diversity

I was saddened and angered to read the letter from Thomas P. Wolf ’48 (Inbox, Jan. 11) in which the writer managed to get in a jab at President Eisgruber ’83 for “the drive for diversity for the sake of diversity at the expense of quality ... for the sake of political correctness.” In the same issue was an article that made the case beautifully for diversity — about Anton Treuer ’91 and his personal and academic efforts to keep his Ojibwe culture alive. Mr. Wolf may be “tolerating” President Eisgruber’s work, but I am not tolerating the casual and baseless dismissal of the importance of diversity in enhancing the quality of a Princeton education, nor the hackneyed use of the term “political correctness” as a derogatory epithet.

Without people like Professor Treuer and thousands of other equally fascinating people of different backgrounds, Princeton would be failing to take advantage of the cultural and intellectual wealth that the United States and the world can offer. We have plenty of evidence for the benefits of this wealth in the pages of PAW alone. Diversity isn’t for quotas — it’s to make sure that a Princeton education is the very best it can be and that it is accessible to everyone with the qualifications for admission.