Diversity here to stay

Henry R. Whitehouse ’54 has lamented in at least two missives the same point expressed in “Admitting A New Class” (letters, June 10), which is that he is outraged over the University’s efforts at achieving diversity. I am saddened, but not surprised, that this ersatz fury would come from a man who benefited from a Princeton education because of white male preference afforded him and others back in the “good old days” of Old Nassau. While there is a clumsy attempt in his post to be principled by citing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the true aim of this gentleman is a return to those good old days when Princeton was populated entirely by white males.

One wonders if this gentleman would have been accepted if he had had to compete against women and minorities. We’ll never know if Mr. Whitehouse was qualified, because he got the benefit of a pre-shrunk applicant pool. Where was his outrage then about what he calls “discrimination” that the University is engaged in today? One would think that a preference-enabled gentleman like Mr. Whitehouse would be humble and grateful that he could attend a top university without having to compete against two-thirds of the population. One would think that, and one would be wrong. The only thing this great education has given this gentleman is a Roman sense of entitlement.

Thank God for diversity, and its power is here to stay. I totally understand why someone who has benefited so much from white male preference would want to cling to it and pray for its return. Fortunately, that prayer will not be answered.