“We honor [our] legacy of diversity and inclusion and welcome all individuals, including those from groups that historically have been marginalized and previously excluded from equal access to opportunity.”

— Cornell’s Statement on Diversity

The words diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism are often used interchangeably. But what do these words really mean to our University community and how are they applied on our campus? Diversity and multiculturalism imply the inclusion of all cultures and all identities. When we talk about inclusion, we often focus on the minorities whose needs and struggles are not adequately addressed by the majority. Historically, “minority” in the United States has been synonymous with people of color.

“Our legacy is reflected in the diverse composition of our community, the breadth of our curriculum, the strength of our public service, and the depth of our commitment to freedom, equity, and reason. Each member of the Cornell community has a responsibility to honor this legacy and to support a more diverse and inclusive campus in which to work, study, teach, research and serve.”

— Cornell’s statement on diversity, from: www.cornell.edu/diversity/history/statement.cfm

A major problem of diversity at Cornell is how to include American Indians and American Indian Studies into the broad University community. American Indians are not simply another “ethnic minority” here at Cornell; instead, it should be remembered that American Indians are the indigenous people of this land. Thus, indigenous America is distinctly important, and should be understood in its relationship to “Euro-America” and all other “Americas.”

“Cornell’s mission is to foster personal discovery and growth, nurture scholarship and creativity across a broad range of common knowledge…[o]ur legacy is reflected in the diverse composition of our community.”

— Cornell’s Statement on Diversity, from cornell.edu.

In 1993, a group of predominantly Latino students reacted to acts of discrimination and racism on campus by staging a nonviolent takeover of Day Hall. This protest culminated in a series of demands that the University agreed to address. Among the University’s commitments was the hiring of more underrepresented faculty and the strengthening of programs such as Latino Studies.

To the Editor:

Re: “Enlightened, At Least From My Perspective,” Opinion, Nov. 4

Zach Murray’s ’10 statement at the program house panel, “white students don’t have to think about diversity,” was expressed as a result of what I deem a growing frustration that he, I and many other students of color on this campus feel because of the inability or lack of effort on the part of many — not all — of the majority white community at empathizing with the minority experience.

Last week’s panel on program houses, which was sponsored by The Sun and the aptly titled STUC, held the promise of reinvigorating our stale debates. Did it succeed?

In some ways, yes. The event allowed minority representatives to publicly articulate their concerns. Zach Murray ’11 noted the academic and social difficulties he faced as a freshman from a “90 percent black” neighborhood. As one of the few minorities in his dorm, he was not made aware of academic services or diversity resources. Ujamaa, he said, provided him with the support system, indeed the family, that would guide his undergraduate experience.

In Sun articles and columns, in recent protests and in meetings with senior administrators, a number of students have raised concerns about Cornell’s commitment to, and support for, diversity programs focused on our under-represented minority (URM) undergraduates.

We want to reassure all members of our community that a commitment to diversity goals and initiatives remains fundamental to Cornell’s mission. However, it is also important to acknowledge that, even as we pursue our goals, necessary budget cuts across campus have affected and will affect many programs. The impacts have not, and will not, disproportionately impact programs focusing on URM students.

What does it take for a group of people to be listened to — to be heard loud and clear? Riots, rallies, picketing and sit-ins are so ’60s. It is the age of Facebook groups, twittering and blogs; but it should not always have to come to such things.

Asian and Asian-American students now have a center on campus solely dedicated to their needs, after a nearly decade-long fight to get the University to allocate more resources to the Asian community at Cornell.

Located in 208 Willard Straight Hall, the Asian/Asian-American Center (A3C) officially opened this semester, though the center is considerably smaller than proponents had originally sought.

Temporarily, the center consists of a single office space and one conference room located within the Office of Student Support and Diversity Education.

Although the center now has a physical center and a staff member, students and administrators said there is still much room for improvement.

For the first time in Cornell’s history, the admit rate for the incoming freshman class dropped below 20 percent. After a rise in early admissions applicants in December, Cornell administrators projected an increase in the number of this year’s regular decision applicants, which reached an all time high of 34,381.

A Most Selective Class

The admit rate for the Class of 2013 fell to the unprecedented level of 19.1 percent. While Cornell admitted 36.68 percent of early decision applicants, regular admissions only accepted 17.2 percent of applicants.