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.

At Cornell, we pride ourselves on diversity and never fail to bolster that claim, yet I write with great conviction that this “diversity” is nothing more than a facade. The percentage of under-represented minority students rose from 14.5 percent of the entering class to 19.4 percent, making this year’s freshmen class the most diverse class. Yes, we are diverse in numbers, and surely the Class of 2013 had a large recruitment of minority students; but diversity is more than numbers and statistics. Diversity, or at least Cornell’s version of the word, is a rhetoric that has long lost its meaning. The students in the multicultural community are filled with distaste and I have grown tired and uneasy with the benign neglect and the “played-out” diversity initiatives of the University Administration.

My personal experience has charged me to write this article because the numbers that the University boasts do not constitute my idea of a diverse campus. The University exudes ethnic diversity and yet our students are no more diverse in their experiences. Bringing in higher numbers of multicultural students is commendable, but the sustainability and retention of those students means so much more. When there is such an extensive lack of support from the University for multicultural students, the claims for diversity are undermined. A commitment to diversity should be just that, a commitment — an ongoing vested interest in the success of these higher numbers of students. The Administration boasts support for the multicultural community and yet our support is being subtly snatched from beneath us.

The Asian-American Student Center has been neglected because of financial plunders — an area this particular group has long been struggling. They have been granted interim space on South Avenue until the question of where the money to support the center can be answered. The Office of Minority and Educational Affairs — the main support network garnished for the multicultural community after The Straight Takeover that aims to provide support to the growing minority communities — does not meet state compliance because it lacks proper resources and is understaffed.

I implore you to look past the costs and look at the length of time people have been fighting for these causes. These issues have been present since long before economic turmoil; the retention rate of 41.6 percent for African-American students is disturbing to say the least; and yet, the support system (that is, Cornell at large) cannot provide any support.

I am not an expert in sociology, but I do know that many others and I are truly facing a double-consciousness: We are dealt the cumbersome task of competing, socializing and interacting in an environment that was never made for us to begin with. Students like myself generally take 3-4 hours, usually more, out of our school day to advocate on our communities’ behalf. We are not rebel rousers, we are pleaders asking for people to take time to listen to our justifiable cause. It is clear that this is an issue that the administration will face for as long as they claim Cornell to have diversity.

Program Houses are our biggest and strongest claim to diversity. But instead of being the pride and joy of Cornell, they are undermined, neglected and beset with prejudiced claims of segregation. Not only do faculty forget to look at the good of the Program Houses, students forget to do so as well. It is a sanctuary, a safe-haven for culturally similar groups to identify with one another and be comfortable at an institution not readily accepting of them. At the end of this academic year, one of the most sustainable Program Houses, Ujamaa Residential College, is — coincidentally — losing its residential housing director of 20 years, Mr. Ken Glover. Joseph Burke, the director of campus life, decided to abruptly remove Mr. Glover because of an unspecified “personnel reason.” We as students are only here for four years, but the people supporting us, teachers, staff and faculty are usually here plenty of years longer. They carry on tradition and support through the years; Mr. Glover’s position as RHD of Ujamaa should not be seen as anything different. His position was taken from him without the consent of his constituency, and thus the harm does not only affect him, it also affects the people he has worked so long to support.

We have waited too long to speak up and by we I simply mean the students of the Cornell Community — in particular, the multicultural community. There is a clear unrest and growing disdain for the benign neglect attributed to the attitude and support given to the multicultural community. We should not be ignored, looked over, passed up: We are the Cornell Community — you will hear us now.

Ola Williams, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, is the executive vice president of the Student Assembly and the executive vice president of the Multicultural Greek Letter Council. He may be reached at ofw2@cornell.edu. Guest Room appears periodically.