Administration: Showing a lack of wisdom

I usually don't read e-mails sent by school administrators. I open them, scan them and go back to living my life with no negative repercussions.

However, Monday morning I opened my inbox and actually read the e-mail from university President Dan Mote pertaining to diversity. I laughed — not a cheery laugh, but not an evil ‘mwahaha' either. More like an ironic chuckle.

This is the quote that stuck out: "When considering diversity, committing to its breadth is necessary. While racial and ethnic diversity are clearly important, so are diversity issues around culture, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin,  religion, disability, age, socioeconomic status and others."

When having to reread a particular passage multiple times before understanding the information in its contents, patience and a dictionary is of the utmost importance. See? Not fun. E-mails, especially, should be direct and not convoluted. You're not Yoda.

The way I understand Mote is he thinks vague rhetoric is an adequate replacement for action and that descriptive diversity is really what's important. Can we tally you up and write it down on a page? Yes? Great. We have diversity. Who cares if diverse groups interact? 

What we're lacking here is diversity in thought and politics — it's probably covered by "others."  Seems simple or unimportant, right? Wrong.               

I had a brilliant government teacher in high school who continually pushed his students to look at issues from every angle and questioned our fundamental beliefs. It was hard, but I'm a better writer and analyst because of him. Students loved him, but he doesn't teach anymore. He was forced out because the county education board didn't agree with his methods or beliefs.   

His situation reminds me of government and politics professor Dorith Grant-Wisdom's plight. If you haven't taken one of her classes and don't plan to next semester, you never will. She's being laid off — even though Grant-Wisdom's name is perfect for her job. I never took a class with her, but her reputation precedes her.

She has worked at the university for 16 years, is the only professor to cover politics in the Third World, Latin America, the Carribean and South America, and is popular with students. Yet she's never been put on a tenure track. Why? 

When asked, Wayne McIntosh, the associate chair of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, wouldn't explain why Grant-Wisdom's contract wasn't going to be renewed but did say the college is actively recruiting comparative government and politics professors. Thus, this is definitely not a budgetary issue.               

You might think the issue of diversity doesn't directly affect you. Maybe you're not a government  and politics major and never planned on taking Grant-Wisdom's classes. But think about your own experience. Have you ever had a professor who made you think and actually challenged you?

If diversity is important, then it is hypocritical to lay off a professor who promotes diversity by challenging students to think about politics from a Third World perspective.

If we aren't learning anything new, then diversity is just on paper. We need professors in the classroom teaching us about new perspectives who are able to do so without fear of losing their jobs. Otherwise, what's the point of going to college?

Shruti Rastogi is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at rastogi at umdbk dot com.