Iowa State needs to get its priorities straight. As you read this, the leadership of our university is laying out the university’s goals and focus for the next five years in the strategic plan. I have seen the first draft of these efforts, and I hope it’s just a draft.

The flaws are numerous. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences seems dwarfed by a push for technology and entrepreneurship. One student I talked to pointed out that the draft hardly mentioned Iowa State’s extension program. I’m sure the list of concerns goes on and on.

And, despite my bias toward the departments of history and sociology, I see a problem affecting each of us that seriously needs to be addressed as a priority: diversity.

A wild guess says that half of the people reading this are tired of hearing this word buzzing around, seeming to accost people who aren’t “used to it” or who feel like “oh, they’re talking about them again.” If that’s your reality, someone failed to inform you about what diversity really means.

Webster’s dictionary says diversity is the “multiplicity of difference” or variety. So the fact that we are all here in one place with different, um, hairstyles constitutes diversity? I suppose that is why I have heard so many people say “because Iowa State is a really diverse campus,” or “This is the most diverse place I’ve ever lived in; I see someone new and different everyday.” Unfortunately, I just do not buy it. I never have.

The standard for defining diversity has got to be much higher on a university campus if students expect to leave truly educated, not just armed with a useless degree. The high court of the United States decided that diversity in the classroom of higher education was “a compelling state interest.”

Though many would disagree, the Supreme Court established that affirmative action is not about reparations, “leveling the playing field” or handouts. The beneficiary of affirmative action is not the admitted student but is rather the quality of education provided by the educational institution as a result.

It is about making sure that all students in the classroom receive a complete education because they learn from the diverse views and experiences of others while sharing their own.

So diversity isn’t just about people of different backgrounds, races, genders, lifestyles or hairstyles being together in one place. True diversity entails the exchange of ideas, experiences and perspectives in a way that educates. Frankly, you are not properly equipped to compete in the job market if you have not participated in the exchange.

Without true diversity at Iowa State, your degree means nothing. Though you may not feel slighted on a daily basis concerning diversity, every student has to acknowledge that it is in his or her best interest for the university to celebrate, cultivate, defend and invite, diversity.

We don’t need a diverse scenery that easily fades into the background of “them” and “us.” We need active facilitation of diversity’s purpose: to educate.

Certainly, we cannot deny that many students do not feel comfortable on this campus. The disappointing results of the campus climate survey will be no surprise to many of us.

Our hair, our skin, our clothes, our piercings and our dating choices draw stares and snickers every day. Our averted eyes are an attempt to avoid acknowledging and celebrating the differences that obviously exist. No, my friends, “color-blind” is not the way to go. Being “color-blind” or “diversity-deprived” means you are not equipped to handle the world that Iowa State thinks it has prepared you for.

If diversity isn’t a priority for Iowa State, then neither are you.