Ames, Iowa … diverse? You have to be kidding. Look at this campus, no diversity, everyone’s white, and very closed-minded…” These were the words of a girl I met during my freshman year, and ever since I arrived at Iowa State I have heard variations of this statement, not only from out-of-state students, but also from in-state students.

If diversity is measured by skin color, it is obvious that Iowa State University is a predominately white campus and that it isn’t very diverse in that sense. However, by surpassing the skin color obsession that many have, it is easy to notice that the differences between ISU students are many.

Diversity, according to Iowa State’s Equal-Opportunity & Diversity Homepage, is “that quality of its physical, social, cultural and intellectual environment which embraces the rich differences within the multiplicity of human expression and characteristics including age, culture, ethnicity, gender identification and presentation, language and linguistic ability, physical ability and quality, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.”

This long, brain-tangling definition states that Iowa State is extremely diverse; everyone is different. Still, with this definition, complaints about Iowa State lacking diversity will not stop. According to the Admissions Office, around 4,500 students are members of the international or the African, Latino, Asian, and Native American community from the approximate 28,000 ISU students.

So while focusing on cultural and ethnic diversity, Iowa State needs to increase the number of international and ALANA students in order to increase ethnic and cultural diversity in every classroom.

Diversity is a necessity in the classroom since students are able to learn more when different perspectives are introduced. But while Iowa State attempts to increase those numbers, it also needs to continue encouraging culture and ethnic awareness within the ISU community.

Although students are required to take U.S. Diversity and International Perspective courses, not many students take classes that focus on the study of ethnic issues or groups. Others might take those courses but will not take them seriously.

There are also programs in the university that attempt to educate students about cultural, ethnic and racial issues, such as the President’s Dialogues on Diversity, different living/learning communities, Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity, African-American Studies, Latino/a Studies and Native American Studies courses.

There are also campus organizations that focus on cultural awareness, as well as the heritage month events of each ALANA community. Unfortunately, the students that participate in such activities usually are not the members of the white student population; it is usually members of the international and ALANA community that organize and take advantage of these events.

There is a misconception on campus that when an event has words like Asian or Latino in its title, the event is only for members of those specific ethnic groups. In reality, members of the different ALANA communities organize these events in order to showcase their customs and educate those who are not familiar with their culture.

Learning and understanding a different culture is part of living and growing in the United States. This country is the home for members of every culture and ethnic group; hence, it is extremely necessary to understand one another and learn about each other.

It would be nice to live in a colorblind society, where no one would assume nationalities or ethnicities according to your skin tone. However, since skin color is what is first seen when you meet people, you might assume where they are from, what they are like, and label their persona. When assumptions are based on skin color, ignorance is practiced, and that will only lead to stereotypes.

While Iowa State attempts to attract and retain international and ALANA students and faculty and educate the general community about ethnic and cultural diversity, the community as a whole needs to recognize the importance of understanding and learning about other cultures and ethnic groups.

There is no excuse for not learning; there are classes that will meet diversity requirements as well as free lectures and cultural events.