In public discourse, diversity has become a muddled topic intertwined with ethnicity, but it shouldn’t be that way. At Iowa State, diversity is a wonderful thing because it allows students to get an appreciation for viewpoints they might not be accustomed to.

Hearing new ideas is truly one of the best ways to step outside your own bubble of ignorance and learn something. Unfortunately, most of the “diversity” celebrated at universities today is just a facade; it looks great from a distance despite being 6 inches deep.

Administrators pride themselves on bringing more ethnic minorities to the university under the impression that these students offer diversity, but meaningful diversity can’t be expressed in racial demographics. The assumption that diversity of thought and diversity of skin are the same isn’t just fallacy, it’s wrong.

There is a term for people who judge the minds of others based solely on their skin color — racists. Because people are defined by what lies beneath their skin, a person’s value comes from within, and meaningful diversity stems from variance of thought.

It’s time to usher in a new era of diversity, the era of intellectual diversity. We should celebrate students with fresh and differing ideas — even if we don’t like those ideas — because being exposed to new thoughts allows us to appraise them, challenge ourselves and grow.

We shouldn’t get caught up in pie charts of the student body’s skin color. We should, instead, ask whether a student has a new perspective to offer that could expand our own thinking.

Grouping people together based on their race is dangerous and divisive. Instead, let’s think of each other as individuals with perspectives shaped by experience rather than identity. Let’s celebrate the diversity that matters.