The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 5, 1993 Page: 4 of 20
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4 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5,1993 THE RICE THRESHER
OPINION
Minority recruitment is necessary to overcome biases
To the editor
In response to Peter Howley's edi-
torial "Special minority-professor stan-
dards would hinder excellence" of Oct
22,1993, which appeared in the Rice
Thresher, I must argue with his basic
point that "the university should adopt
color-blind hiring as the only just
means to the questionable end of a
diverse faculty."
If the world were as it should ide-
ally be — a place of harmony where
one race has not historically and sys-
tematically degraded other races,
' Perhaps the present
standards of merit are
unconsciously biased
towards white men. '
where all people had the same oppor-
tunities from birth despite skin color,
money held, or gender — then Peter
Howley's point would be fine. But in-
stead, with the reality of our times,
especially at Rice University, his point
is misguided by several insensitive
assumptions. The end of a diverse
faculty is not questionable.
He states Duke University was
misguided in its attempt to add to staff
pools with underrepresented-in-
academia minorities and that we
should not fall into the same trap.
Duke did not meet its goal of a total
gain of 56, but it did have a net gain of
eight
Why is it wrong that they made a
noble attempt and failed? At least they
tried. At last Wednesday's (Oct 27)
ADVANCE discussion, a point was
made by Dr. Valenzuela that to diver-
sify for diversity's sake is not benefi-
cial, that it is akin to sailing out in the
ocean with no destination, but that to
diversify in order to ameliorate exist-
ing conditions is good. And existing
conditions are not right Blacks and
Hispanics in America are consistently
denied opportunities based on contin-
ued cycles of poverty.
Contrary to Howley's argument
against minority recruitment because
proactive stances "assume there is a
consensus minority view of the world
to be had," this push for multicultural
representation points out that the
world is made up of multiple and vary-
ing voices, even within the same eth-
nic group.
The bringing of minority faculty
and students to campus denies the
overarching dominance of one cul-
ture over another. Why is it wrong to
be able to think about things from
different perspectives? By being ex-
posed to a community (university)
which values different voices, students
can learn valuable skills about reality.
Not everyone is like them/you/
me. And an increased awareness of
cultures different than their own can
only open their minds. Ideally, with
this increased mixing of voices being
heard, over time society as a whole
will develop more peacefulness be-
tween its divided parts.
' Different cultures have
different views, and there
is no one objective Truth. 9
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6811 Kirby at Holcombe 666-4047
Open every day lunch through dinner
Howley assumes that the status
quo isokay and assumes that minority
faculty are less qualified (an uncon-
sciously racist judgment) by implica-
tion when he states merit is the only
method of "selecting employees with-
out sacrificing fairness or quality" and
continues by saying that Rice students
should oppose reductions in the qual-
ity of instruction due to pursued fac-
ulty diversity because of all the money
they pay.
He is implying that we will be low-
ering our standard s in pursuit of diver-
sity, which is a passively and inher-
ently racist reasoning process.
Perhaps the present standards of
merit are unconsciously biased to-
wards white men. It is a worthy ques-
tion. But the obvious defense is that
Rice is a well-respected university and
would not hire someone who does not
merit the position.
The minority- professor pursuance
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(which Duke supposedly failed at and
which I believe Rice should use to
further diversify faculty) would not
lower professor quality, butratheradd
to the different voices that raise the
issues of our world. Amazingness ap-
pears in may forms and colors, and
this fact needs to be welcomed even if
it departs from what has so long been
done.
Also, Howley's editorial exposes
his ignorance and position in the privi-
leged majority when he states that
"diversity among faculty is not the
worthwhile goal it seems." Howley
does state that unfairness is implicit in
this.
But I would argue that to not pur-
sue faculty diversity and minority re-
cruitment is a much more pervasive
and ignored injustice. As a large num-
ber of the American population is mi-
nority, they should have the same
exact opportunities as whites.
Theuniversitycan serve as a model
community ifwe can all work together
to mix ourselves up a little more, hang
out and talk to different folks and listen
to other voices, not just assume that
one perspective isunequivocally right
Differentcultures have different views
and there is no one objective Truth.
As academia has been dominated
by white males since its formal incep-
tion, it only seems fair to me to add to
the perspectives being taught heard
and imparted to students. And to urge
members of the Rice community to be
more aware and not to be satisfied
with the status quo.
Rice can be a model community of
diversity if people will open their eyes
a little more to the sanctioned, and
ignore the discrimination that occurs
daily on the basis of color and gender
at this university.
Minority professor hiring is not
bad, but rather a good idea for a fresh
and changing world. The old ways
have their benefits, but they should
not be clung to when voices are con-
tinually excluded by fault of half-shut
eyes.
Michelle Pulich
Brown College '94
Faculty
FROM PAGE 2
sors have something above and be-
yond that of white male professors:
perspective. In these times of chang-
ing demographics and fluid societal
relations, all of us need to be able to
recognize, understand and respect
our diverse nation, its people and its
perspectives on American life.
If we fail to do th is, we fail to see the
whole American picture. That is, our
minority voices, historically hidden in
the shadows of institutionalized seg-
6 When only ei$it out of
approximately 420faculty
members are minorities,
something has to give. *
regation, will still be kept silent We
will also fail at the task of attaining a
liberal education because we have not
sought to garner these perspectives
on the larger human experience.
These two failures would be nothing
short of travesties to our educational
mission here.
Let us not shudder from fear of
difference, but let it unite us in our
intellectual pursuits.
My third point is the issue of role
models. Let me ask this: Do you see
anything wrong when students have
to ask for "chicken fingers and fries"
or have to watch the garbage pickup
or the grounds work to identify with
one of their own?
I really don't expect too many
people to be bothered by this "revela-
tion," but this bothers the hell out of
me (I suppose it could just be my
perspective).
At any rate, it is time minority stu-
dents had some of their own to learn
by and grow by, a process by which
we "expand the circle" of this
in stitution's educational ecology. I am
not however, suggesting that minori-
ties must have role models to suc-
ceed, but white students have them
now whether they want them or not
We need to address this gap immedi-
ately. If we can find so many qualified
minorities to work as staff here, we
can do the same for the faculty ratios.
Let's give our minority students mod-
els in the educational realm and not
just the service realm.
Another point of my discontent is
the point made vis a vis redressing
past inequality. At this point I felt as if
the argument was that enough has
been done to correct historical inequal-
ity.
It was argued that those who make
it through undergraduate studies,
graduate studies, etc. dont need to be
recruited to teach at this university
because they have already made it
and there is nothing to redress.
WRONG.
Take a look at the "elite" 15 institu-
tions that were mentioned in the edi-
torial of the 22nd and in the Houston
Chronicle a few weeks ago. Their mi-
nority-professors stats are depressing.
This is the ill we need to correct,
especially at Rice.
When only eight out of approxi-
mately 420 faculty members are mi-
norities, something has to give. This
tradition of physical isolationism —
Rice versus minority professors — is
one we should not be proud of. This
tradition should give way to change,
to diversity, to progress.
This is an issue of extreme sa-
lience today. We live in a changing
world and our institutions should re-
flect this. Quality will not be sacrificed
with the advent of diversity, and, in
fact, it will be enhanced.
Contrary to what was said in the
editorial of the 22nd, Rice should be
very ashamed of its record in minority
professor hires.
Let's not let irrational thought gov-
ern us. Instead, let mutual respect and
understanding of our diversity act as
our vanguard as we reclaim Rice's
honor.
Francisco Morales
Hanszen '95
The Department of Religious Studies
announces new courses for
Spring 1994
Reli 226 MESSIANISM & ZIONISM
TTH 4:00-5:20 PM Ravitzky
Reli 262/582 MYSTICISM: TEXTS & METHODS
TTH 9:25-10:40 AM Parsons
Reli 304 INTRO TO JEWISH PHILOSOPHY
TH 7:00-10:00 PM Ravitzky
Reli 580 PSYCHOANALYSIS & RELIGION
TH 1:00-4:00 PM Parsons
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Howley, Peter & Epperson, Kraettli. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 5, 1993, newspaper, November 5, 1993; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245853/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.