Colleges are supposed to be havens for free speech and diverse viewpoints, but the

chasm between theory and practice is growing wider. Critics of higher education claim that we are

less interested in truth than in inculcating correct opinion. Others argue that we foster cultural

conformity that borders on indoctrination. While such views are vastly overstated, colleges and

universities must practice what we teach. Diversity means different things to different people, and

most Americans define the term too narrowly. For many, an African-American, a Hispanic, an

Asian and a white student sitting at the same table constitutes diversity. But what if all four share

the same faith, political ideology and socioeconomic class? According to Harvard Professor

Richard Light, one can walk the streets of almost any major city in America and see diversity —

but unless you are living, working and playing together with people from varied backgrounds and

experiences, you will never fully experience diversity's most powerful impact. That's the special —

and often lost — opportunity for America's colleges and universities. Nowhere does one hear the

word diversity more than on a college campus, but its meaning is being constrained and limited

by its fiercest advocates. To be sure, representational diversity — people of different races,

socioeconomic classes, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender and physical ability — is as

vital to an academic community as it is for the future of our nation. But diversity is not an end in

itself, and purely representational diversity can never be the only means for achieving the plurality

of ideas necessary for a meaningful college education and for a fulfilling life. Many colleges, my

own among them, celebrate when we see an increase in the percentage of African Americans or

Asians or Latinos among our student bodies. These are considerable achievements, but simply

admitting a critical mass of a specific ethnic group misses the point of why diversity is important in

the first place. There are, after all, conservative African Americans and liberal African Americans.

A truly diverse community recognizes the difference and seeks a plurality of both people and

ideas. For me, real diversity means ensuring that all currently underrepresented people — not

necessarily or exclusively African Americans, Latinos and Asians, for example, but people whose

ideas and experiences contribute to a college's intellectual and cultural vitality — must become a

more significant part of our future. Who might that be? Today, on most American campuses,

individuals whose views support political, economic and cultural conservatism; elsewhere,
advocates for gay rights, the environment and antiglobalization meet that standard. Categories

and examples will change, but a truly diverse community must remain open to ideas, values and

opinions that disagree with the majority. America's colleges and universities must do more to

provide students with a prism of experiences that add color, tone and texture to their education.

Addressing issues of representational diversity, at the same time as we provide our institutions

with a plurality of ideas, ensures that the full spectrum of viewpoints and experiences is

represented in our residence halls, classrooms and faculty meetings. To deny such opinions is to

widen an even greater chasm between what we truly claim to believe in, and what actually

happens on our campuses.