Professor Rosemary Salomone has authored Unity Through Diversity in Times Higher Education. Here is an excerpt:
As the debate over the Supreme Court decision[‘s decision in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin] has swirled through the US and French press, what has struck me is how the diversity rationale gets lost in numbers, centered on inputs in terms of students admitted and outputs in terms of student achievement and career success. This obscures the educational process that mediates between the two. While leveling the playing field for disadvantaged students, compensating racial minorities for past social injustices and integrating them into the professional classes are important goals, equally important is the value of student diversity in enriching classroom interaction and strengthening social and political cohesion. The more diverse the classroom, the more textured the discussion and the better students come to respect other views and develop the tools for civil discourse. Of course, this assumes that academics are willing and able to harness those differences positively.
Rosemary Salomone
St. John's University Law Faculty Blog 