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Scott is a political science student.

By Sarah Scott

What I read the other day was a particularly disturbing piece by Ben Shapiro (“Diversity classes carry bias, fail to promote awareness,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint, Sept. 24). The column is so bad that it borders on comedic but in the end, his misguided and presumptuous beliefs were not funny, but offensive.

Ben, let’s talk this one out. You’re going to have to drop the idea that diversity is only a platform for the propagation of leftist ideals. No one expects you to march in pro-choice rallies.

Diversity in the education curriculum is an opportunity to promote human awareness – more specifically, awareness of those humans, cultures and individuals that have been typically left out of mainstream education.

Now if you came to UCLA wanting to learn nothing more than what you came with, then I welcome you to step on out. The point of promoting diversity in education is to expand the minds of each and every individual, whether they be an engineering, philosophy or women’s studies student.

If you came to UCLA wanting to learn nothing more than what you came with ... step on out.

You should be careful who you speak for. I’m sure there are gay engineering students in this school who would feel relieved and excited about taking a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies course. And there may be a Chinese-American biology student who would be thrilled to learn more about their ancestry and culture.

Diversity in the GE curriculum could be a welcome avenue for many students to explore an area they are personally interested in learning more about.

You should take a minority studies course before you judge the focus and objectives of the professors teaching these courses. Not all African-American studies courses will promote, or even discuss reparations or affirmative action. And if they did, I would imagine an opinionated person would welcome the opportunity to hear this new viewpoint and determine for himself whether he should take notes or protest the class.

If you aren’t bold enough to challenge or engage the professor and the material, does that mean the rest of us shouldn’t have the opportunity to do so either? That is your conclusion when you claim that it’s a great thing we don’t have a diversity component in the GE curriculum.

And, it is “women’s studies,” not “feminist education.” As a woman, I can take a course on the history of women in the United States and not be a feminist. So can you.

I can take that course out of interest, to understand the role of women in the making of our country. I do not have to burn my bra or blame every man that dares enter the room for the hardships endured by women of the past.

Give me a break. You obviously have not bothered to take a women’s studies course either. You assume males will be uncomfortable and you assume that there is an agenda behind women’s studies other than education, which means you don’t respect women’s studies or take it seriously.

Any serious thinker would know that your comment, “many feminist ideals are blatantly anti-male” is completely wrong and uneducated. It is that kind of close-minded thinking that made it so hard for women and minorities to earn their rightful places in textbooks, universities and history.

Your lack of understanding and assumptions about diversity education are exactly why every student should take at least one course that requires critical analysis and thinking about a subject, group, culture or truth of history that they are unfamiliar with.

“All the sensitivity required in the workplace is the wherewithal not to use racial slurs in the office.” Say what? Yeah, teach that to your kids someday. It is okay to maintain prejudice and stereotypes about people, but it is not okay to voice those opinions in front of those same people.

Come on now!

You claim that the current system at UCLA reflects reason and that “diversity” could lead to “…campus reason fall(ing) with it.” What are you so afraid of? No one said that the math department was going to be closed down in order to build a gay and lesbian center.

Let’s talk about reason. It is reasonable to learn about the cultures and peoples of the world, the oppression of women and minorities in our world (in order to prevent a cycle of such), and the experiences of those who are different from us. Ignorance is what is unreasonable.

I’ve heard that ignorance is bliss, but I know that it leads to violence, prejudice, resentment and hostility.

If the “liberal agenda” is attempting to eradicate these ills from our society, then I’m for it. But for now, I’ll appreciate the purpose of diversity in education and hope that UCLA grows to accept it in its GE curriculum. Doing so will show all of us that we are welcome here, that we are important to the world, important to each other, and that we can grow together through education.