Looking beneath the whispering maples, it’s easy to find Simpson students gathering, conversing and partaking in college life. It’s all very picturesque, indeed. The only problem is, well, it’s nearly all white.

Examining Pfeiffer during peak hours creates a similarly disturbing picture: Segregation is obviously not forced, yet students seem to sit only with their respective race.

The Simpsonian has covered the issue of faculty diversity, gender equality and faith-based findings. But student diversity and the way diverse students are treated still remains an alarming issue on our small campus.

In order to successfully integrate students of ethnic minorities on our campus, the white majority of students needs to change – not the administration, not the summer orientation activities and not the minority population. Ninety-five percent of our campus is Caucasian, and it’s the majority that needs to start the change.

As a whole, the white population of Simpson hasn’t done much to learn about, talk to, or understand students of a different race.

Professors may tout acceptance and diversity in classes, but Simpson students must apply those lessons to their lives, branching out of their comfort zone and accepting others for who they are and the cultures they embrace.

Simpson requires students to fulfill a minority-perspective Cornerstone, but classes that meet this requirement sometimes fall short of providing a truly diverse perspective. The minority-perspective classes should teach students about diversity, but also teach them how to apply it or require them to apply it through service learning.

It’s safe to say that most students come from small towns in Iowa, not exactly hot-beds of diversity. It’s also safe to say that not many of us will be in such a homogenous environment again, unless we go back to our small towns. The real world will not be this “white.”

Becoming better-educated about diversity will make Simpson more alluring to students of different ethnicities and will be a valuable experience for all of us.