How undesirable is a ‘white’ university that reflects the disadvantaged position of ethnic minorities in society? In a reaction to the Amsterdam report claiming that Radboud University is one of the 'whitest’ universities around, philosopher Anya Topolski says that this may well harm the research and education on offer.

Last week, Vox published an article about the low number of students at Radboud University from a non-Western background. It’s a real problem, says political philosopher Anya Topolski. Not only should universities reflect society, but diversity is actually an incentive for better research and education. ‘The aim of a university is to spread and develop diverse ideas. A university that is not itself diverse will inevitably have stunted ideas about society.’

‘True diversity is when everyone feels at home on the campus.’

But, as she is keen to stress, diversity encompasses more than the difference between ‘white’ and ‘black’. It also includes religion, economic class and gender. According to the philosopher, Radboud University is already doing its best to achieve gender equality, which certainly gives hope for the future. But the university also needs to extend its range of targeted activities, ‘because things won’t change on their own.’

The Amsterdam report suggests appointing a ‘diversity officer’. Topolski has experience of these officers promoting diversity around the campus both in Canada and more recently in Leuven. ‘I’ve noticed that if a lack of diversity on the campus is considered a problem, one officer is not enough. You need a whole team.’

Halal
Diversity isn’t just a question of getting the right mix of students, continues Topolski. ‘True diversity is when everyone feels at home on the campus. This depends on lots of seemingly tiny details, such as the availability of halal meals in De Refter.’

‘We have to rely on the regional catchment area’

The reactions to the first piece on this subject were largely sceptical. For example, one student hoped that we ‘wouldn’t come up with all kinds of ways to solve this phenomenon as if it were a real problem.’ Topolski suspects that people are afraid of losing their privileges, despite the fact that differences between students and their ideas are actually good for their learning process. Furthermore, as Topolski points out, a diverse university improves students’ future prospects as it equips them for a career in a diverse environment.

No action needed
The board of the university does not consider extra recruitment activities for students of non-western origins necessary: spokesperson Martijn Gerritsen points out that the proportion of non-western ethnic minority students on the campus (8 percent) is in line with the proportion in secondary education in the region. ‘This is our catchment area. If we want more diversity, we’ll have to take steps at an earlier stage of students’ education.’

To Topolski’s mind, however, the campus should reflect society as a whole, not just in the region.