The University of Maryland prides itself on the subject of
diversity. After all, diversity is the reason why many students attend
Maryland. They want to get a well-rounded experience with people of other
cultures. Diversity is so big at this school that I used it as a topic for my
admission essay. But, is Maryland as diverse as it claims to be. Many students
speak on the fact that while according to the stats Maryland may be very diverse;
in actuality it is very much divided. I often see the people of the same background
separating themselves from other groups.
I got a chance to speak with Michele-Corrine Ako, sociology
major from Cameroon. I asked her to explain her feelings on the diversity of
Maryland.
Because she stated that she didn’t feel the university is
diverse as it claims to be, I asked her to explain the divide between Africans
and African Americans here on campus, which is very prevalent on this campus.
Her presence on the Executive Board of the African Student Association shed
some light on the situation.
Michele Ako explained a divide in the black community. In
the university’s past, there was only the Black Student Association. Because
Africans felt under represented and a lack of respect for the culture, they
created their own African Student Association. Even farther, The Carribean
Student Association and Ethiopian Student Association developed from this divide
in culture. This divide stems out farther than our UMD boarders.
As she stated, this is just her opinion, but I found it very
interesting. It makes me question, is the University of Maryland as diverse is it claims to be?
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