FINAL DRAFT

Kyle Wagner
Definitional Argument
Sept 18, 2005

Penn State, along with most colleges in our country today, claims to be a diverse school. Diversity is viewed as a great attribute to these universities [what universities?]. These schools boast about diversity in their statistics and mostly their advertising. In order to ensure a diverse student population, Penn State has put a few programs into place. The Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Penn State define diversity as “a climate which encourages representation of faculty, staff, and students from typically underrepresented entities, including those from racial/ethnic minority groups, various countries and cultures, both genders, persons with disabilities, and those from a mixture of religions and sexual orientations” (gradsch.psu.edu). Merriam-Webster defines diversity as “composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities” (Merriam-Webster). This is truly a reality in regards to the Penn State student population. Each student is distinct and unlike the others, which brings about a truly unique and beneficial mood [beneficial is not a mood] to the campus. This mood created through diversity allows students to share ideas, obtain a better education, and make informed choices regarding their future.

The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about diversity is racial diversity. In 2004, the University Park Campus at Penn State enrolled African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans for a total of over 5,100 minorities. Over 3,200 International students also enrolled to Penn State in 2004 (budget.psu.edu). Some may argue that these statistics pale in comparison to the large number of white students. Despite this, I believe that these minorities create a large difference in the overall atmosphere of the campus. Every race benefits from the overall feeling of equality and unity. Race does, in fact, play a large part in diversity; however, diversity also includes many other issues such as those regarding politics, religion, languages, and choices in general.

Students attending Penn State have the opportunity to experience these differences in opinion throughout their time here at the university. They are exposed to Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals. Students gain insight and knowledge about [a] wide ranges of religions. They meet people from different backgrounds and learn about the lives of others throughout the country. Students hear people speak in many different languages and are able to experience the variety of cultures present. Finally, they are also able to witness the variety of choices that their fellow students make, especially regarding drugs and alcohol [interesting point].

This wide range of influences allows individual students to make better decisions in their own lives. Students get to hear both sides of an argument, and witness consequences and benefits of their decisions. This experience is what allows the students themselves to make more educated decisions. Penn State students gain a better understanding of issues, especially important issues regarding political and religious thought. As students gain stronger and more steadfast beliefs on important issues, they gain a better view of themselves, their future, and of the world in which they live.

Penn State provides hundreds of paths for students to choose regarding their futures. Majors are offered in just about every field possible. Students are able to specialize in anything from Environmental Soil Science to Architecture. They are able to take the knowledge that they’ve gained, and the opinions that they’ve formed, and choose a major. This major reflects these opinions. As every student chooses their individual major, the school becomes diverse in another sense of the word. Students can learn about trades and subjects from other students involved with different majors. This allows them expand and build on their previous knowledge. This interesting combination of major selection and outside influences will eventually affect the career choices of the students.

All these different forms of diversity on the Penn State campus contribute to an general atmosphere of sharing and learning. The knowledge that we gain from others is the type of knowledge that we can use for the rest of our lives no matter what path we choose in life. It helps us form firm opinions on a range of issues relevant to our lives. These opinions and knowledge that we carry with us is continuously passed on to others and continues the cycle of sharing through diversity. It makes our world a better place.

[This is an interesting argument. I like the portion about diversity allowing different choices to be made. That said, there are some grammatical issues that drag the paper down, in terms of quality]

Work Cited

“Merriam-Webster OnLine.” 2005. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 18 Sept 2005. <http://www.merriam-webster.com>∞.

Althouse, Richard. “Fact Book”. University Budget Office. 18 September 2005. <http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/StudentDynamic/StudentTableofContents2004.asp>∞.

“Diversity in the Graduate School.” The Graduate School. 18 September 2005. <http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/diversity/>∞.

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Rough Draft

Penn State, along with most colleges in our country today, claims to be a diverse school. Diversity is viewed as a great attribute to these universities. These schools boast about diversity in their statistics and mostly their advertising. Programs such as affirmative action are put into place to ensure a diverse student population. The Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Penn State define diversity as “a climate which encourages representation of faculty, staff, and students from typically underrepresented entities, including those from racial/ethnic minority groups, various countries and cultures, both genders, persons with disabilities, and those from a mixture of religions and sexual orientations” (gradsch.psu.edu). Diversity is defined by Merriam Webster as “composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities” (Merriam-Webster). This is truly a reality in regards to the Penn State student population. Each student is distinct, and unlike the others, which brings about a truly unique and beneficial mood to the campus.

The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about diversity is racial diversity. In 2004, the University Park Campus at Penn State enrolled African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans for a total of over 5,100 minorities. There were also over 3,200 International students enrolled (budget.psu.edu). Some may argue that these statistics pale in comparison to the large number of white students. Despite this, I believe that these minorities create a large difference in the overall atmosphere of the campus. Every race benefits from the overall feeling of equality and unity. Race does, in fact, play a large part in diversity; however, diversity also includes many other issues such as those regarding politics, religion, languages, and choices in general.

Students attending Penn State have the opportunity to experience these differences in opinion throughout their time here at the university. They are exposed to Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals. They gain insight and knowledge about wide ranges of religions. They meet people from different backgrounds and learn about the lives of others throughout the country. Students hear people speak in many different languages and are able to experience the variety of cultures present. They also are able to witness the variety of choices that their fellow students make, especially regarding drugs and alcohol.

These wide influences on individual students allow them to make better decisions in their own lives. Students get to hear both sides of an argument, and witness consequences and benefits of decisions. This allows the students themselves to make more educated decisions. This is especially important in students’ political and religious thoughts. As students gain stronger and more steadfast beliefs on important issues, they gain a better view of themselves, their future, and of the world in which they live.

Penn State provides hundreds of paths for students to choose regarding their futures. Majors are offered in just about every field possible. Students are able to specialize in anything from Environmental Soil Science to Architecture. They are able to take the knowledge that they’ve gained, and the opinions that they’ve formed, and choose a major. This major reflects these opinions. As every student chooses their individual major, the school becomes diverse in another sense of the word. Students can learn trades and subjects from students involved with other majors and build on their knowledge. This combination of major selection and outside influence will eventually decide the career choices of the student.

All these different forms of diversity on the Penn State campus provide to an overall atmosphere of sharing and learning. The knowledge that we gain from others is the type of knowledge that we can use for the rest of our lives no matter what path we choose. It helps us form firm opinions on a range of issues relevant to our lives. These opinions and knowledge that we carry with us is continuously passed on to others and continues the cycle of sharing through diversity. It makes our world a better place.




Work Cited

“Merriam-Webster OnLine.” 2005. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 18 Sept 2005. <http://www.merriam-webster.com>∞.

Althouse, Richard. “Fact Book”. University Budget Office. 18 September 2005. <http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/StudentDynamic/StudentTableofContents2004.asp>∞.

“Diversity in the Graduate School.” The Graduate School. 18 September 2005. <http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/diversity/>∞.