Reader Response From James Rudolph ’60

The article “Diversity: Two Approaches” describes an insightful study by Harvard professor Natasha Warikoo ’95 that compares the approaches of Harvard and Brown to college diversity  (Beyond the Gates, January/February).

Simply stated, Harvard’s diversity policy is directed toward racial “integration.” In contrast, Brown’s approach emphasizes the “empowerment of students of color,” which appears to go beyond the liberal notion of pluralism. To illustrate the Brown approach, University Hall recently announced plans to expand diversity in the Master of Fine Arts drama program, which will reduce the size of the program by a third and will eliminate all tuition/costs. The plan is designed to focus the program’s attention on minority and disadvantaged students. One has to ask: at what point in graduate teaching at Brown does the drive for diversity override the cynosure of scholarship? 

While Brown’s diversity approach is obviously well-intentioned, it seems to me there is a troublesome downside to the aggressive approach, which in my view runs parallel to  identity politics in America and fosters extremism and polarization. 

Editor’s Note: Theatre Arts and Performance Studies department chair Patricia Ybarra says the MFA program will now admit 12 new students each year instead of 16, a 25 percent reduction. Previously, students were selected in part based on ability to pay. Now, the program can select the strongest candidates, without regard to ability to pay.