How many does it take to be "diverse"?

[Wilson Gray]

Damn! Ain't dat a bitch?! "Hear! Hear! There! There!," as the Firesign
Theater once phrased it.

-Wilson

On Feb 18, 2008 6:53 PM, Benjamin Lukoff <blukoff at alvord.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Lukoff <blukoff at ALVORD.COM>
> Subject:      Re: How many does it take to be "diverse"?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Amusing: "diverse" now basically means "colored," then.
>
>
> On Mon, 18 Feb 2008, James Harbeck wrote:
>
> > I would expect that there are several here who have, as I have, seen
> > individual students referred to as "diverse" because they are from
> > some notable minority background. If these students add diversity,
> > they must be diverse students, and so each one of them must be
> > diverse, right?
> >
> > Here are some hits for "a diverse student" where "student" is the
> > head of the NP:
> >
> > http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/answers2/frontend.php/question?qid=20071221092702AABhD7O
> > "There are schools out there that will give you good money as a
> > diverse student"
> > "Me--diverse student, 156 LSAT, full ride at a top 25 law school"
> > (there are other commenters on the same page who put "diverse" in quotes)
> >
> > http://www.thesca.org/pdfs/diversity_faq.pdf
> > "General Diversity Internships (Fellowships): 12 week, 6 month, 9
> > month, and year-long positions with traditional SCA sites that have
> > indicated interest in hosting a diverse student."
> >
> > http://www.studyoverseas.com/america/usuni/central_methodist.htm
> > "An environment is fostered in which a diverse student can develop
> > intellectually, socially, and spiritually."
> > (in this instance, it's not clear that they are referring to students
> > from minority backgrounds -- actually, it's not entirely clear what
> > they mean; it's as though they just left out the word "body" by
> > accident or hasty edit)
> >
> > http://www.thefirsttee.org/club/scripts/library/view_document.asp?S=NAV&DID=51060&GRP=0&NS=TFTSP
> > "The First Tee will utilize its current selection process and
> > criteria to administer the William 'Bill' Dickey Scholarship to a
> > diverse student located in any city within the United States."
> > (earlier in the same paragraph the eligible student is referred to as
> > "a minority student")
> >
> > http://www.localtechwire.com/news/local/story/146936/
> > "Senior Meredith Britt of Hobbton High School is quite a diverse
> > student-athlete."
> > (in this case, she's a standard-issue white girl with diverse interests)
> >
> > James Harbeck.
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                              -Sam'l Clemens

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org