2008 Woodie Awards
Rekindling the Diversity Debate
How Much Diversity Does the Mines Campus Really Have?
By Zach Aman
4/11/07 - Features
"I lied - I lied to save my job and that's not the kind of person I want to be," said Professor John Smith of the Colorado School of Mines (an alias has been used to protect the identity of the individual).
Smith is a homosexual professor at Mines who fears for his job should any students find out about his lifestyle. "I'm selling out my integrity," Smith said. "I don't want to sell my students short - and I think I'm doing that. I think the vast majority wouldn't care, but it's that tiny minority; a parent would call President Scoggins and that would be it. There's no clause that says I can't be fired for that."
"I've been out everywhere else I worked, because I didn't care about my job as much," Smith said. The past two decades have seen the emergence of a new doctrine - don't ask, don't tell - when working with alternative lifestyle individuals. Smith feels that personal and professional politics cannot be separated as easily. "Coming out is very important. It's saying it - it's making it real. I think people are fine, as long as it's not real. I wouldn't be any different from who I am right now - not one bit, except I wouldn't have to lie."
Smith continued; "It seems so simple for heterosexual people, because the operating assumption is that everybody's straight - it's statistically true. There's always a tacit lie - you let go and you don't correct somebody. It's struggling with self-preservation as you struggle with honesty. College is not just about books, it's about new experiences and new people and learning how to operate in a world of difference. We do have some international students, but that's about it in terms of diversity."
Diversity at Mines has been a central focus of the newly-hired Dr. Scoggins, President of the institution. "My hope and expectation is that Mines embraces diversity, recognizing the value of differing viewpoints and experiences. All members of our campus community should truly feel they are an integral and wholly accepted part of this community," Scoggins said.
Smith is a homosexual professor at Mines who fears for his job should any students find out about his lifestyle. "I'm selling out my integrity," Smith said. "I don't want to sell my students short - and I think I'm doing that. I think the vast majority wouldn't care, but it's that tiny minority; a parent would call President Scoggins and that would be it. There's no clause that says I can't be fired for that."
"I've been out everywhere else I worked, because I didn't care about my job as much," Smith said. The past two decades have seen the emergence of a new doctrine - don't ask, don't tell - when working with alternative lifestyle individuals. Smith feels that personal and professional politics cannot be separated as easily. "Coming out is very important. It's saying it - it's making it real. I think people are fine, as long as it's not real. I wouldn't be any different from who I am right now - not one bit, except I wouldn't have to lie."
Smith continued; "It seems so simple for heterosexual people, because the operating assumption is that everybody's straight - it's statistically true. There's always a tacit lie - you let go and you don't correct somebody. It's struggling with self-preservation as you struggle with honesty. College is not just about books, it's about new experiences and new people and learning how to operate in a world of difference. We do have some international students, but that's about it in terms of diversity."
Diversity at Mines has been a central focus of the newly-hired Dr. Scoggins, President of the institution. "My hope and expectation is that Mines embraces diversity, recognizing the value of differing viewpoints and experiences. All members of our campus community should truly feel they are an integral and wholly accepted part of this community," Scoggins said.
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