I received an email on Oct. 19 that outlined a plan which aims to have 20 percent of students enrolled at UW-Eau Claire be students of color.

At first I was a bit confused as to how the university would do this, and was quite worried they would bypass the hard work of some potential students to fill this quota.

After talking with Chancellor James C. Schmidt, however, I realized this is bigger than just our campus.

“Nearly every institution of higher education in the country has some initiative dealing with diversity on campus,” Schmidt said.

This quote from him shocked me a bit. I grew up in a country setting where there was little to no diversity, so I haven’t really seen many people of color.

In just two months of living in Eau Claire, I’ve met a wide range of students from different backgrounds and though we all have separate upbringings, we’ve become like family.

To me, this is diversity that works. Each person draws a positive quality from someone else, and vice versa.

As mentioned before, many campuses across the nation have already realized the potential for diversified learning. Eau Claire has now added to that list, adopting an initiative which hopes to achieve this idea campus-wide.

The recommendation for the initiative actually came from an enrollment task force that met last January. The plan still isn’t fully completed, but Schmidt said he hopes to have a hard copy by the end of this calendar year.

This plan is not only looking to increase the percentage of students of color enrolled from ten to twenty percent, but will also aim to close the opportunity gap.

If you’re anything like me, the opportunity gap is an unfamiliar phrase. Schmidt described it to me as the gap between students of color and their ability to be involved in activities associated with the university.

After obtaining all of this information, I was still worried about a couple things.

Would race supercede qualifications of a student?

Is the percentage goal more important than making sure the university admits students who are going to work hard regardless of their skin color?

Schmidt said it is, “…immoral, unethical to admit students who cannot succeed.”

He also said, “if we do not meet this goal, we have failed as a public university.”

I love the idea of this goal and I hope it’s a success, but I don’t want to see Eau Claire make demographics their primary concern when admitting students.

There’s something great about our university already; an unspoken togetherness that lets everyone know they belong.

This togetherness is what’s really important. Even if the plan becomes successful and 20 percent of our student body is of color and the opportunity gap is closed, it won’t matter unless we show respect for eachother.

This change in our university can’t start in administration, it has to start with us as students and friends.

Everyone here is powerful in their own way and each student is constantly refining their skills in a different subject.

Part of the way we will achieve this is by making Eau Claire a place where everyone is welcomed and opportunities are abound. We must show tolerance for every culture and group of people, for great minds are everywhere.

Most importantly, it is imperative we respect ourselves. Without a sense of self-worth, one can never appreciate the value of another person.

I still don’t know if this plan will be a success. What I do know, however, is that Schmidt genuinely cares about the students here and is looking to make this university a better place everyday.

That makes me happy because even though I left my old country home behind, I’ve found a new one here in Eau Claire and it’s filled with the greatest people I’ve ever met.