On Friday morning, a gunman opened fire on an immigration center in Binghamton, N.Y., killing 13 innocent people. Similarly, ever since the anti-immigration rally sponsored by the Youth for Western Civilization, the Hustler Opinion section has been turned into a battleground of inflamed passions. This debate must be resolved because it strikes at the heart of who we are as a university, and it must be resolved in favor of diversity and tolerance.

More than anything else, Vanderbilt is a place for the open exchange of ideas. We are here to listen and learn from everyone, no matter his or her gender, color, sexual preferences or creed. To hone the most nuanced ideas requires reaching out to the whole world and pursuing all areas of knowledge, including but not limited to “classical learning.”

In contrast, YWC wants to shut down “trendy multiculturalism” that has “taken over” college campuses. What they fail to realize is that their platform of “restoring … classical learning” across college campuses would be exactly that — a trend. Furthermore, the idea is insulting to professors and students of the “wrong” disciplines, let alone those of the “wrong” national origins.

America’s “traditional values” and “multiculturalism” are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they depend on one another. By celebrating diversity we are really celebrating the founding principles of our nation.

It makes absolutely no difference to me whether my neighbors set off fireworks on the Fourth of July or root for Puerto Rico’s football team or practice Wiccan rituals in their spare time. What really matters to me is that in America we have the freedom to celebrate any day of the year any way we wish.

America is viable as a nation precisely because it is open to change; it evolves over time in response to the changing conditions of the world. It is not rooted in 1776 or 1860 or any other year. The 1960s were different from the 2000s, and the 2040s will be different from today. If we failed to adapt we would certainly cease to be the most powerful nation on earth.

Diversity brings strength. “Diversify your portfolio” is the first rule for investing in stocks. The same rule applies to societies; dividing tasks up allows for specialization depending on people’s talents. Our trades and our philosophies are intertwined; engineering sees the world in a different way than humanities, and economics views the world differently than sociology.

Assuming Westerners and Easterners share the same basic, universal human values — tolerance, respect, openness to ideas — they have much to learn from each other.
Immigrants come to America seeking a better life, not because they want to undermine our country. They bring with them what they can: their hopes, a few possessions and their traditions. Of course they want to learn English, but many work extremely long hours, and there are not always enough ESL teachers to go around.

Immigrants deserve the right to hold onto their traditions without being criticized or judged by those in the “majority culture.” If you moved to China, wouldn’t you still speak English at home and hold onto your belief in democracy? Would it feel fair if the Chinese asked you to conform to every aspect of their society’s “superior” culture?

Indeed, who is to say that “Western civilization” is superior? It has dominated over the past few centuries for a number of complicated reasons outside the scope of this column. But today, developing countries such as China and India are expanding their economies even as the rest of the world is contracting. In case you haven’t noticed, international students tend to have a stronger work ethic than those of us who take college for granted.

Vanderbilt is on right path and doing just fine, thank you. Our professors are incredible and each incoming class is more selective and qualified than the last. Tom Tancredo, instead of trying to change Vanderbilt, take some of those pork-barrel dollars and try founding your own university based on your idea of “Western values.” If the education at said college is truly superior, then you will attract the best and the brightest teachers and students away from our backward, closed-minded institution and ensure your everlasting fame.

But in all seriousness, let’s stop screaming at each other and let our values speak for themselves.

—Jesse Jones is a freshman in the College of Arts and Science. He can be reached at jesse.g.jones@vanderbilt.edu.