The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 44, No. 3, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 13, 2019 Page: 4 of 8

                                
C ommentary
The University News
February 13, 2019
4
Diversity and exclusion at UD
Core Decorum:
school studies
4 to
NYT columnist dubs UD
least decadent university
55
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*7?
Valeria Reyna
Staff Writer
Kaity Chaikowsky
Contributing Writer
-J
said, “You don’t look like
a UD student.”
I do not care wheth-
er their comments were
innocent or malicious.
This brief remark gives
the impression that
some UD students have
a particular idea of what
characterizes their com-
munity, and that appar-
ently I do not meet that
standard.
Still, I understand
that, psychologically
speaking, humans con-
struct in-groups, groups
that you are part of, and
out-groups, everyone
else not in your group.
I also understand that
people naturally try to
find differences to further
separate the groups.
However, I do not
accept being excluded
from people who should
know better, and I ask
that when psychology
may work against us, we
Photo by Francesca Norman
Brian Le, member of the ASA, performed the lion dance at
Lunar New Year TGIT.
Photo by Samuel Curran
Ross Douthat chats with UD affiliates during meet and greet in
the Ratskellar.
original ideas.
Douthat ended on
what he called an op-
timistic note. Since the
age of technology has
created virtual realities,
people are too compla-
cent with twitter wars
and internet porn to cre-
ate chaos in the streets.
This means we could
maintain our decadent
culture for maybe hun-
dreds of years, Douthat
said.
However, Douthat
offered hope for a cul-
tural revival in the future
like Harvard, where they
will later join other con-
densed elite groups. This
leaves populus parties
struggling, because they
aren’t able to execute
their agenda and really
don’t even know what
their agenda is.
As an example, he
pointed to the Brexit
movement’s members
who were forced to turn
to a leader who didn’t
even support their move-
ment.
He discussed how
declining birth rates
mean the population is
getting older. Aging so-
cieties don’t like to take
risks, which causes a lit-
eral drag on economic
growth.
He discussed how
the Christian debates of
1972 are hardly different
from the Christian de-
bates of today, pointing
to a religious intellectual
stalemate. He pointed
out that “Star Wars,” a
genius movie of its time,
is still the movie franchise
in theaters today. We are
stuck making remakes
instead of thinking of
let reason prevail.
In The University News
on Apr. 18, 2018, I de-
scribed an example of
racism where a father of
a potential UD student
questioned my intelli-
gence and hard work.
For no good reason, he
could not fathom the
idea of me deserving
a scholarship. I take it
that he also had an idea
of what an “indepen-
dent thinker” supposedly
looks like, and again, I
did not meet that stan-
dard.
Often, I have heard
someone at UD say
something like, “We are
not racially diverse, but
we are diverse in ideas,
and that is what really
matters.”
Often, I convinced
myself this was a valid
claim, but no longer am
I convinced.
Does all of the UD
IT
Lb
J
of him in a room full of
Dallas conservatives in
black-tie dress.
Douthat’s talk was
titled, “Stagnation or
Rebirth? America and
the West in a Decadent
Age.” Douthat suggested
this talk is only a rough
draft, since it is based on
an idea for a book he has
not yet written.
He outlined the ways
in which the western
world, and specifical-
ly the United States, is
showing signs of deca-
dence in technology, poli-
tics and culture.
He compared the
technological advance-
ments of today to those
of the 1960s — spe-
cifically, the space race
and moon landing. He
pointed out the stagnat-
ing effect special interest
groups have on govern-
ment, specifically the
legislative branch that
hardly legislates any-
more.
He discussed how
elite colleges are tak-
ing the elite out of their
hometowns and con-
densing them in places
community truly value
intellectual diversity? In
addition to some eth-
nic minorities being ex-
cluded by some in the
UD community, people
who are not Catholic un-
dergo similar treatment.
It seems like the lack of
diversity on campus has
limited the worldview of
some students at UD.
I am not demanding
that the school prioritize
minorities, nor am I ask-
ing the school to facilitate
their entry.
I am asking the com-
munity to think critically
about their view of the
world and to think about
how their minds would
benefit by stepping out
of any constructed bub-
bles to get a bigger pic-
ture of the world.
In the end, I am con-
tent with meeting my
own standard. I am a
UD student.
sity, we pride ourselves
on the quality of the
education which we so
diligently embrace. We
adhere to Aristotle’s
principle that the wise
man is he who seeks
knowledge for its own
sake.
This is one reason
why the recurring ques-
tion, “What career can
you pursue with that
degree?” is perpetually
frustrating.
However, we are
also students at a Cath-
olic university. Though
not all of us are Catho-
lic, or even Christian,
we attend this school
because we share a be-
lief that our various
faiths enrich the educa-
tion that we receive.
On this campus, we
have access to the sacra-
ments and to commu-
nity with priests, pro-
fessors and our peers.
In short, we are blessed
with an environment
that stimulates our intel-
lects and our souls. Our
task is to decide what to
make of all these gifts.
The French phi-
losopher Simone Weil
discusses how to best
combine the elements
of faith and study in her
essay, “Reflections on
the Right Use of School
Studies with a View to
the Love of God.”
She immediately fo-
cuses on the fact that, as
believers, our ultimate
purpose in life is com-
munion with Christ.
As students, we are in
the unique position of
being able to pursue this
goal in our daily lives
through study.
Study is important,
Weil says, because it de-
velops our faculty of at-
tention better than any
other discipline. This
attention is crucial to
our life of prayer, for a
large portion of prayer
consists of focusing our
attention on God.
Unlike Aristotle,
Weil claims that de-
veloping the faculty of
attention is the primary
purpose of study. If we
can devote our whole
attention to any given
task, we will have a
greater ability to give
our thoughts complete-
ly over to God in prayer.
Often we struggle
with giving our com-
plete attention to a
single task, as the dis-
tractions surrounding
us are numerous.
It can be frustrat-
ing to attempt a task
and achieve little result;
nevertheless, the act of
attending to one thing
for an extended amount
of time, even without
obtaining a full under-
standing of it, is of itself
beneficial:
“Never in any case
whatever is a genuine
"W" have returned to
the Irving cam-
pus after a semes-
-A- ter abroad with
fresh eyes, and I have
noticed a visible change
on campus since last
spring; there are more
students from minor-
ity groups attending the
University of Dallas
now than in the 2017-
2018 school year.
This observation
is not based on racial
and ethnic demograph-
ics available on the UD
website, because there
are few. Instead, my ob-
servation is based on
the growing number of
people I hear speaking
foreign languages, as well
as the growing number
of people of color I see.
For me, this observed
increase in diversity
sparks joy. If accurate,
my observation suggests
that I will finally be a
UD student, despite this
being my second year
at UD.
To clarify, I am as-
serting that I will be a
UD student in the eyes of
my peers. As an Ameri-
can of Mexican descent,
the lack of diversity on
campus has set me apart
in various ways.
Before the 2018 fall
semester began, I was
wandering through the
DFW airport with a
group of UD students.
One of them, who I was
unfamiliar with, looked
at me and asked, “Are
you a UD student?” I
said, “Yes.” This person
effort of the attention
wasted. It always has
its effect on the spiri-
tual plane and in con-
sequence on the lower
one of the intelligence,
for all spiritual light
lightens the mind.”
This does not mean
that we ought to be
satisfied with failure as
long as the effort was
made; for the attention
is only fully engaged
when the desire for
success, and ultimately,
truth, is present in the
effort.
Another element
of proper attention to
study is the ability to
re-examine tasks in
which we have failed.
This can be challeng-
ing, for it takes humility
to consider our weak-
nesses without the bias
of pride.
This examination
is necessary, however,
for the simple reason
that we cannot progress
forward in our studies
until we are willing to
reflect on our failures
and learn from them.
More importantly, pos-
sessing this capacity for
self-reflection will aid
us in our spiritual lives.
We cannot grow in ho-
liness until we honestly
confront our mediocrity
and our sins.
Aristotle asserts in
his “Nicomachean Eth-
ics” the prerequisite
of habit for achieving
virtue. If we habitu-
ate ourselves to certain
practices, eventually
these habits come so
naturally to us that we
begin to take delight in
performing them.
Similarly, if we can
habituate ourselves to
devoting complete at-
tention to our studies,
we can learn to take
great pleasure from
them, as Weil states:
“The intelligence
can only be led by de-
sire. For there to be
desire, there must be
pleasure and joy in the
work. The intelligence
only grows and bears
fruit in joy.”
This habit also
translates into prayer.
Giving our attention
fully to God, without fo-
cusing on the required
effort itself, will enrich
our relationship with
Him.
While we are still
young, while our intel-
lects are developing and
our habits are being
formed, let us try to
form the habit of at-
tention. In this way, we
can give glory to God
through our daily study
and in our prayer.
God’s love is, by
nature, attentive. By
developing this habit
of attention, we aban-
don pride and open
ourselves up to this love
so that we, in turn, may
be able to pour out this
love to others and to be
better equipped to seek
the truth in our studies.
o n s e rva-
tive au-
thor and
c o 1 u m -
nist for The New
York Times Ross Douthat
visited the University of
Dallas for his third time
in four years this Thurs-
day for a casual meet
and greet with students
in the Rathskeller be-
fore speaking at a dinner
hosted by the American
Public Philosophy Insti-
tute (APPI) at the Dallas
Country Club.
It was easy to spot
the columnist as I walked
into the Rat a few mo-
ments after the meet and
greet had begun, not be-
cause he stood out — his
tan jacket over a tieless
blue button-down made
him indistinguishable
from any philosophy pro-
fessor — but because he
was the only unfamiliar
face in the small group of
politics majors, journal-
ism students and politics
professor Dr. Christo-
pher Wolfe, president of
the APPI.
I sat down and found
myself in the middle of
a conversation about
whether “Jaws” or
“Schindler’s List” was
a better movie. At a lull
in the conversation, I
mentioned I had written
an article last semester
about an article Douthat
had published in The New
York Times.
“Oh no,” Douthat
quickly responded.
“Which one?”
Douthat explained
that he publishes articles
twice a week. He never
knows which article is
going to be the contro-
s students
at a lib-
eral arts
u nive r-
versial one.
“[Without fail],
every 72 hours a twit-
ter hailstorm ensues,”
Douthat said.
Ross seemed com-
fortable at the univer-
sity, an observation that
was confirmed by his
statement that, “[The]
University of Dallas is
the least decadent uni-
versity.”
Douthat did have
a few critiques of our
Gore, though.
Movies, for example,
should be a part of UD’s
Core, he said, because
they were the primary
art form for a long time.
“Novels and films
have been the most re-
cent forms, but film last-
ed longer than novels,”
he said.
It was then decided
that “Jaws” should be
added to the Gore, as it is
the “perfect movie.”
At the APPI dinner,
it was once again easy to
find the columnist, not
because he fit in, but be-
cause his tan jacket and
tieless button-down gave
away the journalist inside
through Christianity. He
pointed out that religion
is often the point of re-
vival in a society and
imagined us in a similar
moment.
The Bible told us to
fill the earth and subdue
it, and we certainly have
done that.
“I’m not saying
aliens are going to de-
scend if Christ is coming
back, but if something
crazy happens in 100
years, in hindsight, we
should have seen it com-
ing,” Douthat said.