Reader Responses to Diversity of Perspectives

As a Brown alumnus and former donor, I feel compelled to respond to Guterl. I was accepted to Brown in 1989 not because I was an immigrant, or because I was a Russian speaker from the former USSR—a highly unusual background at the time—but because I earned it. I had a strong high school record, competitive SAT and ACT scores, and meaningful prior work experience. Brown admitted me based on merit. That fact shaped my deep respect for the institution and its values of excellence, fairness, and intellectual rigor. For years, I proudly gave back to Brown, believing my contributions helped other deserving students gain access to the same life-changing education. But recent communications from the University, emails and videos that focus overwhelmingly on identity categories, have led me to reconsider. It has become unclear whether donations are still directed toward enabling the most capable and hard-working students to attend, regardless of background. I believe admissions and advancement at Brown should remain rooted in merit—not demographics. When identity becomes the primary lens, we risk undermining the very values that make Brown a place of real learning and growth. 

The June-August BAM had an emphasis on diversity and highlighted leftist ideologies and personalities associated with Brown. Brown has a reputation for having a vast majority of faculty and students holding left of center political beliefs. I hope Matthew Guterl, in his mission to promote diversity, is able to shift the campus to having close to the national 50/50 split of political perspectives among the faculty and students. That would greatly improve intellectual diversity, expose students to different beliefs, encourage creative discourse, and improve critical thinking skills.

Matthew Guterl’s piece on his role as the University’s vice president for diversity and inclusion is a step in the right direction. But so far I have been waiting in vain for an issue devoted to how Brown is handling the existential threat to it (and the other Ivy League universities) from the current presidential administration. I cannot be alone among alumni alarmed and wondering just what is going on in the aisles of University Hall on this subject.