The glossy new website has been one of the more evident changes made over the summer and has garnered both negative and positive attention from members of the Guilford community. However, the most talked-about issue has to do with the issue of diversity.

The new website features a select group of students that may have made Guilford seem more diverse than it truly is.

According to CollegeStats.org, about 70 percent of the student body is Caucasian, about 20 percent African-American, and the rest is (Asians, Latinos, etc.) about 10 percent.

However, the people featured on the website are so predominantly ethnic as to make it seem like the percentages of the minority races are higher than they really are. For instance, Mahlet Abera ‘08, an Ethiopian, has been prominently featured on the website, which makes the prospective student glancing at the website believe that there is a significant number of students from African countries that attend Guilford.

While it is true that there are students from those countries that make up our student body, they are not the main representing group.

We should be proud that such a large number of countries in Africa and Asia (particularly China) are represented in Guilford’s student body, which is not the only draw to Guilford. There are also many students of varied religions, sexual orientations, social classes, and races that attend Guilford.

And above all, we have to be aware that diversity represented to attract prospective students and diversity actually represented on campus is completely different.

The issue with colleges and diversity is prominent around the nation. Many colleges and universities, particularly at bigger, wealthier universities, fare worse with diversity than Guilford does. Many minorities in America, particularly those of immigrant families, may not be able to afford to attend many of those universities.

So, it is a problem for both the universities, who are not able to attract a more diverse group of prospective students, and the minority students who just want to be educated both academically and socially.

Guilford, being a small, unique school founded on Quaker values, is luckier due to its reputation as being a college that values the importance of diversity. It is one of its core values, after all.

The Guilford College website states, “We are committed to creating a community that acts with honesty and forthrightness, holding ourselves to high academic and ethical standards, and dealing with everyone with respect.”

Perhaps the choice of students to feature on the website is a way to convince prospective students, particularly those from other cultures, that anyone can succeed at Guilford no matter where they come from. However, this kind of marketing for prospective students may not be so forthright.