Project #2

To view a white paper detailing the gender and cultural diversity within the Notre Dame CSE Department, please click on this Google Drive link.

Reflection Question #1:

Frankly, very little about the demographics data is surprising to me. Notre Dame is predominantly white, so it would logically follow that the overwhelming majority of CSE students are white, as well. Additionally, the poor gender diversity within the tech industry is something the class has well documented. It makes sense that academia has a higher percentage of female students as academia is what is most likely to generate positive changes in diversity in industry.

What interested me most was the remarkable growth in the overall number of students in each successive graduating class. My brother, a sophomore CS major, is part of the biggest class in Department history. As an electrical engineering student, I've seen firsthand the flip-side of this trend: the EE Class of 2018 is one of the very smallest in the EE Department's history. Popular culture reveres technology and tech companies. My brother will freely admit that shows like Silicon Valley and movies like The Social Network directly influenced him to study computer science. It seems very plausible that he's not the only one of 126 CSE sophomores to have been inspired in this way. I'll be watching with a keen eye to see if the number of CSE students continues to swell in subsequent years as computers and their power become ever more ingrained in everyday American culture.

Reflection Question #2:

The heated discussion during class on 2/18 about whistleblowing and the image of the U.S. military was direct proof that increased diversity would be a great development for the CSE Department. On one hand, the mostly white, male ROTC members held the view that opacity and independence for the military are critically important. Most of the opposing views were given by either women or non-white students who had different, often more worldly perspectives. This discussion was possible only because of the diversity which already exists within the CSE student population. I can only imagine how much more invigorating the discussion would have been if there was more cultural and gender diversity, and consequent diversity of opinion, in the room.

Essentially, diversity ensures vivacity. Whether within a classroom, a sports team, or a multinational corporation, diversity enables wider perspective, greater wisdom, and better decision-making. However, acquisition of diversity isn't always easy. Contrived, "hokey" diversity initiatives are more likely to hurt people than to help them. Companies and universities must make genuine, compassionate efforts to increase diversity, rather than just try to drive their percentages higher without any regard for what those percentages actually mean. True success can only come when there is true diversity.