To what end is diversity?

The mission statement of Carleton College reads as follows:

The mission of Carleton College is to provide an exceptional undergraduate liberal arts education. In pursuit of this mission, the College is devoted to academic excellence, distinguished by the creative interplay of teaching, learning, and scholarship, and dedicated to our diverse residential community and extensive international engagements.

Sounds good. Nothing too revolutionary or controversial. At first glance, I would tend to believe that the college is doing its best to pursue the goals set in the mission statement. But is it really?

I'm drawn to the penultimate line in the statement, that the college is "dedicated to our diverse residential community." There is no doubt in my mind that Carleton College is among a large percentage of schools across the country that are doing their best to attract as diverse a campus as possible (though this is not necessarily the case for all schools). These institutions have used affirmative action, legally in most cases, to increase the diversity of their campuses in order to attract students and, as a professor of mine said recently, use diversity as a "pressure for innovation." These seem like noble intentions.

Quickly glancing at the Carleton College website, one is bound to come across a statement such as "a primary mission of the academy must be to create a climate that cultivates diversity and celebrates difference." But if diversity is so important, why do I see such little diversity across the political spectrum on campus? In essence, why don't colleges seek to enhance diversity by reaching out to young conservatives?

Giving a litmus test for college applicants would neither be legal nor justified, but if diversity is the goal, I'm sure that schools like Carleton could do a better job creating a more diverse student body. Maybe these schools are doing their best to attract students with religious upbringings and/or conservative values, but there is little evidence to suggest that this is the case. It would not be a stretch to say that 90% of the student body would identify themselves as liberal. If the goal of the college is to increase and promote diversity and difference, as this states, then there should be more of an effort to reach out to conservative youths. If the goal of the college is to increase racial and/or international diversity, then it should say so.

That being said, I have to admit that I have greatly benefited from the diversity at my school. After growing up in one of the least racially diverse places in the country, I am thankful for the opportunity to meet and become very good friends with a racially diverse group of people. On top of that, being exposed to such a liberal atmosphere has helped me strengthen some of my beliefs and has given me ample access to opposing views. On the other hand, I am not thankful for being neglected the chance to meet a large number of students with a wide range of political beliefs.