ENGL 1302
Diversity in Ages on Campus
We live in a time where there are many opportunities for people of all ages to be able to
continue their education and obtain the tools necessary to be successful. There has been an influx
of students of all ages returning to school and continuing their education. The differences in age
range from a student aged eleven who has earned three degrees, to Bob Walters, a retired nurse
who has earned his 10th degree from Northampton Community College at the age of sixty-four.
What is not always addressed is what these students endured while obtaining these degrees to
begin with. These are only two examples of the age differences that have become prevalent on
college campuses in recent years. How to handle the influx of different ages as well as race,
gender, and sexual orientation on college campuses and promote diversity between all is the
issue that seems to be ongoing and ever changing. Diversity on college campuses for students
who are older or younger is an issue that should be addressed if diversity is to be truly embraced
and accepted.
The first argument that should be addressed is the marketing campaign aimed only at the
recruiting of younger students to attend college. According to Matthew Ciszek who wrote the
article Diversifying Diversity, “Diversity and multiculturalism in U.S. colleges and universities
has become an important goal over the past 40 years for many reasons: changing demographics,
recognition that diverse points of view and ways of thinking enrich the educational experience,
and the use of higher education to further social justice and socioeconomic equality (Ciszek).
However, there is little to show that there has been much effort by administrators to show
diversity in the area of recruitment. What does that say about the colleges that claim that they are
promoting equality when they only target millennials for their student body? What it appears to
, mean is that many universities are excluding a very lucrative group of people because of their
age. Ciszek goes on to say that change is only now beginning to take place when he says,
“academic libraries are only beginning to consider how to support and further the diversity goals
of other underrepresented groups like nontraditional-age students; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) students; and disabled students (Ciszek). Finally, there has been some
consideration of the subject of nontraditional-age students who deserve representation on the
subject as well.
Nontraditional-age students are made up of veterans, professionals, and many of them
parents trying to obtain a degree in order to support themselves and their families through the
tough economy. Not only do they have to deal with the same class workload that the younger
students face, but they also must juggle family life as well as a job in order to pay bills and
mortgages. Ciszek addresses this by saying “the age of college and university students ranged
from 18 to 24 years and students 25 years or older were considered nontraditional students. Due
to many factors, including a volatile economy and the return of many military personnel from
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nontraditional students, once forming a minority of college
students, make up more than 70 percent of those enrolling at colleges and universities in recent
years (Ciszek). If what the research shows is correct, then what that means is that more than half
of the students enrolling are older students, than why not have more attention given to these
students who are funding them? There have been attempts to try and resolve this issue on many
college campuses which is proving to be a difficult task.
An article that addressed prejudice in education written by Laurence Weinstein in
Education Digest discusses harassment on college campuses in regards to age as well as others. It
discusses a “Design for Diversity”, which addresses many of the issues regarding diversity at a
Diversity in Ages on Campus
We live in a time where there are many opportunities for people of all ages to be able to
continue their education and obtain the tools necessary to be successful. There has been an influx
of students of all ages returning to school and continuing their education. The differences in age
range from a student aged eleven who has earned three degrees, to Bob Walters, a retired nurse
who has earned his 10th degree from Northampton Community College at the age of sixty-four.
What is not always addressed is what these students endured while obtaining these degrees to
begin with. These are only two examples of the age differences that have become prevalent on
college campuses in recent years. How to handle the influx of different ages as well as race,
gender, and sexual orientation on college campuses and promote diversity between all is the
issue that seems to be ongoing and ever changing. Diversity on college campuses for students
who are older or younger is an issue that should be addressed if diversity is to be truly embraced
and accepted.
The first argument that should be addressed is the marketing campaign aimed only at the
recruiting of younger students to attend college. According to Matthew Ciszek who wrote the
article Diversifying Diversity, “Diversity and multiculturalism in U.S. colleges and universities
has become an important goal over the past 40 years for many reasons: changing demographics,
recognition that diverse points of view and ways of thinking enrich the educational experience,
and the use of higher education to further social justice and socioeconomic equality (Ciszek).
However, there is little to show that there has been much effort by administrators to show
diversity in the area of recruitment. What does that say about the colleges that claim that they are
promoting equality when they only target millennials for their student body? What it appears to
, mean is that many universities are excluding a very lucrative group of people because of their
age. Ciszek goes on to say that change is only now beginning to take place when he says,
“academic libraries are only beginning to consider how to support and further the diversity goals
of other underrepresented groups like nontraditional-age students; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) students; and disabled students (Ciszek). Finally, there has been some
consideration of the subject of nontraditional-age students who deserve representation on the
subject as well.
Nontraditional-age students are made up of veterans, professionals, and many of them
parents trying to obtain a degree in order to support themselves and their families through the
tough economy. Not only do they have to deal with the same class workload that the younger
students face, but they also must juggle family life as well as a job in order to pay bills and
mortgages. Ciszek addresses this by saying “the age of college and university students ranged
from 18 to 24 years and students 25 years or older were considered nontraditional students. Due
to many factors, including a volatile economy and the return of many military personnel from
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nontraditional students, once forming a minority of college
students, make up more than 70 percent of those enrolling at colleges and universities in recent
years (Ciszek). If what the research shows is correct, then what that means is that more than half
of the students enrolling are older students, than why not have more attention given to these
students who are funding them? There have been attempts to try and resolve this issue on many
college campuses which is proving to be a difficult task.
An article that addressed prejudice in education written by Laurence Weinstein in
Education Digest discusses harassment on college campuses in regards to age as well as others. It
discusses a “Design for Diversity”, which addresses many of the issues regarding diversity at a
