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Writing 03: Diversity, Codes of Conduct

           The past week of class has been enlightening, and not always in a positive way. It is easy for us, as students of progressive institution lauded for bringing together the best and the brightest, to assume that we are not ensnared in the same traps as the rest of American society. We are. The discussion in the past week has been filled with the same heated, bipolar rhetoric that has become a hallmark of American media. Presented with a simple fact, that computer science falls well short of diversity benchmarks, we could not have a discussion that would bring people together, but rather farther alienated members of our community. Those who felt affected by the lack of diversity shared their experiences only to be questioned at length and trivialized. Those who saw little problem with the issue were met with contempt and apparent judgment. The inability to communicate effectively and understand that dissenting opinions can lead to communal understanding and growth does nothing to heal the divide created by a lack of diversity, but rather strengthens it. Many classmates I talked to were afraid to speak in class or to have their responses read by Bui lest some in the class form opinions of them that could never be unmade.
               I do not know how to solve the diversity problem in CS, but I do know that fostering better communication is vital to discovering those solutions. Codes of Conduct are a part of this process of making communication better, but often as they are focused more on punishment and deterrence than growth and understanding. The consequences for verbally breaking a code of conduct should involve some amount of learning and understanding, so as not to further alienate the offended. Google could have taken the opportunity to educate both the offended and the company at large on the issue and how to properly communicate about it, rather than immediately firing the man. If he had continued to violate the code of conduct, then more drastic action should have been taken.
               The push towards diversity in computer science is full of growing pains. Certain over-represented demographics will eventually be properly represented, and that will not make every person happy. In the long run, however, the benefits gained by allowing for more representation across the board will more than outweigh the momentary discomfort change will bring.

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