There was an article in the Tucson Citizen last Friday, in the "Perspective" section, written by one of their staff writers, a Mr. Paul Allen. Now, Mr. Allen's objective in this particular article was to give one reporter's "perspective" on this "diversit y" thing. His assignment was to write a story on "human-horse" accidents; his editor figuring that the additional perspective of a Hispanic rider, more specifically a charro rider, would provide another perspective for the piece. Well, Mr. Allen, "being o f the over-50 persuasion," found the diversity concept difficult to define, but he called upon his 25 years of experience and happened upon the Tucson Citizen's "Diversity Source List." The list is a product of the newspaper's goal to "mirror the racial, cultural, religious, economic, lifestyle and ethnic makeup of Tucson in the Citizen." The list proved to be Mr. Allen's first dead end. From there, Mr. Allen chronicles his search for a charro to interview for his story, only to encounter a multitude of d ead ends, resulting in his submitting the story without another perspective. I found it interesting that one of the last things he tried was to contact an O'odham friend of his who has ridden horses for decades, although not a charro, but "knows about hum an-horse 'wrecks.'" Why didn't his 25 years of experience tell him to call his O'odham friend first? At any rate, he uses this series of mishaps and obstacles to demonstrate that diversity, for him once simply a part of reporting the news, now defined by management, is burdensome, time-consuming and may be overrated. For Mr. Allen, a perspective on human-horse accidents in the Southwest by a Hispanic proved to be illusive. I am not from Arizona (I'm from Southern California), but I found that a bit unusua l.

This brings me to my point. Diversity cannot be found by deferring to a "Diversity Source List," although I am at the same time surprised the Tucson Citizen has one and disappointed that they need one, besides the fact that a reporter with a quarter of a century of experience must refer to it. His editor had the right intent. Diverse perspectives will speak to diverse audiences. The perspective that will speak to the Hispanic community will best (note, I did not say 'only') be conveyed by someone from tha t community. I see perspective and facts as different. Mr. Allen pointed out that diversity was always part of his job description - interview whomever had the information, be they African Americans, Hopis, Russians, Apaches, Japanese, Jews, Hungarians or Mexicans, etc. However, I am sure he realizes that collecting information and relaying the facts is not the perspective of those groups, but merely his own. Truly diverse perspectives will use Mr. Allen as a conduit, speaking to their communities directl y, conveying their reality in a language and tone they understand, but at the same time introducing their world to others with the hope that we will all comprehend and appreciate the difference.

Diversity is not simply an African American or Hispanic face, but their voices, emotions and comprehension. Diversity is not simply the ethnic nameplate, but another's tangible reality; something they hear, smell and feel differently. Diversity is not pro cedure or protocol to be called upon, but is understood as essential by those who are constantly subjected to the monotoned attitude of a single indoctrinator. When your voice is ignored, drowned out, or overlooked, you become sensitized to the fact that there are many voices, each with a story, though we all are looking at the same picture. If you interview the "man on the street," it matters if he is African American, Hispanic, Native American, Japanese, Jewish or white. No one man on the street can spe ak for, or to, all of us. Therefore, diversity helps us understand the world around us, something we all so desperately want. Think about it - the more we embrace diverse views, the less we need "Diversity Source Lists."

This is not a critique of Mr. Allen, nor his article. It occurred to me that his journey into diversity was forced (a disappointing observation) and misguided (not very surprising, considering his difficulty in understanding the concept at the outset). It is commendable that he had an editor who would consider another perspective and that Mr. Allen tried to gain that perspective. But if his objective in writing the article was to say that diversity is overrated, then it is clear he missed the point. Diver sity is not something to appease the powers that be, but must be incorporated as a way of doing business. Done in this manner, it will be evident that a diverse viewpoint is absent and the monotoned indoctrinator is assaulting the masses. I think Mr. Alle n is still tone-deaf because in his quest for diversity, he still left out the Hispanic perspective from the article he submitted

David H. Benton is a second year law student and President of the Black Law Students Association