如何在大学申请中回答“多样性”文书题目？

差不多一年前，北京时间2023年6月30日凌晨，美国最高法院否决了北卡罗来纳大学和哈佛大学的Affirmative Action（平权法案），结束了美国大学招生过程中对种族的系统性考虑。

法院的裁决对那些选择性最高的的大学来说是一个重大打击，包括耶鲁大学、布朗大学、哥伦比亚大学、宾夕法尼亚大学、芝加哥大学和达特茅斯学院等数十所制定了考虑种族因素的招生政策的院校。

这些大学表示，考虑种族因素对于确保拥有多元化的学生群体至关重要。他们预测，针对大学的裁决将导致少数族裔学生的入学人数大幅下降，诸如非裔与西班牙裔等学生的入学率将会有大幅下降。

这在现实中已有先例——此前，美国加利福尼亚州是禁止在大学招生中考虑族裔因素最大的州，另有其他9个州也在不同时期对族裔问题采取过禁令。相关研究与报道显示，该政策实施后，非裔和西班牙裔学生在加州的入学率下降了约30%~40%。

这些大学要求招生人员尝试新的种族中立计划以抵消这种影响。应对这种变化，很多学校今年在文书题目上做出了调整，给出一些新的文书题目来变相地了解学生的种族背景。

这类题目往年也有，都涉及学校群体多样性，所以我们称之为diversity/多样性文书。例如：

1 (Optional) Duke University seeks a talented, engaged student body that embodies the wide range of human experience; we believe that the diversity of our students makes our community stronger. If you’d like to share a perspective you bring or experiences you’ve had to help us understand you better-perhaps related to a community you belong to, your sexual orientation or gender identity, or your family or cultural background-we encourage you to do so. Real people are reading your application, and we want to do our best to understand and appreciate the real people applying to Duke. (250 word limit)

杜克大学寻求才华横溢、积极投入的学生群体，他们体现了广泛的人类经验；我们相信学生的多样性使我们的学校群体更加强大。如果您想分享您的观点或经历，以帮助我们更好地了解您 - 可与您所属的社区、您的性取向或性别认同，或者您的家庭或文化背景有关 - 我们鼓励您这么做。我们人审申请资料，同时也希望尽可能地去了解申请杜克大学的真真实实的人。

2 The process of discovery best advances when people from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity of Caltech's community? (Your response should range between 250-400 words.)

当背景、经验和观点各异的人聚集在一起时，发明创造的过程最能得以推进。您认为自己如何能为加州理工学院社区的多样性做出贡献？-加州理工大学

3 The quality of Rice's academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and traditions each student brings. What perspective do you feel that you will contribute to life at Rice? -Rice University

莱斯大学的学术生活质量和寄宿制学院系统深受每位学生的独特生活经历及其传统的影响。您认为您将为莱斯大学的生活带来哪些独特观点？

4 The late Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Notre Dame's president from 1953 to 1987, served as a trusted adviser to U.S. presidents and popes. A champion for human rights, Fr. Hesburgh was one of the architects of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Reflect on the current state of civil rights, the progress that has been made, or the problems still being faced today. -University of Notre Dame

在1953年至1987年担任圣母大学校长的已故神父西奥多·M·海斯伯格会士，为多位总统和教皇的顾问。作为人权的倡导者，海斯伯格神父是1964年《民权法案》（Civil Rights Act）的制定者之一，该法案禁止基于种族、肤色、宗教、性别或国籍的歧视。请您思考：当前民权的状态，已经取得的进展，或者今天仍然面临的问题。-圣母大学

5 Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. -CA通用申请

对一些学生来说，他们的背景、身份、兴趣或才能很重要以至于他们认为如果申请中不提及的话将是不完整的。如果这符合你的情况，请分享你的故事。

什么是Diversity/多样性?

Diversity/多样性包括但不限于：种族、阶层、性取向、独特的观点态度。不同的个体汇成了整体的多样性。可以从多个方面放开思路去寻找你的特别之处，比如社群、身份、观点等等。

需要注意的是，这是找到属于你的特性标签，不需要担心是否别人也有这个特性，这里追求的不是“唯一性”。

那么，如何在大学申请中回答“多样性”文书题目呢？下边分享国外专家给的一些建议，供同学们参考。

Community/社群

1 首先，确定社群

罗列出你所属的所有“社群”。“社群”可以用地点、行为、兴趣、境况等界定。

（1）地点：一群在某地点一起生活、工作、娱乐的人们。拿一个美国学生Jerry为例：洛杉矶LA（我现在居住地）、第三文化小孩（我成长于在拉美和美国两地）。

（2）行为：一群人共同协作去创造某物、做某事、解决某问题，由此给世界带来改变，包括“Black Lives Matter /BLM黑人的命也是命”运动、Girls Who Code 编程女孩计划、为我们的生命游行(March For Our Lives)等运动。拿一个美国学生Jerry为例：没有围栏的零工剧院（在一整年里，我组织了一个戏剧团体帮助移民群体的工人权益）、Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today (ACCEPT，一个专业协助申请的组织，我在里边工作帮助高中生申请大学）

（3）兴趣：因共同的兴趣、经验或专长而聚在一起的人群。拿一个美国学生Jerry为例：爱书人（我从小就爱阅读）、篮球（我在高中时期打篮球）、戏剧（高中时候是戏剧痴，我跑到大学学习戏剧）、爱听爵士乐、旅行（“游遍各大洲”是列在我的人生清单上）

（4）境况：因机缘或外部事件而聚到一起的人群。拿一个美国学生Jerry为例：男性身份、祖先来自欧洲、56路公交车的常客（高中时期坐这班车，期间认识了一些很酷的人）

2 确定了你所属的社群之后，开始构思文章内容。

在那个社群里你做了什么？（用主动动词比如“组织”“管理”来明确表达你在该群体内的职责。）

你解决了哪类问题，是个人的、地区的、或者全球的？

你产生了什么具体影响？

你学到了什么技能、特质或价值观？

你如何在社群内外运用你所学到的经验？

Identity/身份

在回答字数要求较少的文书题目时，将注意力集中在一个身份上，比如：内向型人格、作为LGBTQ+身份出柜，或是具有天生的“妈妈气质”。对于字数要求较多的题目，可以描述各种不同的身份，比如，在现实生活中兼具多重身份：家里的兄弟姐妹、学校实验室里的研究员、橄榄球队的队长；也可以是在社交媒体个人资料中命名的多重身份：“愤怒的棕色女孩，女权主义者，歌手，迷因爱好者”。只需注意，在不同身份描写间要有清晰有效的过渡。

Perspective/观点视角

关于视角：思考塑造了你的那些不寻常的经历。例如，你的价值观是否与家人的价值观有复杂的冲突？你是否被以不寻常的方式养大？你是否曾努力促成他人之间的理解与接纳？是什么塑造了你看待世界及你在其中扮演的角色？请注意，选择perspective这个角度可能会写出很棒的文章，但通常也更具挑战性，因为“视角”比“身份”或“社区”更为抽象。

根据问题的要求（以及字数限制），考虑在Diverity文章结尾添加一些“为什么选择我们学校？”的内容。你将以何种方式为校园多样性做出贡献？大学里是否有团体或组织可以让你延续以前在高中做过的事情？如果没有的话，那你是否想要创办一个组织？在文中展示你打算如何深度参与学校社群。

最后，看两篇范文：

例文-1 （社群-2行为）

When I joined the Huntsville Youth Commission, a group of students chosen to represent youth interests within local government, I met Jack. Jack told me his cousin’s body had been stuffed into the trunk of a car after he was killed by a gang. After that, my notion of normal would never be the same.

A melting pot of ideologies, skins, socio-economic classes, faiths, and educations, the HYC is a unique collaborative enterprise. Each member adds to our community’s network of stories, that weave, bump, and diverge in unexpected ways. Jack talked about his cousin’s broken body, Witnessa educated us about “food deserts,” supervisor Evelyn Scott explained that girls get ten-day school suspensions for simply stepping on another student’s sneakers, and I shared how my family’s blending of Jewish tradition and Chinese culture bridges disparate worlds. As a person who was born in Tokyo, lived in London, and grew up in the South, I realize difference doesn’t have to be an obstacle to understanding. My ability to listen empathetically helped us envision multifaceted solutions to issues facing 21st-century youth.

My experience in this space of affirmation and engagement has made me a more thoughtful person and listener. I want to continue this effort and be the woman who both expands perspectives and takes action after hearing people’s stories. Reconciling disparate lifestyles and backgrounds in the Commission has prepared me to become a compassionate leader, eager to both expand perspectives and take collaborative action.

例文-2 （身份-Josh’s cousin）

Is Josh ok?

My whole family is sitting around the living room on a lazy Sunday afternoon when we suddenly hear sirens. Lots of sirens. Everyone stops. My dad peers out the window, trying to get a glimpse of the highway. My mom gets up and goes to the phone. After a few stressful rings, the person on the other line answers. My mom bursts out, “Is Josh ok?”

(点评：Nice hook! We’re engaged by the questions this paragraph raises: Why the sirens? Is Josh ok? Who is this Josh?)

Josh is my fourteen-year-old cousin, and he lives less than a mile from my house. Whenever we hear sirens, my mom will give their house a call or shoot my aunt a text, just in case. Josh was born with a syndrome which affected the formation of the bones of his head and face. As a result, his hearing, vision, breathing and some of his brain structures are compromised. He’s unable to do athletics, his tracheostomy always provides a possibility of disaster, and an unwieldy head brace used to grace his head.

(Here the author gives context by explaining who Josh is. He also defines “difference” with a few specific details.)

Living so close to Josh, we have had the opportunity to interact daily. We go on vacations together, I drive Josh to school twice a week, at every holiday we either go down to their house or they come up to my family’s house, we play wiffle ball in the yard behind their house, and one of my favorite activities is board games with him—Risk, Monopoly, Settlers of Catan, we play it all. Last Christmas, there were endless laughs when, prompted by our fathers’ nostalgia, we constructed a slot car track and raced those miniature cars around tight turns and short straightaways. This game was perfect for Josh, as he could stay in a comfortable seat and still experience speed and excitement that he is usually barred from.

(In this paragraph, the author shows us how close he is with Josh, and the final sentence shows his sensitivity. )

It goes without saying that Josh has not had an easy childhood. He has had to fight for his life in the hospital when his peers were learning how to multiply and divide in school or playing capture the flag on the beach. A large portion of his childhood has been arbitrarily taken from him. That is most obviously unfair.

(Value: Empathy)

At our high school, I see Josh every day walking from second period to third period, and every day I say hello and have a small conversation with him. One day I was walking with a few of my friends when I stopped to talk with him. During the conversation, I made a little joke at Josh’s expense. It wasn’t at all relating to his disability, but to something completely independent of that—specifically, his Instagram habits. My friends were horrified, and chastised me as they saw appropriate.

(He’s setting up for the ending and also raising a question: Why did he make the joke at Josh’s expense?)

My friends didn’t understand. He is not some extremely delicate dandelion who falls apart at every breath that causes a slightly adverse situation. Everywhere he goes, he’s the most popular guy in the room; people flock to him, surround him, pity him, overwhelm him. All Josh wants is to be treated like any other person. He is my cousin, and he is my friend, so I treat him as such. We joke, we make fun of each other, just as any other two friends do.

(Insight! The author chooses to treat Josh as he would treat any of his friends—like a normal human being.)

Josh has proved to me that people with disabilities are exactly that—people. As if that needed proving. But it’s something that is too easily forgotten. It’s hard to see anything except the handicap. A person’s wheelchair or white cane inevitably trumps any other characteristic. It’s a natural human reaction, but it too often leads to the dehumanizing of disabled people. One of my favorite people on Earth has lived a life of disability. And he plays a mean game of Monopoly.

(Here, he connects the dots and provides a bit more insight: Treating people differently because of their disability can be dehumanizing. (And for some reason, that Monopoly line makes me cry every time.)