Increasingly in recent years, the concept of diversity has been caught up in a storm of political changes that challenge its place in American culture and institutions. From the top office in our country down to our state’s lawmakers, many push the idea that diversity is bad — or at least that trying to encourage it in the workplace, or in cultural, governmental and educational structures is harmful. This is extremely worrying.

We at the Sunflower see diversity not just as a necessary topic for addressing the inequalities that still exist in our world, but also as a crucial tool that helps us cover our campus community accurately and brings our newsroom together.

Diversity has become more and more of a bad word — a taboo, of sorts — as we delve further into the Trump administration.

Certainly, this isn’t new; a basic understanding of American history makes clear how our culture has struggled with this concept for a long time. This isn’t just true in the wider world; it’s true in journalism as well. The news industry, like most institutions, has long struggled — and mostly failed — to reflect the diversity of the world we live in.

This failure doesn’t just affect the people who work in newsrooms. It also means a failure to execute the basic role of journalism. When newsrooms do not reflect diversity, they cannot tell the truth; only a limited, half version of it.

With recent strikes against diversity, equity and inclusion policies, it’s important to remember that these words — diversity, equity, inclusion — aren’t evil.

This discussion is polarizing the American people, causing the tectonic plates of political sides to shift further apart. Left vs. right, Republican vs. Democrat: these terms have evolved from simple words describing how you view economic policies to declarations of war on each other’s psyches.

The discourse isn’t just confined to the White House and social media platforms. It’s made its way into the very foundations of higher education.

Here at Wichita State, the organization Ambassadors for Diversity and Inclusion has changed its name to the Student Belonging Coalition, and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has become the Office of Student Engagement and Belonging. Websites containing DEI vernacular have been removed from the university’s webpages, and university employees were required to remove pronouns from their email signatures. Legislators threaten the freedom of faculty in Kansas to teach about these concepts.

Organizations across Wichita State are forced to be subtle about the diversity within their groups, or put their existence and ability to support students at risk. They are essentially being forced to hide themselves for the sake of some individuals’ comfort, and that is absolutely shameful.

At The Sunflower, diversity is seen as a righteous thing. It bolsters both our coverage and our individual growth.

Without diversity, the weekly newspaper would be full of the same types of coverage, over and over again. The unique and fun gems hidden around this campus would never see the light of day. It helps us keep our stories from being unfairly biased, while also keeping things interesting. We seek diversity — across topics, interests, demographics and viewpoints — to fulfill our mission of covering this campus accurately.

We all come from different backgrounds — editors, reporters, photographers, designers. Some of us come from giant cities, some from small, rural towns. Some of us come from across the country, while some of us have lived in Kansas all of our lives. There are even people from across the world who have chosen to work at the Sunflower and bring their stories and ideas to the newsroom.

Diversity also helps us grow as people. The world is diverse, whether you like it or not, acknowledge it or try to adopt a “colorblind” view of it. Differences are needed to help us learn, especially in a work environment, and especially in education.

While diversity is a loaded concept today, and for the foreseeable future, we feel the need to make our stance known.

We aim to adopt an objective lens in all of our reporting, including on this topic. We will continue to do so. Nevertheless, we believe in diversity. In the words of our publication’s founders, which they wrote in the very first Sunflower back in 1896: We offer no apology.

If we abandon our commitment to diversity, we abandon our mission. It is crucial to our work. So in this week’s special edition issue, which you can find on campus, you’ll find stories about the diversity that makes up this campus — something that we always aim to reflect, not just this week but every week.

Whatever differences the students at Wichita State may have, we have one thing in common: we’re here to learn. So, look around you at the diverse students, faculty, staff and entire community that makes this place what it is — and learn from each other.