Another perspective that I can bring to Rice is that of Average McEveryman, He Whose Life Is Chronologued in a Thousand TV Shows. There's nothing particularly special about my upbringing other than a couple odd hobbies, I have no particular cultural identity to speak of, and my primary distinguishing characteristic is being a bit smarter than most people. I utterly lack the linguistic versatility of those who speak many tongues (I know some Latin, but I can't say that I “speak” it. Nobody really does anymore), no grand traditions dating back a thousand years have I, and most every holiday I celebrate is a federal one. Some may call this “boring” (I prefer “uniqueness challenged”, thankyouverymuch), but fact of the matter is, if you want to be diverse, you've gotta have at least a couple of my type there. Diversity isn't how much slightly off center stuff you have, it's how much of the whole you represent.