PUC is Communitaria?

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC - Rio) - current home of PUC’s esteemed Fulbright Chair, our own Professor Crenshaw.

PUC is Communitaria! This is the mantra and motto of PUC, and seemed to be one that the Vice-Rector, a PUC alumna, took seriously and personally.

"We are all equal at PUC. We forgot the color of people. The differences between races are very rich. Diversity is important, but we must live on equal grounds."

During our meeting, we discussed the various forms of grant aid available to provide support for students in paying the pricey tuition and other costs related to attending PUC. Various need based and talent (academic, sports, performing arts, etc) scholarships are available to support PUC’s Mission of “Improving the quality of life” for the whole community. The racial / ethnic background of the applicant is not ever considered.

I was surprised a the extent to which the justifications for these programs were based, at least in part, on the benefits of diversity, and having different students live, work, study, and socialize together. This vision bore an uncanny resemblance to our discussions of the benefits of “robust exchange.” However, when we asked if it might therefore be a good idea to consider the race of the applicants we were told: “We are all equal at PUC. We forgot the color of people. The differences between races are very rich. Diversity is important, but we must live on equal grounds.” I wish I had been better able to understand the nuance of that that meant. I am left wondering if she was expressing a belief that that considering race would mean selecting and supporting students who were somehow less than equal to the others?