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Rob Leider gets the class talking.

Taking Sides

A day off from drama leads
to impassioned dialogue.

LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER

O

This is the second
in a series of
features on Rob
Leider's drama class
at West Bloomfield
High School.

etween moti-
vation skits,
stage direc-
tion, videos
and play re-
ports, Rob
Leider takes a
day or two out
to talk to his
West Bloom-
field High
School stu-
dents.
No hint of William
Shakespeare or even
Neil Simon creeps into
the forum of sixth hour

introduction to drama
class. Neither does cafe-
teria food or student
parking. Instead, Mr.
Leider introduces the
general topic of educa-
tion for discussion.
"Can I leave then?"
Mike Medvinski asks.
Permission denied to
the student sporting
Elvis Presley-style side-
burns.
Mr. Leider continues.
"What do your parents
owe you?" he asks.
Mike is the first to
answer.
"They owe us things
that will get us accepted
in school— clothing, the
right hair, $300 jeans
like the Arabs wear," he
says.
Adelle Bashi pipes in,

"I don't know any Arabs
who wear $300 jeans."
Mr. Leider smiles as
all the students start
speaking— all at the
same time. He lets them
go on for a few moments
then interrupts with a
question.
"Why Arabs in $300
jeans?" Mr. Leider asks.
"Well, it could just as
easily be Jews, too,"
Mike answers.
Jessica Jonna bursts
out asking why people
call Arabs "wanna-be
Jews."
Mr. Leider throws out
a more focused question:
Does ethnicity mean
everyone in a group acts
a certain way?
The question really
never is answered.

Instead, students who
rarely say much in class,
rarely seem awake in
class, are interjecting
passionately.
"In Livonia, that's
where I used to go to
school, everyone was a
redneck— white," T.J.
Huber says. "I was so
happy to come here and
see all the different
groups of people.
Someone must be doing
something right because
there is not so much hate
here."
For several years the
teachers and administra-
tors of West Bloomfield
High School have been
offering programs on
diversity.
An ethnic festival

TAKING SIDES

page 38

