professionals to deal with these communities.
the American Arabic & Jewish Friends, a program
Cindy Jacobs, a junior at Southfield-Lathrop, said
of the Detroit Interfaith Round Table. The daylong
the students get along, but are highly segregated.
program allowed the teens to explore their attitudes
The building's wings, for example, are divided by
toward others while breaking down stereotypes.
race. Because the students are allowed to pick the
Southfield-Lathrup High School teacher Gail
location of their lockers, black students congregate
Gales echoed student sentiments that diversity is a
in one area, Chaldean teens are in another and the
low priority for most teens. Other students and ed-
white students are in a separate wing.
ucators from area high schools agree, but public
"Everyone pretty much keeps to himself and sticks
schools place a high priority on providing their pupils
with the same core group of friends," Cindy said.
with a well-rounded multicultural education.
"The theater department is the most diverse in the
Richard Lobenthal, of the Michigan regional of-
school. We just had our play and we all got along re-
fice of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith,
ally well. Ifs like a separate school within the school.
said the push for diversity education began and has
We all eat lunch together and hang out. I think it's
grown in the last decade. The reason, according to
because we have theater as our com-
Mr. Lobenthal, is a growing realiza-
mon bond."
tion of the amount of hatred bred in
This semester, one of Cindy's elec-
our society.
tives is the "minority groups" class.
He points to a study which indi-
Opposite:
The course is divided into units:
cates that by the year 2,000, the work-
women, Native Americans, blacks,
force will be so varied, today's
Zaid Dally and Lora
Jews, Chaldeans.
students will have to be able to exist
Weberman with a
One of the goals of the course, ac-
in a diversified climate.
diverse West Bloomfield
cording to teacher Fred Riley, is to
Robert Harris of the State De-
student body.
give students a greater understand-
partment of Education said Michi-
ing of minorities and a sense of where
gan's model core curriculum for social
they
fit in a diverse world.
studies and language arts contains
Below:
"It's overkill," said Lora Weber-
references to studying other cultures.
Nuha Eliya, 16, takes notes
man, a West Bloomfield High School
Reflecting the importance educa-
on a rape-prevention video
senior, about multicultural educa-
tors place on diversity education, sev-
in the minority-groups
tion. "The students, teachers and ad-
eral area high schools — including
class.
ministration know we're diverse, but
Ferndale, West Bloomfield and
it's hard to get the rest of the com-
Southfield-Lathrup — display flags
munity to see that."
from various countries. In some
For that reason, the West Bloom-
schools, the flags represent the coun-
field Schools two years ago hired Sharkey Haddad
try of origin of every student.
to serve as a community liaison. His job is to edu-
Next to the flags at Southfield-Lathrup are the
cate students, staff, parents and community lead-
painted words, 'Diversity is a strength that enriches
ers on issues of diversity, understanding and
learning."
awareness.
School administrators and experts agree the best
"I think the school district saw the writing on the
way to break down stereotypes and prepare stu-
wall," Mr. Haddad said. "They knew the communi-
dents to live and work among those with cultural
ty would become more and more diverse. It helps to
differences is through education. Some students ar-
have someone who is working with the communi-'
gue their school's tactics are overdone. They ac-
ty, helping people adjust. The district felt this should
knowledge, however, the merit of such curricula.
be a full-time effort and not just a reaction to a cri-
Some high schools are also adorned with multi-
sis."
cultural displays, have courses with names like "mi-
At first, Mr. Haddad focused most of his atten-
nority groups," and have created positions for
•
PHOTOS BY DANI EL L I PPITT
haldean'and Jew-
ish high-school
students partici-
pating in a diver-
sity program sit
casually together
during their lunch
break. They are
discussing every-
thing from race
relations to their
favorite music
groups.
Eating in a
small circle on the
floor are Berkley
High School students Scott Howard,
Bashar Cholagh and Elana Erd-
stein. They agree that multicultur-
al education is important. Yet, the
students say they are confronted by
other issues in their daily lives that
are more important than diversity.
They also maintain that while there
is some intergroup tension, the me-
dia exaggerates reality.
"There are so many pressures in
our society, like fitting in and being
cool," Scott said. "I personally don't
care about these things as much as
some of my friends do. But I know
it's a problem for them."
Added Bashar, "There are pres-
sures in our relationships. We wor-
ry about things like getting into
college, and there are schools that
have problems with students abus-
ing drugs and alcohol. On a contin-
uum, diversity is a low priority. It's
not that big of a deal compared to
the other things we, as high school
students, deal with on a daily ba-
sis."
In early February, 61 of these stu-
dents participated in a modified
high school "lock-in" sponsored by
•
•