4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 7, 2000 bE ffictigrni &zi{g Political correctness and the "other" discrimination 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 daily.letters@umich.edu Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan MIKE SPAHN Editor in Chief EMILY ACHENBAUM Editorial Page Editor Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. Al other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. O kay, I'll be honest with you. This was not the column I intended to write this week. I was late getting back from Mardi Gras and, instead of writing the Mother Of All Spring Break columns, I had to delve into my archives to meet my deadline. How- ever, this column is relatively appropriate, as my experiences down south over break reinforced my belief in everything I had previously written. We as Americansr have come quite a long way in the battler against prejudice and discrimination. We: condemn people for making off-color remarks (no pun Braten intended) and protest the Confederate flag SanZ flying over a state cap- ital. Shows like "All in the Family" that Ha were mainstream prime time fare would be unheard of today, We hold rallies and marches fighting for a truly egalitarian society and a host of other things that are relatively new and enlighten- ing. We all know racism is bad. Why? Because it is wrong to discriminate against someone based solely on their appearance or background. But all around, even at this bastion of political correctness known as "The University," I still see rampant dis- crimination being practiced. People make jokes about it, you can hear it at parties, you can even read it in the Daily. This type of discrimination is a form of classism that we are supposedly decades removed from, yet it rears its ugly head every so often, usually around the time of the Ohio State or Michigan State football game. It is, quite simply, discrimination against the poor. Is it okay to make fun of poor people in America today? Sure it is, as long as they're white. We have all witnessed white-trash bash- ing in action. We call them hicks or hillbil- lies: We make jokes about trailer-parks and out-houses. We assume someone is less than intelligent because they have a South- ern accent. I can't tell you how many times I've heard something to the effect of, "Faster than a Buckeye can spit Copen- hagen," or "There's going to be a lot of angry trailer parks in Columbus tonight if John Cooper loses another to the Wolver- ines." Think about this for a second and imag- ine the outcry that erupts when our basket- ball team plays Detroit-Mercy and some journalist quips, "Faster than a Titan can put down his crack pipe," or "There's going to be some upset people in the Projects tonight if Detroit loses to Michigan again." Seems like a double standard, doesn't it? I want to tell you about one of my friends here at the University. He grew up in South Georgia, about two hours from John Rocker's hometown of Macon. He listens to country music. He wears tight Wrangler jeans, Justin cowboy boots and even owns two cowboy hats. He rode bulls for his high school rodeo team (yes, they have those down there) and chews Copenhagen like it's going out of style. He even has a Southern accent that slips out when he's drunk. My friend also scored 1390 on his SAT and holds a 3.7 GPA here in college. He speaks fluent Arabic and can get by in about four other languages. He is a self-pro- claimed "redneck" who wants to retire on a cattle ranch, yet happens to be damn intelli- gent. I once asked him if he realized how people think of him for dressing the way he does. "Of course," he responded. "But do you have any idea how silly I think other people look wearing baggy cargo pants, a multi-chromatic Tommy Hilfiger outfit or that ridiculous Abercrombie stuff?" Point -, taken. The bottom line is that we should stop to think that maybe some of these people (call them hicks, rednecks, cowboys, hillbillies, or whatever) do what they do because they -- enjoy doing it. Maybe the guy fixing your car or driving a tractor is doing that, not because he wasn't smart enough to do any thing else in life, but because that was what he wanted to do. Maybe he's just as smart as you or L I'm not saying we should be nice to the Spartans or hated Buckeyes. Taunt them because we have better academics. Taunt them because we have better athletics. Taunt them because we have more class. But if you are going to drop some stereo- typing white trash comment just because m someone hails from the Bible Belt or grew up on a farm, think about it for a second. and take a good, long look in the mirror.-, You might not like what you see. - Branden Sanz can be reached via e-mail at hamrhead@umich.edui. Ann Arbor needs more middle schools 4 nn Arbor public school officials have recently been discussing ways to reduce the problem of over- crowding in the city's high schools. Last week, the school board narrowed the list of solutions down to four: A $50 million, 1,500-student high school, a large magnet school that would attract students from across the district; one or two ninth-grade-only schools or a two-tier middle school system that would place sixth- and sev- enth-graders and eighth and ninth- graders in separate schools. This last option is probably the best plan as far as students are concerned. Building another large high school would not necessarily provide a helpful learning environment for students. A school of this size would still have large classes, giving students less of a chance to interact with teachers and fellow students. And a magnet school would have the same problem, as well as being potentially damaging to pub- lic schools in other districts. Many public schools are in serious need of funding and resources, and encourag- ing parents in the area to send their children to a large school in Ann Arbor would only make the situation worse. Restructuring the middle school system would prove more helpful to most students. It would allow for smaller classes, since there are cur- rently fewer students in that age group. And it would let students interact pri- marily with people their own age - many ninth-graders are not yet ready for high school. Middle school is a very difficult period in life for most people, and hav- ing smaller groups would allow for more attention for each student. In addition, a two-tiered system would mean that students in their early teens would not have to interact with people considerably older than themselves. A 14-year-old freshman and a 17-year- old senior really have very little in common - and an 11-year-old sixth grader would have just as little in com- mon with a freshman. With this in mind, it is clear that building two new middle schools would be the best solution for easing the overcrowding in the high schools. Not only would it reduce class size in both high schools and middle schools and avoid the problems caused by a magnet school, but it would allow stu- dents in their tumultuous early teens to attend smaller schools with people their own age - certainly a better learning environment for all students. CHIP CULLEN GRINDING THE NIB - No gun law can prevent tragedy Troth or D.A. Drug resistance program needs overhaul Across the country, a program called Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., unites police officers and 5th and 6th grade students in an attempt to prevent kids from experimenting with drugs and alcohol. While popular with the cops and par- ents, numerous studies have questioned the value of the program. A drug pre- vention program is necessary for youths, but it is time for D.A.R.E.'s operators to make necessary changes to bolster the program's effectiveness. The first area to change may be to whom the program is taught. Attempt- ing to reach children before they tune out adults is an acceptable goal, but to limit the program to these young stu- dents may not be the best way to instruct. Perhaps they should consider adding a similar program around 8th or 9th grade, when many students have experienced their first contact with illicit drugs such as marijuana. A second item to consider is the message itself. D.A.R.E. targets peer pressure, and teaches kids to "just say no." But some people try drugs for other reasons: Curiosity and rebellious- ness, for example. Moreover, D.A.R.E. has maintained a zero-tolerance approach - all drugs are bad. This eliminates all questions from the elementary school students, frightens them even, but when students try drugs and realize that drugs won't automatically kill you or make you an addict, they question the truth of D.A.R.E.'s messages. Prior to a late February report con- cerning D.A.R.E.'s effectiveness - or lack thereof, Rolling Stone magazine and other publications have questioned D.A.R.E.'s efficiency in "keeping kids off drugs." Surveys from the University of Michigan, Western Michigan Uni- versity and numerous others have not produced a single shred of evidence that children who "graduate" from the D.A.R.E. program treat drugs any dif- ferently than children who do not receive the program. In fact, although D.A.R.E. is used in many Detroit area schools, Detroit's drug use well exceeds the national average, according to a Detroit News report. It appears that all of the money, chiefly spent on a D.A.R.E. T-shirt, ruler and notebook for each kid, plus officer training, may be going to waste. Like sexual education programs instantly deemed "pro-sex" by oppo- nents, alternative drug education pro- grams have been called "pro-drug," and demonized. This is not the best way to determine a solution to educating chil- dren about drugs. Other programs may in fact work well in conjunction with D.A.R.E., or in place of it. Only time, and more research, will conclusively tell us if this is true. Time may be running out for D.A.R.E. to clean up its act. Cities such as Seattle, Omaha and Milwaukee have already dropped the program from their elementary schools, as have Michigan cities Clarkston and Harper Woods. But when the executive director of D.A.R.E. America, Glenn Levant, ignores all criticism, chances are bleak that D.A.R.E. will do anything to change its fundamental structure. TO THE DAILY: in reference to the Daily's March 6th edi- torial "Increase the peace": All of the concern over recent shootings seems to ignore anoth- er, real danger among the Daily's editorial staff: Injuries from jerking knees and tripping while toeing the party line. I have some ques- tions for you: If trigger locks had been either sold with the gun, or were required by law to be on the gun, what makes you think that the gun would have been secured? By a convict- ed felon in a crack house? Wouldn't that require enforcement of those laws to have had any effect? You admit that it is "possi- ble" that it would not have helped; I am cer- tain that it would not have. While it may be true that new gun laws can only help, there is a point of diminishing returns. If the current 20,000 gun laws aren't doing the trick as is, maybe we should enforce the ones we have instead of passing even more, creating in effect each time vast new groups of criminal classes out of law- abidingcitizens while ignoring the criminals we have already created. Excepting door-to- door confiscation of guns, no gun law would have prevented the tragedy in Mt. Morris Township. What about holding a gun owner responsible for crimes committed with their gun? The gun in question was stolen. How about imposing civil liabilities on the child's parents? Dad's in jail, mom lives with some- one else. No deterrent effect here. It's already illegal for a minor to own a handgun. It's ille- gal to bring guns on school property. Guns, in and of themselves, are not the problem. A society full of guns, yet lacking criminals, is preferable to a society full of criminals, yet lacking guns. Given a choice, where would the editorial staff of the Daily like to spend a week? Smith and Wesson's factory or a prison? Enforcement of current laws would be enough. Guns used to be so much easier to get (mail order prior to 1968), yet there were fewer shootings. What changed? Handgun technology? No. It's not the guns that have changed. More feel-good, knee-jerk legislation will not help. What does help are programs such as the NRA-supported Project Exile, which actively prosecutes criminals with guns, using current laws. Mandatory prosecution for using a gun in a crime. End of story. No plea PLI S1 T 1101 HI? BROTH~k SAYS S KOW.S A ~~ GUY UNO MD A MORTELWEST FLIGHT tZN 7' GO SMOOTHLY ON"CE'. }MTI')4 j 1'0 LIK TO9~+M4 bargains, no bail, no excuses. Lastly, a point regarding your recommend- ed re-evaluation of the Second Amendment. The police are not responsible for your safety. Generally, you cannot sue them for not being there when you need them. So, imagine that a violent criminal has decided to rape you, he's quite a bit larger than you, and armed with a knife. You are alone, and want to protect your- self. Since it is now only you who are respon- sible for your own safety, I hope that you are content knowing that you, a law-abiding citi- zen, may now defend yourself with that easi- ly-concealed deer rifle in your pocket, thanks to the revised Second Amendment. You are no longer trusted with a handgun. ANTHONY BEAUMON LAW STUDENT Thinness does equal begin with! When you get out of this school, you will be way above average in annual income as well. Why stop there? The point is, no one wants to be average, this applies to everything, from how you look, to how you think, to how successful you are. What does this all mean? It means that one shouldn't "strive" to be "just average" (e.g. 5'4" and a size 12 if you're a woman). There's also the notion that thin women are "unhealthy." That is a big load of crock, if nothing else. Would it be obscene if I made the conjecture that fat people are like drug- gies, in that they are addicted to food? I don't think so. Noe also mentions there are too few normally proportioned women in the spot- light. So what's your point? The average male in this country is (also) fat. It takes more than being "just average" (and in this case, via physical attributes) to get ahead in life (usual- ly), or, in this case, to be in the spotlight. Oh, and I must disagree, Lil' Kim is large (though I agree that Kate Moss is obscenely thin). I must admit, it must be damn tough being a woman, simply because physical beauty is so prized (at least in this society). On the other hand, women (in general) have majors issues associated with them. Of course diving into that realm is way beyond the scope of this letter. Someone once said the (real) truth is often ugly (ie "it's the ugly truth"). Those who can't swallow that harsh pill will be left behind. , personal success TO THE DAILY: Camille Noe's Feb. 18th column "Why I love Lil' Kim," was way off the mark. She talks about the "weight standard" and along with it, the "middle ground." But isn't the whole point of life to succeed as much as you can? A person's goal ought to be better than average. Noe cites average physical propor- tions of women. If you attend the University, then you're already way above average to .} ,. ' MICHAEL YUNG-HSIN Hu LSA JUNIOR Stereotypes, ignorance and Friday night at the Nectarine I spent my Spring Break in the San Fran- cisco with one of my best friends from undergrad. While riding the bus with my boyfriend, we started talking to a man in front of us. We talked about the city and the weather, and then he f made a refreshing com- ment. He mentioned that his ex-boyfriend in Toronto had told him that the weather had been nice there. I smiled because he felt comfortable telling some complete strangers on a city bus Michelle that he was gay. Being from the Bolek Upper Peninsula, not J exactly the most liberal spot in the country, I I