Charles Martin
Proposal paper
Prof. Dalton
28 April 2011
Racism Returning?
For those who do not know and even for those who may not care to know, there is a problem going on in the world. This problem is occurring in our communities, and flowing through the school systems. A recent bout of racism within a local high school here in the Salt Lake valley has caused quite a few problems in the last month or so.
“The incident happened last Thursday at a "Spirit Bowl" in the school gym. The junior class was supposed to wear white. One junior came in a white hood that covered his face. Witnesses said he also went around giving a stiff-armed salute mimicking how the Nazis saluted Adolf Hitler. He did all of this right in front of fellow junior, Larz Cosby, who identifies himself as "mixed race” (“Alta High” par.1-2).
Like this example, racism and bullying continue to be a large problem in society today, especially in schools. School should be a place where kids can go to be educated and to socialize with their peers. Unfortunately for a small population, it is a place of ridicule and torture. This type of occurrence needs to be taken care of. When issues of race come about, people seem to shy away from the subject, or they describe ideally how accepting the world should be. In a perfect world, we could use that as a solution, however, we do not live in a perfect world and something needs to be done beyond what current solutions have been proposed.
Larz Cosby, the victim in the school wide “spirit-bowl”, has written a blog from his personal perspective in response to the racial allegations. He described the occurrence of several different racially ignorant and snide comments during his attendance at Alta High. Nothing at that point had irritated him to much, until the morning of March 17th. This event is meant to show school pride and is for the enjoyment of the students. While walking in to find a place to sit, he saw a student dressed in all white with a full hood on with two holes cut out for his eyes. As Larz noticed the student, he also saw classmates pointing in his direction and laughing as the person resembling a KKK member made himself a spectacle for others. His response was very mature for someone being taunted for being bi-racial; he snatched the hood off the kid’s head and then found his seat. As the assembly continued, the student again put on the hood and in an even more demining way, began making gestures mimicking the pro-Nazi cause in hailing Hitler. During the assembly, nothing was done to the student. Later in Spanish class, Larz had to witness the culprit and his posse laughing and bragging how funny it was (par.1-5).
Larz Cosby said this, “Who in their right mind would plan to blatantly enforce their hate for others in a large gathering in a public school? How is it a joke? How is that funny? … I was so surprised to find that there was a large group of supporters for the student and his racist demonstration. They even are so brazen to express their view on facebook. They are so entrenched with their cause that they are willing to show their name and face in the support of hate” (par. 6-7).
When a student feels like they cannot be themselves in an educational environment and have to worry about being discriminated against or tormented, they lose their personal identity. Larz Cosby continues, “My experience is that to be a non-white individual is a bad thing at Alta High School. Some people who are non-white have conformed, so they do not have to deal with this type of bullying” (par.7). There are some who, when they see this type of behavior happening stand up for what is right, but they are few and far between.
As generations grow up, they should learn from the past and try to correct the present. It seems as though that intolerance is growing more rampant these days, from the growing diversity in this country and the uncertainty of one culture to another. A great example of this comes from a situation in Birmingham, Alabama. Vestavia Hills High School sent an African America boy home with a letter telling his parents that the school has filed a motion to put an end to the desegregation order. This school is one of many schools seeking to overturn the order or desegregation, with many other schools succeeding. His mother who once attended the school in the 70’s struggled with the idea that all of her struggles and personal trials would be in vain. She said,
“We were used, mistreated, downtrodden, and discriminated against. I have no problem with being a sacrificial lamb for the good of the community, but to have the system back out now is not fair. They made a commitment to educate black children” (Jarvie par.6).
As more and more schools are trying to overturn the law and segregate again they are reestablishing that it is okay to discriminate. In essence, they are giving the okay for racism and erasing the progress that we as a people have made and tossing it aside.
In response to the “Spirit-bowl” incident, the Canyons School District sent out a notification to each student’s parents about a solution created to end such racism, and to inform him or her on how they are going to deal with the situation. To the parents of the students, it reads,
“As a first step, we are communicating our expectations that students, faculty and administrators work together to maintain and enforce a non-discriminatory and safe educational environment for all students. We are visiting all Language Arts classes this week to speak with students about their role in creating an atmosphere free of discrimination, and alerting them that any acts of racism, intimidation, or bullying will not be tolerated. We invite you to join hands with us in efforts to maintain and enforce a non-discriminatory, safe, and civil educational environment in all of our schools that is welcoming to all students” (“Racism at” par.7).
This statement is like a slap on the wrist to these teenagers. The simplicity of this solution seems to poorly motivate students to actively participate in eliminating racism among their peers. Just going in and telling the teenagers racism is not good and we won’t have it here at this school is not going to really discourage them. By the time the weekend comes and goes, and another week of school is under way, most of these hormone crazed teens are thinking about what homework they are going to have to do, and what their friends are doing. They will not be thinking about what their counselor said about not participating in racially insensitive behavior. I propose that something more influential must be done for these students than a slap on the wrist. For example, something as powerful as the smoking cessation ads on television, which use graphic imagery to show the harmful effects of smoking. It needs to be something that will leave a lasting impression on them, sparking within themselves a desire to have a change in their actions and attitudes towards racism. Instead of having the district administration decide what the solution should be, involve the teachers. Only a fraction of the students are going to listen to a random person tell them how racism is bad. There is nothing in the Canyon’s District solution that would really help the solution. A couple of days are not enough time to come up with a great solution. At this age students need a constant exposure to the consequences of racism and how they need to treat all races with the respect they all deserve. The administrators do not directly work with the kids, so going to the teachers and figuring out what their input is would go to help them figure at what angle they should approach in dealing with racism. The teachers know the majority of these kids because they spend just about every day with them; they know the best way that these students learn. By getting more information and using the teacher’s suggestions they can brainstorm an affective solution.
Here in Utah there is a very diverse culture. There are so many different races and a number of these kids hold different beliefs. Having a class completely devoted to helping students learn about these cultures and beliefs would also be a feasible solution. People have so many assumptions about other cultures that they do not understand, and that is where you get a lot prejudice and discrimination. In this class, videos can be shown about the history of oppression that different cultures have had to endure, and guest speakers could come in and speak to the kids about how they have been personally discriminated against. Getting a first-hand account from someone and listening to them talk about how much racism has affected them is much more powerful than some random adult coming in to tell the kids not to be racist. As the students spend the year learning in this class, and internalizing what they’re learning a more effective outcome can result. And as the world becomes even more diversified there can be a stronger bond between different races, and cultures in the future.
Works Citied
“Alta High School Racism?” ABC 4 News. ABC: KTVX, Salt Lake City, 29 Mar 2011. Television. 25 APR 2011.
Cosby, Larz. “Alt High School Students targeted with KKK Hoods and Hail Hitlers.” Voices of a CERU. N.P., 18 March 2011. Web. 25 April 2011.
Jarvie, Jenny. “School seeks to end racial intergration.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 29 October 2006. Web. 25 April 2011.
“Racism at Alta High School? District Investigates.” ABC 4 News. ABC: KTVX, Salt Lake City, 21 Mar 2011. Television 25 Apr 2011.
Proposal paper
Prof. Dalton
28 April 2011
Racism Returning?
For those who do not know and even for those who may not care to know, there is a problem going on in the world. This problem is occurring in our communities, and flowing through the school systems. A recent bout of racism within a local high school here in the Salt Lake valley has caused quite a few problems in the last month or so.
“The incident happened last Thursday at a "Spirit Bowl" in the school gym. The junior class was supposed to wear white. One junior came in a white hood that covered his face. Witnesses said he also went around giving a stiff-armed salute mimicking how the Nazis saluted Adolf Hitler. He did all of this right in front of fellow junior, Larz Cosby, who identifies himself as "mixed race” (“Alta High” par.1-2).
Like this example, racism and bullying continue to be a large problem in society today, especially in schools. School should be a place where kids can go to be educated and to socialize with their peers. Unfortunately for a small population, it is a place of ridicule and torture. This type of occurrence needs to be taken care of. When issues of race come about, people seem to shy away from the subject, or they describe ideally how accepting the world should be. In a perfect world, we could use that as a solution, however, we do not live in a perfect world and something needs to be done beyond what current solutions have been proposed.
Larz Cosby, the victim in the school wide “spirit-bowl”, has written a blog from his personal perspective in response to the racial allegations. He described the occurrence of several different racially ignorant and snide comments during his attendance at Alta High. Nothing at that point had irritated him to much, until the morning of March 17th. This event is meant to show school pride and is for the enjoyment of the students. While walking in to find a place to sit, he saw a student dressed in all white with a full hood on with two holes cut out for his eyes. As Larz noticed the student, he also saw classmates pointing in his direction and laughing as the person resembling a KKK member made himself a spectacle for others. His response was very mature for someone being taunted for being bi-racial; he snatched the hood off the kid’s head and then found his seat. As the assembly continued, the student again put on the hood and in an even more demining way, began making gestures mimicking the pro-Nazi cause in hailing Hitler. During the assembly, nothing was done to the student. Later in Spanish class, Larz had to witness the culprit and his posse laughing and bragging how funny it was (par.1-5).
Larz Cosby said this, “Who in their right mind would plan to blatantly enforce their hate for others in a large gathering in a public school? How is it a joke? How is that funny? … I was so surprised to find that there was a large group of supporters for the student and his racist demonstration. They even are so brazen to express their view on facebook. They are so entrenched with their cause that they are willing to show their name and face in the support of hate” (par. 6-7).
When a student feels like they cannot be themselves in an educational environment and have to worry about being discriminated against or tormented, they lose their personal identity. Larz Cosby continues, “My experience is that to be a non-white individual is a bad thing at Alta High School. Some people who are non-white have conformed, so they do not have to deal with this type of bullying” (par.7). There are some who, when they see this type of behavior happening stand up for what is right, but they are few and far between.
As generations grow up, they should learn from the past and try to correct the present. It seems as though that intolerance is growing more rampant these days, from the growing diversity in this country and the uncertainty of one culture to another. A great example of this comes from a situation in Birmingham, Alabama. Vestavia Hills High School sent an African America boy home with a letter telling his parents that the school has filed a motion to put an end to the desegregation order. This school is one of many schools seeking to overturn the order or desegregation, with many other schools succeeding. His mother who once attended the school in the 70’s struggled with the idea that all of her struggles and personal trials would be in vain. She said,
“We were used, mistreated, downtrodden, and discriminated against. I have no problem with being a sacrificial lamb for the good of the community, but to have the system back out now is not fair. They made a commitment to educate black children” (Jarvie par.6).
As more and more schools are trying to overturn the law and segregate again they are reestablishing that it is okay to discriminate. In essence, they are giving the okay for racism and erasing the progress that we as a people have made and tossing it aside.
In response to the “Spirit-bowl” incident, the Canyons School District sent out a notification to each student’s parents about a solution created to end such racism, and to inform him or her on how they are going to deal with the situation. To the parents of the students, it reads,
“As a first step, we are communicating our expectations that students, faculty and administrators work together to maintain and enforce a non-discriminatory and safe educational environment for all students. We are visiting all Language Arts classes this week to speak with students about their role in creating an atmosphere free of discrimination, and alerting them that any acts of racism, intimidation, or bullying will not be tolerated. We invite you to join hands with us in efforts to maintain and enforce a non-discriminatory, safe, and civil educational environment in all of our schools that is welcoming to all students” (“Racism at” par.7).
This statement is like a slap on the wrist to these teenagers. The simplicity of this solution seems to poorly motivate students to actively participate in eliminating racism among their peers. Just going in and telling the teenagers racism is not good and we won’t have it here at this school is not going to really discourage them. By the time the weekend comes and goes, and another week of school is under way, most of these hormone crazed teens are thinking about what homework they are going to have to do, and what their friends are doing. They will not be thinking about what their counselor said about not participating in racially insensitive behavior. I propose that something more influential must be done for these students than a slap on the wrist. For example, something as powerful as the smoking cessation ads on television, which use graphic imagery to show the harmful effects of smoking. It needs to be something that will leave a lasting impression on them, sparking within themselves a desire to have a change in their actions and attitudes towards racism. Instead of having the district administration decide what the solution should be, involve the teachers. Only a fraction of the students are going to listen to a random person tell them how racism is bad. There is nothing in the Canyon’s District solution that would really help the solution. A couple of days are not enough time to come up with a great solution. At this age students need a constant exposure to the consequences of racism and how they need to treat all races with the respect they all deserve. The administrators do not directly work with the kids, so going to the teachers and figuring out what their input is would go to help them figure at what angle they should approach in dealing with racism. The teachers know the majority of these kids because they spend just about every day with them; they know the best way that these students learn. By getting more information and using the teacher’s suggestions they can brainstorm an affective solution.
Here in Utah there is a very diverse culture. There are so many different races and a number of these kids hold different beliefs. Having a class completely devoted to helping students learn about these cultures and beliefs would also be a feasible solution. People have so many assumptions about other cultures that they do not understand, and that is where you get a lot prejudice and discrimination. In this class, videos can be shown about the history of oppression that different cultures have had to endure, and guest speakers could come in and speak to the kids about how they have been personally discriminated against. Getting a first-hand account from someone and listening to them talk about how much racism has affected them is much more powerful than some random adult coming in to tell the kids not to be racist. As the students spend the year learning in this class, and internalizing what they’re learning a more effective outcome can result. And as the world becomes even more diversified there can be a stronger bond between different races, and cultures in the future.
Works Citied
“Alta High School Racism?” ABC 4 News. ABC: KTVX, Salt Lake City, 29 Mar 2011. Television. 25 APR 2011.
Cosby, Larz. “Alt High School Students targeted with KKK Hoods and Hail Hitlers.” Voices of a CERU. N.P., 18 March 2011. Web. 25 April 2011.
Jarvie, Jenny. “School seeks to end racial intergration.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 29 October 2006. Web. 25 April 2011.
“Racism at Alta High School? District Investigates.” ABC 4 News. ABC: KTVX, Salt Lake City, 21 Mar 2011. Television 25 Apr 2011.