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[kumanoki]

Submitted to FARK.com with the headline "Omaha high school’s "Distinguished African American Student Award" cancelled due to last years white African American trying to win it"

Westside embraces King's message

BY MICHAELA SAUNDERS
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Westside High School students have moved past the Martin Luther King Jr. Day controversy that drew national attention to the school last year.

Starting Monday, students and staff will celebrate King's legacy for a week, with events focused on acceptance, understanding and service.

"Having a whole week of activities gives students more chances to be involved," said Lexie Newman, 16, a junior on the "Week of Service" planning committee.

In years past, all Westside students attended a convocation on the King holiday, which included the presentation of the "Distinguished African American Student Award" to the school's top black student.

Last year, two students persuaded a white student from South Africa to pose for what they said was a satirical poster. The sign suggested the South African student be nominated for the award. About 150 of the posters were put up around the school the morning of the assembly.

The students who put up the posters and the South African student were briefly suspended from school, and school officials called the timing of the posters insensitive.

"Some people agreed with the satire, others didn't," said Tylena Martin, 18, a senior on this year's committee and one of about 70 black students at the school. "It spread groups apart. This year is a new attempt to come together."

Several events are planned for Monday. Students will be served a lunch of African food, and many will participate in an activity promoting tolerance designed by the National Center for Creative Justice.

Beginning Monday and continuing for the week, many of King's quotations will be displayed around the school, along with student artwork. A video that Martin created about "-isms," such as racism and classism, will be shown throughout the week in a student gathering spot.

Students will complete service projects in classes and participate in a districtwide American Red Cross collection for aid to victims of the south Asian tsunami.

This year's awards will focus on service. Each nominated student will receive a certificate.

The 11-member planning committee has developed a pledge students will be able to sign and display proclaiming their commitment to "live by (King's) example by being tolerant, accepting and of service to others."

Martin and others said they hope the activities will create a more inclusive environment at Westside.

"It's not just a black holiday," she said. "This is a holiday for everyone. It's about service."

 

[BigJonsson]

ROFL

Thats fucking great

 

[LakeEarth]

No one has a sense of humor anymore.

 

[jenov4]

HAHAH man hilarity. Great stuff.

 

[Gattsu25]

Exactly why they should have used Afro-American instead of African-American

 

[Dan]

Cue the "Chef Goes Nanners" episode of South Park.

 

[bishoptl]

Woooo I remember this story breaking. Hilarious. :lol

 

[kumanoki]

It's great that today's students are learning to be members of a multicultural society in which every culture except the one they live in is important.

 

[BobbyRobby]

:lol

Awesome.

 

[Stele]

Exactly why they should have used Afro-American instead of African-American

Negroid-American.

 

[Gattsu25]

It's great that today's students are learning to be members of a multicultural society in which every culture except the one they live in is important.

The american culture?

I don' think it's about making the american culture less significant but you can think whatever you want :b

 

[kumanoki]

The american culture?

I don' think it's about making the american culture less significant but you can think whatever you want :b

Didn't you make the dungeon thread in the gaming forum? :lol

Seriously, cultural sensitivity is insane in schools. Textbooks and tests are censored so heavily so as not to offend one group or another that there's nothing of value to learn left in them. I can remember studying about slavery and having to read passages like this: "Many years ago, white European traders brought African peoples to the New World. Some time later, a man named Martin Luther King was born."

What does it matter what King said if the students can't get any kind of discussion out of it aside from 'slavery is bad' and 'everyone should be the same'?

 

[Gattsu25]

Didn't you make the dungeon thread in the gaming forum? :lol

Seriously, cultural sensitivity is insane in schools. Textbooks and tests are censored so heavily so as not to offend one group or another that there's nothing of value to learn left in them. I can remember studying about slavery and having to read passages like this: "Many years ago, white European traders brought African peoples to the New World. Some time later, a man named Martin Luther King was born."

What does it matter what King said if the students can't get any kind of discussion out of it aside from 'slavery is bad' and 'everyone should be the same'?

This, generally, seems to be a regional problem. While I was in middle school in New York, my american history texts covered the slave trade in some detail...the entire period covering around a dozen pages. During my sophmore year at High School, I moved to Florida and attended Sebastion River High School...the texts there DID NOT EVEN MENTION the slave trade and when I asked the techer about the lack of that in an American History class textbook, some of the students hardly knew anything about it (one student didn't know about it, at all)

I'm not so sure that it is considered 'cultural sensitivity' when a textbook writer omits an important, though ugly, aspect of american history...though this might be off topic for this thread

about the dungeon thing: what the hell is your point, twat?

 

[kumanoki]

This, generally, seems to be a regional problem. While I was in middle school in New York, my american history texts covered the slave trade in some detail...the entire period covering around a dozen pages. During my sophmore year at High School, I moved to Florida and attended Sebastion River High School...the texts there DID NOT EVEN MENTION the slave trade and when I asked the techer about the lack of that in an American History class textbook, some of the students hardly knew anything about it (one student didn't know about it, at all)

I'm not so sure that it is considered 'cultural sensitivity' when a textbook writer omits an important, though ugly, aspect of american history...though this might be off topic for this thread

about the dungeon thing: what the hell is your point, ----?

You're right, it is a regional problem. Since there is no national standard for school texts, different states have different requirements for the texts they buy from the publishers. Books studied by students in California and New York are far different (i.e. less watered-down) than books in southern states.

And I would argue that all textbooks in America go through rigorous 'cleansing' of offensive ideas before being presented to students. Publishing companies that make texts have entire sections devoted to creating culturally sensitive writings.

Don't worry. It's not off topic.

The dungeon thing turned into a good thread. Thumbs up!