Tragedy, Race, & The Media

Three days ago, tragedy struck South Asia as a earthquake-induced tsunami rocked Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and other countries. My sympathies go to all of the victims in that region of the world. I write this, however, not in empathy for those who fell victim to these events, although I do express those feelings. I write to criticize the way the media has handled this and other disasters in the past.

Has anybody stopped to see the kind of coverage the events in South Asia are recieving? Case in point: CNN. Here are some headlines and their respective ledes:

Survivors describe tsunami horror

(CNN) -- Peter Heydemann of Chicago was vacationing in Thailand with his family when the tide began to slowly rise early Sunday. He watched from his hotel as the street below became flooded by what he thought was just an unusually high tide. Thinking the worst had passed, he walked down to investigate.

Eyewitnesses recount tsunami terror

Simon Clark, a 29-year-old photographer from London who vacationing in Thailand on Koh Ngai island near Krabi, told Reuters...
...
John Hyde, a Australian state lawmaker vacationing in Thailand, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television...
...
"People were getting swept along still on their motorbikes," Simon Morse, another Australian tourist, told the ABC...
...
Boree Carlsson, a 45-year-old Swede on vacation in Thailand, told Reuters...
...
P. Ramanamurthy, 40, a resident of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, told The Associated Press...
...
Security expert Will Geddes, vacationing in Phuket, told CNN...

American who survived tsunami tells of devastation

(CNN) -- A celebrity interior decorator vacationing in Sri Lanka said Monday that all he could see was "utter devastation" in the wake of a deadly tsunami that slammed the island.

Swedish boy found alone after tsunami reunited with dad

PHUKET, Thailand (AP) -- A Swedish toddler was reunited with his father Wednesday, days after being found alone in the aftermath of the deadly tsunamis that swept Asia.

American diver underwater during catastrophe

(CNN) -- An American woman who was scuba diving with her husband in Thailand as one of Sunday's tsunamis roared overhead said she was oblivious to the disaster until after they surfaced, her mother told CNN on Tuesday.

Tsunamis shatter celebrity holidays

Petra Nemcova -- who appeared on the cover of 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue -- was carried away with her boyfriend, the fashion photographer Simon Atlee, after a huge wave plowed into southern Thailand on Sunday.

Notice a trend? Granted, each of these stories appeal to different interests, but considering that, thus far, 80,000 people have died, I personally think these stories are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Certainly, CNN isn't completely at fault here. Legitimate issues, which include a lack of translators on the part of media agencies or even immediate access to European and other Western tourists, could be at play here. But again, thus far, 80,000 people have died!

And I am not alone in my assertion. uggabugga points out:

We were surprised to see on ABC's Good Morning America a segment about the children who have been victims of the tsunami. Total casualties are (currently) estimated to be 60,000. One third are children, or 20,000. The ABC report began with the usual talking head.

It was followed by four stories about affected children. They were all white Europeans. (Swedish, prob Swedish, Swedish, German) The segment ended with pan shots of native kids amongst general destruction, but they were not identified, nor were any details of their trauma reported.

He then posts this picture:

The real story isn't the ordeal that a Czech supermodel had to go through. The real story is the anguish that millions of brown people all over the Pacific Rim and the Indian Ocean are going through right now.

The real story is that a third of the casualties thus far are children; not European or American or Austrailian children, but children that belong to extremely large families because the life expectancy is so low in these countries that these families need to keep having them in order to maintain some semblance of economic stability within the household. That is why it is these areas that suffer so much from overpopulation, which only further lowers their life expectancies because these tropical environments breed diseases that spread to more people as densities increase; just look at the urban nightmare that Bangkok has become.

The real story is the fact that a country like Thailand is going to be hit hard, not because of the destruction to its labor market, or its manufactoring facilities, or its roads, or any other infrastructural aspect that is indicative of strong industry and a stable economic, it's because tourism is Thailand's main contribution to the global economy. Without it, Thailand faces serious hardship, and it's sad that that single industry drives the Thai economy. So, in these countries, I don't feel just for the dead and their families, but I feel for the citizens who will suffer in the years down the road.

I apologize if this seems a bit crass, but I wonder if these tourist destinations weren't victimized by the tsunami, if this event would recieve as much coverage as it is now. Of course, it would recieved some coverage; maybe for a few days or even a week or two. But would it get this much? I mean, how many people remember what happened in the Iranian city of Bam last year? A 6.3 earthquake rocked the city, reducing it to rubble and killing almost a third of the entire population: 30,000 people. Yet, particularly in America, it was a blip on the radar screen.

Africa is no strangler to death and destruction. Transportation problems in Africa alone kill thousands of people every year. Example, here are some headlines I got from a quick search at BBC:

Dozens die in Congo train crash
DR Congo boat tragedy 'kills 200'
Nigeria pile-up kills scores
Twelve dead in Senegalese train crash
Train crash kills 11 in Congo-Brazzaville
Moroccan train crash kills 35
40 die in Zimbabwe train crash
SA train crash kills 11
Hundreds killed in Tanzania train crash
Ugandan bus crash kills 70
Nigerian train crash kills 12
Kenyan train crash kills 32
100 feared dead in fuel explosion
Nigeria pipeline blaze 'kills 26'
30 dead in South African crash
Dozens killed in Lagos fuel blast
Lagos blasts leave 600 dead
Hundreds lost as Senegal ferry sinks
South Africa bus crash kills 22
Zambia bus crashes kill over 100
32 die in Tanzania bus crash
22 drown in Khartoum bus crash
Swaziland bus crash kills 28
Fifty dead in Nigerian bus crash
Kenya bus crash kills seventy
Forty dead in Rwanda crash
Kenyan bus collision kills 100
Forty-five die in Kenya crash

Where is the coverage for this carnage? I should note that all of these articles refer to unique events (check them for yourselvs), and all of them occured only within the last four years. I could have posted many many more of these links, but I got tired of copying and pasting headlines. And these are just events in which body counts were listed within the headline. Many more articles had the body counts in the ledes. We don't even blink when 800,000 people are killed in a period of one-month! My point is, we as a Western society are too willfully ignorant of the plight of the rest of the world. As technology expands and communication becomes easier and easier, making the world smaller and smaller, our apathy towards the rest of the world is going to someday bite us in the ass.

But is this a question about race? I assert that it is. We as a society sympathize with those most like us. As much as we opine about how tragic the earthquake and the tsunami were, we are still detached from it. That's why the tsunami is recieving this kind of coverage; it affected many lives of people that like us (I'm using "us" in a general sense). When When an Elizabeth Smart is kidnapped, it makes national headlines. When an Alexis Patterson is kidnapped, the media doesn't want any part of it. If your name is Laci Peterson or Lori Hacking or Dru Sjodin, millions of people sympathize with your plight. But if your name is Porcha O'Neal, then you are just another blip on the radar screen. Thus is our problem. I implore all of us to be more aware of the world. and to be culturally sensitive and knowledgable. A good place to start is the BBC. When I took my first African history class with Dr. Pamela Scully (who is at Emory University now), I was required to read the Africa section of the BBC every day. I don't check it as frequently as I did in the past, but it gives some global perspective.

It's Official

Cox throws hat in ring for governor

Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox announced Monday that she will run for governor in 2006, ending months of speculation.

Cox's move sets up a Democratic primary clash between two of the state party's highest-ranking elected officials: Cox and Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor. The winner presumably will face Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Shortly after filing paperwork Monday allowing her to begin raising campaign money, Cox took aim at Perdue. In an interview, she accused the governor of waging "unproductive, wasteful and divisive" political battles. She cited Perdue's efforts to get rural Democrats to switch to the Republican Party, rather than finding issues to unite lawmakers.

"I want to devote my energy to trying to build consensus in getting both Republicans and Democrats to buy into productive solutions for the problems Georgians are dealing with," Cox said.

...

Cox, 46, is a lawyer from Bainbridge who served in the state House from 1993 to 1997. She represented several southwest Georgia counties in a seat once held by her late father. Cox was elected secretary of state in 1998 and engineered a high-profile modernization of the state's election system. Though some activists say she has ignored potential security vulnerabilities of electronic voting machines, polls have shown that most Georgians find the equipment accurate and easy to use. Cox's second term expires in 2007.

It really doesn't matter if either Cox or Taylor win the gubernatorial nomination, Governor Purdue has burned a lot of bridges in his two years in office, making his job vulnerable, even in an increasingly Republican South. Who knows. Purdue was the first Republican governor in 130 years, maybe he will do enough damage to the state GOP that he'll become the last in as many years.

3.02!

After getting back home from a Christmas weekend in North Carolina, I noticed that Denison's web servers are back up. I checked Web4Student to find that last semester's grades have finally been posted! I never brag about my grades (mainly because they are never anything to brag about), but this time was particularly exciting for me considering that prior to today, my cumulative GPA was 2.99 for six semesters of work at Denison. 2.99! Since May, the 3.00 I had cited as my cum had been marked with an asterisk. But no more! This is the first time in my college career that I have had a cumulative grade higher than a 3.00.



You might balk at the fact I recieved a 3.32 this semester although it says I attempted and earned only 10 credits. While I admit I didn't have a full class load this semester, it definitely was not an easy semester. My 4 credits for Senior Research do not show up here and they won't be given to me until the end of next term. Don't worry. Next semester is going to hurt because I'm taking 19 credits. Fun times. Either way, I'm excited and I can finally start applying to Teach for America and graduate school with some confidence.

Sad

'Minister of Defense' Reggie White dies at 43

CORNELIUS, N.C. (AP) -- Reggie White, a fearsome defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers and one of the NFL's greatest players, died Sunday, his wife said. He was 43.

...

"Reggie White was a gentle warrior who will be remembered as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history," NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said. "Equally as impressive as his achievements on the field was the positive impact he made off the field and the way he served as a positive influence on so many young people."

Merry Xmas!

Pobrecita

Teen sues over Confederate flag prom dress

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A teenager is suing her eastern Kentucky school district for barring her from the prom for wearing a red dress styled as a large Confederate flag.

School officials called Jacqueline Duty's homemade dress too controversial and kept her out of Russell High School's May 1 prom.

Duty's federal lawsuit claims the Russell Independent Board of Education violated her First Amendment right to free speech and her right to celebrate her heritage. She also is suing for defamation, false imprisonment and assault.

"Her only dance for her senior prom was on the sidewalk to a song playing on the radio," said her lawyer, Earl-Ray Neal.

Whatever. I've never understood how people can be proud of the fact their forefathers not only committed treason, but did so in order to preserve an oppressive institution. At my prom, girls got kicked out for wearing dresses that were too revealing. The logic was that such attire was inappropiate. I'm sure the same logic can be applied here.

*update*
Wait a minute! She's from Kentucky! Kentucky wasn't even in the CSA. What heritage is she even talking about then?

Merry Christmas, Michael Vick!

Or Festivus, or Hanukkah, or Christmakwanukkah or whatever. Michael Vick just got a contract extension until 2013, which is also worth $100 million (including a $37 million in guaranteed money), and damn it, he deserves it. How old will he be when his contract expires? A whopping, whopping, 33 years old. Just old enough to get another blow out contract before he retires. I don't care what anybody says about Vick's playing ability, what he has done to revitalize the NFL scene here in Atlanta is priceless. Owner Arthur Blank is a marketing genius. I mean, the Falcons actually have sell out crowds now! We couldn't even pull that off when we went to the Super Bowl. Everything from the uniform and logo transformations, to the purchasing of the Arena Football team, the Georgia Force, are all part of the way Blank has marketed the team with Vick at the helm. Could you imagine these kinds of changes being made in San Diego? I don't think so. Besides, another 9 years of mediocrity are much better than another 9 years of sucking ass. Who knows, we might even get a Super Bowl ring in there somewhere. On a sad note, it just makes me miss the Ted Turner empire of the 1990s.

As an aside, where the hell did all of this "Christmas controversy" come from? It just came from nowhere. Wherever it came from, it sure has O'Reilly flustered.

Denise, We Barely Knew Ye...

Denise Majette seems to have accepted a part-time judgeship. Will she run for public office again? Who knows? What I do know, is that in her short two-year stint in the limelight, she had rocked the status quo off of its foundation, having unseated 6-term Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in 2002 and won the Democratic nomination for US Senate in 2004 (and becoming the first African-American to win a party nomination for US Senate in Georgia). Ironically, things are exactly the same as when she first came into office. Come January, once again will McKinney represent District 4 and will a conservative represent Georgia in the Senate. I've never liked Majette; I still have a bad taste in my mouth from her campaign against McKinney in 2002; nor did I like the fact that she sought higher office before she even finished her first term in the House. Oh well, I wish her the best in whatever she does. She's still young, literally and politically. Maybe Governor in 2006? Doesn't matter, I'm voting for Cathy Cox.

54 Degrees

The world seems to have righted itself. When I got home a couple of days ago, it was 22 degrees in Atlanta. Today I woke up today to a nice 54. I wonder if "Moderately-Brisklanta" is an adequate nickname for the city at this point.

Fitting.

Zell Miller is going to Fox News.

Black America, Education, & the Great Ebonics Debate

I like Oliver Willis. He was the very first weblog that I have ever visited and his work made me addicted to the world of the "Blogosphere." But there are times that I wonder about his ability to reason. In one of his recent posts, Willis derides a UNC study that argues that the concept of blacks berating other smart blacks as "acting white" is a myth. To begin, Willis cites an article in the New York Times that says:

When Bill Cosby spoke out publicly in May against dysfunction and irresponsibility in black families, he identified one pervasive symptom: ''boys attacking other boys because the boys are studying and they say, 'You're acting white.''' This idea isn't new; it was first proposed formally in the mid-80's by John Ogbu, a Nigerian professor of anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley, and it has since become almost a truism: when smart black kids try hard and do well, they are picked on by their less successful peers for ''acting white.''

The only problem with this theory, according to a research paper released in October, is that for the most part, it isn't true. Karolyn Tyson, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and William Darity Jr., an economist at Duke and U.N.C., coordinated an 18-month ethnographic study at 11 schools in North Carolina. What they found was that black students basically have the same attitudes about achievement as their white counterparts do: they want to succeed, understand that doing well in school has important consequences in later life and feel better about themselves the better they do.

Since Willis and other pundits seem to want to throw out their anecdotes on the manner, I feel that I should put mine out there as well. I will not lie, my high school isn't the greatest example of an intellectual culture; the average SAT score at my high school was 820. I should also note that according to this, my high school was 97% black. Despite similar backgrounds, my grade school experiences seem to be contrary to those of Willis, who also went to a predominantly black high school. The smartest kids were the leaders at my school; they were the ones who were the most popular and had the most friends. They even excelled at athletics. Yes, I have had people back home tell me that I had gained "white" attributes, mostly because of the way I talked and acted. But was this indicative of an anti-intellectual culture? I don't think so. The context in which I received this treatment was in jest, and I never even got it until after returned from my first year at a predominately white private college. In high school, I did see this happen to other students, but again, it was because of the way they talked and carried themselves, not because of their emphasis on their studies. I remember once, when I was in 9th grade, I would refer to everything that was cool or that I liked with the word "neat." To my peers, this sounded white, and I quickly corrected it with "tight" or "hot." Once again, it wasn't because I was smart, it was how I carried myself. Even my cousin, Ryan, would tell me this all the time, yet, his education was of much higher quality than mine; he spent a year at the Naval Academy Prepatory School (NAPS) in Providence, Rhode Island where he graduated in the top-50 of his class, and now he is full-time student at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

I'll go even further. Since the 1950s, America's public schools have been engaged in a system called "tracking," in which high achievers and underachievers rarely end up in classes together because the smart kids are continuously placed in advanced classes while their underachieving peers are placed in remedial classes. I was in both; in English and Social Studies, I spent most of my grade school career in advanced and gifted classes; in Math and Science, I was in remedial classes, although these classes were such a joke that would always pull straight A's. My point is, I've been at the bottom of the bottom and I didn't see this kind of behavior. In the remedial classes, I was always the smart kid in class and I was celebrated for it. Other students wouldn't say "oh, he's white," they would say "oh, he's smart." Yes, I was the black sheep of the classroom, but I was never put down for it.

Back to Willis. He says:

Attending a mostly black (89% according to the latest survey, which may be up some slightly, though I doubt it has moved dramatically in the past 10 years) high school, I can safely say I've never experienced the kind of prejudice and ignorance from any one racial group as I have from black Americans.

Willis' post is ironic. He accuses black culture of being anti-intellectual, yet, he is presented with careful academic analysis on a particular subject and doesn't give it the time of day because his experiences weren't shared with what the research found. I'm not sure if he even read the research, considering he links to the New York Times article which only lightly touches upon it.

It is a culture that seems to value flash over substance, where speaking without vulgar "ebonics" (read: crap English) is seen as "acting white". And heaven forbid you think your studies are of more importance than the new Jay-Z album.

If this statement were true, then why does black America continue to celebrate black nationalist leaders such as Malcolm X, Huey Newton, and Bobby Seale. What about Malauna Karenga, the founder of modern Black Studies and Kwanzaa, and who also holds two PhDs, or the radical Angela Davis, who also holds a PhD. Even Huey Newton received a PhD. These are all celebrated figures in the black community. None of these men or women spoke in Ebonics, and all were formally educated, except Malcolm (ironic, since he was arguably the most eloquent of this group of leaders). And that's not even including more conciliatory leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Julian Bond, and John Lewis who are also celebrated.

I also take issue with his statement that Ebonics is "crap english." According to the Linguistic Society of America, Ebonics is a language:

Whereas there has been a great deal of discussion in the media and among the American public about the l8 December l996 decision of the Oakland School Board to recognize the language variety spoken by many African American students and to take it into account in teaching Standard English, the Linguistic Society of America, as a society of scholars engaged in the scientific study of language, hereby resolves to make it known that:

a. The variety known as "Ebonics," "African American Vernacular English" (AAVE), and "Vernacular Black English" and by other names is systematic and rule-governed like all natural speech varieties. In fact, all human linguistic systems--spoken, signed, and written -- are fundamentally regular. The systematic and expressive nature of the grammar and pronunciation patterns of the African American vernacular has been established by numerous scientific studies over the past thirty years. Characterizations of Ebonics as "slang," "mutant," " lazy," "defective," "ungrammatical," or "broken English" are incorrect and demeaning.

b. The distinction between "languages" and "dialects" is usually made more on social and political grounds than on purely linguistic ones. For example, different varieties of Chinese are popularly regarded as "dialects," though their speakers cannot understand each other, but speakers of Swedish and Norwegian, which are regarded as separate "languages," generally understand each other. What is important from a linguistic and educational point of view is not whether AAVE is called a "language" or a "dialect" but rather that its systematicity be recognized.

c. As affirmed in the LSA Statement of Language Rights (June l996), there are individual and group benefits to maintaining vernacular speech varieties and there are scientific and human advantages to linguistic diversity. For those living in the United States there are also benefits in acquiring Standard English and resources should be made available to all who aspire to mastery of Standard English. The Oakland School Board's commitment to helping students master Standard English is commendable.

d. There is evidence from Sweden, the US, and other countries that speakers of other varieties can be aided in their learning of the standard variety by pedagogical approaches which recognize the legitimacy of the other varieties of a language. From this perspective, the Oakland School Board's decision to recognize the vernacular of African American students in teaching them Standard English is linguistically and pedagogically sound.

Chicago, Illinois January 1997

Nobody seems to be addressing why, as the cliche goes, whiteness is viewed so negatively by blacks. The answer is simple to me; embracing whiteness is to renounce one's own culture. This is an issue that plagues every culture on the planet, particularly when it comes to dating or marrying outside of one's own race. Even white people do this. Kids are made fun of for acting black, called wiggers, and in some cases, attacked. Whether you agree with cultural pride or not, it is something that affects all races, ethnicities, and cultures. Intellectualism by itself isn't a renunciation of one's culture. It is how that intellectualism is used that turns off many African-Americans. When figures such as Clarence Thomas, Tony Brown, Thomas Sowell, and La Shawn Barber become diametrically opposed to the programs that have helped improve the quality of life for many blacks, whether it be poverty assistance programs or Affirmative Action, then they are looked down upon. I find it funny that when conservatives talk about black anti-intellectualism, the first thing they mention is black opposition to Clarence Thomas. Again, the vast majority of black America certainly does not believe that Thomas' beliefs are in there best interests.

Willis is right when he says that many blacks care about materialistic matters more than they do their studies, but so do many whites. I've tutored working-class middle school kids that had the same priorities. I'm at a predominately white, working-class high school twice a week and it's the same type of atmosphere. Thus is the problem I have with people like Bill Cosby. This issue is not restricted to race; poor white people have the same problems. I'm tired of black America getting blamed for the problems of America proper.

Is the UNC study an end-all answer to an issue that has been alluded to by people ranging to Bill Cosby and Barack Obama? No, but I certainly give it more credit than Willis and even myself.

"Bigots Go Back to Lithonia"

Well this is discouraging. Yesterday in Atlanta, Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church led a march supposedly aimed at celebrating the need for morality in the black community. That's all well and good, considering the topic has been a talking point since Bill Cosby comments this summer have elevated him to golden-boy status for the Right. However, many progressives, including myself, have shunned Long's message, not because of its religious rhetoric, but because of its slander against homosexuals.

Thousands of Christian soldiers marched through one of Atlanta's most storied neighborhoods Saturday, opposing gay marriage and promoting what they see as a moral agenda for the country — especially African-Americans.

...

Long organized the demonstration and carried an Olympic-style torch lighted from the eternal flame at the King Center, where the march began.

I will be frank, I do not like Bishop Eddie Long. This is primarily because I live right across the street from New Birth. I can walk there from my house in less than 5 minutes, and I've worked out there from time to time. I even had my high school graduation there back in 2001. It is also the location of my polling place. Considering this and New Birth's congregation of 25,000 members, Bishop Long holds a significant amount of power in DeKalb County, as well as metro-Atlanta. I've even had issues with Bishop Long's on-again/off-again relationship with my ex-Congresswoman/Congresswoman-elect, Cynthia McKinney (D-GA). Despite these problems I have with the church, its minister, and its cult-like following, Sunday's march was over the top for me.

Although I disagree with discrimination against homosexuals, I can understand how individuals come to have those beliefs, particularly when raised in an environment that maintains that homosexuality is a sin. I won't blink when people opposed to homosexuality decide to get together and have marches like this; they are enjoying their Constitutional right. My issue with this march, however, is that it was done in the context of a man who gave his life for inclusion and anti-discrimination. To do this in the name of Dr. King is a travesty.

Dr. King never made any public remarks about homosexuality, so for both sides of the debate, there is little to completely vindicate either argument. What we do know, however, is that King's top advisor, Bayard Rustin, was an openly gay man. Most of the people who were closest to King, except for his wife who was the closest, are now deceased. So, what does Coretta Scott King, the last great torch bearer of Dr. King's legacy, have to say about homosexuality and gay marriage?

"Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union," she said. "A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages."

Still, Coretta Scott King is not Martin Luther King, Jr., and must resign ourselves to speculate his beliefs about certain issues. I will end saying that Dr. King was more than a progressive, he was a radical, and I wonder if people like Eddie Long and George W. Bush, the kinds of people who pick and choose the pieces of Dr. King's legacy that is most useful for advancing their agendas; I wonder what they would think if they got to know the real Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

...I hope you will allow me to say to you this afternoon that God is not interested merely in the freedom of black men and brown men and yellow men. God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race. [Applause] And I believe that with this philosophy and this determined struggle we will be able to go on in the days ahead and transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

Let 'Em Fight

On Tuesday, I ended up with one of the biggest conflict of interests that I have experienced in a while, if ever. It is extremely difficult to compromise one set of beliefs over another. Fellow class senator, and a good friend of mine, Zack Brown, drafted a resolution for DCGA (Denison Campus Governance Association) in light of a recent court ruling which allows schools to bar military recruiters from their campuses without penalty (and I should note that this resolution had other co-sponsors, however, this is the only version of the resolution that I have and those other co-sponsors are not reflected here):

DCGA Resolution:
Military Recruitment on Campus

Presented by:
Senator Zack Brown, 2005
Co-Sponsored by:
Co-Governor Rebeca Bell, 2005; Senator Jason Dozier, 2005;

"The court understood that if bigots have a First Amendment right to exclude gays, then enlightened institutions have a right to exclude
bigots."



WHEREAS, The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 10-year federal law known as the Solomon Amendment, saying it infringed on the free speech rights of schools that had sought to limit on-campus recruiting in response to the military's ban on homosexuals, and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of Denison University not to engage in discrimination in its educational, student life, and employment policies against students on the basis of sexual orientation, and

WHEREAS, by allowing armed forces recruiters on campus where they
will only recruit heterosexual students, the university is participating in discrimination based on sexual orientation, and

WHEREAS, by barring armed services recruiters from campus, Denison University will not face any penalty due to the recent court ruling,

BE IT HEREIN RESOLVED that the Denison Campus Governance Association supports barring the United States Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force from recruiting on campus until they end their aforementioned discriminatory practices.

You probably notice that despite my admission of conflicting interests, I chose to co-sponsor this resolution. I can explain. The conflict of interest lies in two principles that I hold: Although I have been opposed to the war in Iraq, I fully support the efforts of the United States Armed Services to recruit future officers on college campuses across the country. This country is in dire need for new soldiers, particularly in light of this international crisis. I also feel that historically, the Armed Services has done a better job at bettering the conditions of America's underclasses than education, welfare, or any other government-instituted program. I have family in the military, and I have periodically considered joining myself. However, as an African-American, I absolutely can not compromise my beliefs about the need to abolish discrimination and strengthen our values in regards to inclusion. That principle, above all, is most important to me, which is why, despite my insecurities about this resolution, I chose to co-sponsor it.

If something comes of this on the part of the school, although I highly doubt it will, I feel that I can sleep somewhat comfortably with it. Although the Armed Services is in desperate need for new recruits, it is doing a disservice to itself by not allowing individuals to serve because of their sexual preferences. We currently occupy two Muslim nations, one of which speaks Arabic as a primary language, and we are currently engaged in an indefinite war against an enemy whose leadership is also Arabic speaking, yet, we refuse assistance from those who publicly admit their homosexuality.

"We face a drastic shortage of linguists, and the direct impact of Arabic speakers is a particular problem," said Donald R. Hamilton, who documented the need for more linguists in a report to Congress as part of the National Commission on Terrorism.

One of the discharged linguists said the military's policy on gays is hurting its cause.

"It's not a gay-rights issue. I'm arguing military proficiency issues - they're throwing out good, quality people," said Alastair Gamble, a former Army specialist.

That seems backwards to me. We need help. We need to maximize the potential of our citizenry. One would think that necessity would take priority over the fears that the military brass might have about such a change in policy. At least that was the case with African-Americans in World War II.

What truly bothers me though, is the fate of the Army ROTC program here at Denison. I personally know most of the individuals in this program, and I even tried to join the program myself. However, the fact that the ROTC offers classes, as opposed to traditional forms of military recruitment, puts the program in a grey area, and I am curious to see whether or not it would be affected if the school so chooses to implement DCGA's resolution. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens.

Tragic

Dimebag Darrell was shot last night. Although I have never particularly been a fan of metal, he was a great guitarist and he will certainly be missed by the music community.

First Post

First post. Exciting. Wassup everybody. I doubt anyone will ever read this but whatever. My name is Jason Dozier, and although I originally hail from Atlanta, Georgia, I going to graduate from Denison University in Granville, Ohio in less than 6 months. After graduation, I plan on heading back down South where I was born and bred. To do what, exactly, is still up in the air, so we will see what happens. I haven't hit the panic button quite yet.