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Bill O'Rights · 04-14-2007, 10:11 PM

Not wanting to derail Shesus' excellent thread on Who runs the race?, and the recent Imus unpleasantness, I thought the following bore some discussion of its' own.

Link to original article on KETV.com

Quote:

OMAHA, Neb. -- Benson High School journalists used the school's paper to explore use of the "n" word in classrooms and hallways.

The paper's advisers and principal didn't stand in the way of the controversial topic. The students who put the word all over the center page of the Benson High Gazette said they put it there in an attempt to get rid of it from their hallways.

"If we're not going to use the 'n' word, then we shouldn't use any word at all. We should abolish all of them," said Nick Jones, who drew cartoons for the issue.

"I don't think it should be used because it's just another way to degrade people," said student journalist Mary Davis, who interviewed a student. "He said he used it but found it offensive when it's used by whites."

Student Nick Daehling penned a satire for the issue.

"I wrote, 'To My Honkies and Homies,'" Daehling said. "Do it with all of them or stop it with one, was pretty much my point."

The students said they figured if they could turn heads, they could stop the "n" word from coming out of mouths.

"A lot of teachers are pretty passive about it," Daehling said. "It was good to have the students themselves call out other students."

Daehling said he saw the difference in class when one of the students used the word.

"It was the class against one person, and it was pretty cool," Daehling said.

Journalism teacher Jerred Zegelis supported the idea when his students raised it.

"I was proud of them for coming up with something challenging," Zegelis said.

Co-teacher Latrina Parker said she and Zegelis insisted that the journalists do their homework before they wrote about the word.

"I wanted them to back up what they say or be knowledgeable about it," Parker said.

Zegelis and Parker talked to the students about whether or not to print the word.

"We thought we might be insulting our audience's intelligence," Zegelis said. "Everybody on earth knows what they're talking about."

Principal Lisa Dale said that too often, administrators don't talk about controversial issues with young people, and too many teachers are letting use of the word slide by in class.

"They think in our silence we somehow condone the wrong side of the issues," Dale said.

The students said that not everyone understood the intent of their work and some of their teachers were upset until they found out why they wrote about it.

Well...what have we here? High school journalism students that are being taught and encouraged, not only to think for themselves, but also to tackle the hard topics. The unpleasant topics. And we also have some educators that are courageous enough to back them up.

BUT WAIT...

This just in, from the Seattle Post Intelligencer

Quote:

OMAHA, Neb. -- A high school newspaper's special report on the use of a racial epithet among students received a harsh response from district officials, who say they are investigating why it was published.

Titled "The N-Word," the report in The Benson Gazette quoted students discussing why they used the epithet and other derivatives. It also contained a question-and-answer transcript of an ethics studies class's discussion of the topic.

Benson High's principal, Lisa Dale, was put on administrative leave Friday and her future status will be decided after an investigation, district spokeswoman Luanne Nelson said. Nelson would not say if the action was related to the newspaper's publication.

"Unacceptable decision making by staff has violated the standards set forth by the Omaha Public Schools to appropriately guide and educate our students," the district said in a statement.

The edition has been taken down from the school's Web site. Journalism adviser Jerred Zegelis told the Omaha World-Herald that he and Dale had consulted about the language and topic as district policy dictates. Dale did not return calls seeking comment Saturday.

The section contained a special letter on the front page warning readers about some of the language printed inside.

"We use language that may make people uncomfortable, but we feel that the use of language is justified in our mission to inform our readers of issues important to them," said editor-in-chief Sarah Swift.

Nelson said the district office received calls expressing concern about the content and said some district employees and some community members and students were offended.

"There is no question that the students had a valid, spirited discussion regarding this topic," Nelson said. But a high school newspaper may not be the right place to hold the discussion, she said, "because, as a printed piece, it can be misinterpreted."

Swift, the top editor, disagreed.

"Why would we have newspapers at all? It may make people uncomfortable, but you can't talk about things that people are always OK with. We can't just ignore the bad things and hope they go away."

Way to go Omaha Public School administrators. You've made national news. Not from the efforts of a gutsy high school paper...but rather for your knee jerk reaction, and your failure to support an excellent educator in her efforts to do what I pay her to do...teach. Frustration doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling.