Jordan River Forum

Educated populace needs better comics; attention to detail \nI am writing to express my disgust, anguish, and frustration with the lack of judgment made in running the (Editorial Cartoon, Feb. 5). In many instances, I have kept quiet and allowed for this paper to print ignorance, but now I feel compelled to speak. I believe in free speech and feel that people are entitled to speak their minds. However, a school newspaper needs to take responsibility in presenting controversial issues in a more educated manner than what was displayed today.\nWe attend a school that is racially, religiously, and economically diverse. I am sick and tired of this newspaper using the race card as a means to alienate and ostracize a particular group of people, who pay tuition and deserve the right to be here. If you really want to air the issues, let's talk about the low retention rates of students of color here. Or, let's discuss the lack of access to higher education that is still perpetuated in society. The U.S. Census data is clear evidence to revealing the truth of access and equity to education in this country. It clearly demonstrates that students such as Latinos, African-Americans and let us not forget American Indians, are still left out. Yes, they are graduating from high school at the same rate as whites. But when one looks at who is pursuing bachelor's degrees and matriculating from four-year institutions, students of color are left out of the equation. And it is for that reason that we still need affirmative action. Let it be known, I really don't think that many of you (including some members of this newspaper) are capable of handling the truth. And that is a very sad reality, being at one of the country's esteemed institutions, that is supposed to have an educated populace.\nMichelle McClure
Graduate student\nComic a reminder of Jim Crow laws, racism, segregation\nI am writing to express my outrage at the IDS' decision to feature (Feb. 5) the editorial "cartoon" by Dan Carino concerning affirmative action in higher education. To begin, it is misinformed and misinforming of the nature of affirmative action programs in higher education. More distressing still, it presents a caricature of Afro-American students that is a throwback to the shameful years of Jim Crow in this country. The large black man, clearly unconcerned with his studies, bears no resemblance to any student that I have ever taught at Indiana University. The very few Afro-American students that I have instructed in the School of Education are as serious as and often more serious students than their more numerous white counterparts. The real shame here is that actions such as this one by the IDS contribute to a climate of racial antagonism that makes this campus unattractive to Afro-American students. As an educator of future teachers, I find this particularly distressing. With the proportion of minority teachers declining in the K-12 teaching force even as the proportion of minority students increases, those of us committed to public education in this country struggle to make college in general and teacher education in particular a more attractive choice for talented minority youth. I fear that the prospect of spending four plus years in an institution that features racial stereotypes in its student newspaper is enough to drive any self-respecting student of color as far away from college as possible.\nMargaret Sutton
Assistant professor, School of Education\nStupid is as stupid draws; cartoon joke lost on minorities\nOnce again, the IDS has proven to me its ignorance on the issue of equality and diversity. In the cartoon for Wednesday, Feb. 5, the attempt to make Bush's speech on affirmative action a satire failed. The paper portrayed a nerdy white guy holding a sign saying, "Perfect SAT score ... 12 points," and a big, athletic, dumb black male looking off in space and whistling with a sign that says, "Being a minority ... 20 points." The last sign reads, "Feeling entitled to special benefits ... priceless." Unfortunately this joke did not work simply because too many people really believe that affirmative action helps underqualified "dummies" get admission into schools and hired for jobs. Affirmative action benefits white women, the handicapped, and many other minorities. It is a means of giving people (especially in black and Latino communities) who lack resources due to socioeconomic disparity and not academic excellence, a chance to improve their lives. If you really wanted to make it a joke, show Bush with a sign that reads "...Idiot with a rich father ... Presidency" -- then maybe I'd laugh.\nCarolyn A. Randolph
Junior\nBoth sides of race issue needed in comic message to community\nAs a journalism student, I was sickened when I opened the Feb. 5 IDS. There staring me in the face was a comic depicting one person's opinion of affirmative action. Could the stereotyped smart white guy and the dumb black jock have been more obvious? I would be willing to bet that such an image helped to further the idea that affirmative action only helps those who are too ignorant to get into college. And don't forget how this program serves to further the injustice aimed at high-achieving white students ... To my peers in the journalism school, we are in a hated profession and this is exactly why. Where was the representation of both sides or at least some facts about the subject? Many people don't know actual facts about what affirmative action does for intelligent and promising students who couldn't otherwise make it. Many people just rely on what they hear, which we know isn't always true. Responsible journalism would have run some facts about affirmative action, who it affects (positively and negatively), how it affects IU admissions, etc. Maybe in the future we will work to actually represent both sides of the story, and we could help and inform in the process ... a novel idea.\nKrystin Washington
Senior\nCartoon does not represent blacks fairly\nDear Colleagues,\nI too was enraged by the cartoon and found it interesting that there was no other op-ed piece or cartoon featured on the same page as a way to offer a contrasting point of view. If this had been done, I would have said yes, this newspaper seems fair, unbiased. But I guess in an attempt to get attention and to promote one perspective on the issue of affirmative action, the IDS editorial staff decided to show the cartoon by itself.\nGive the cartoon a close look. It does not portray blacks as students who bring anything but their skin color to the admissions table. White students, on the other hand, bring something beyond their color. According to the cartoon, white students bring the necessary qualifications. And what does the weight issue suggest? Oh, that blacks are fat and lazy, and expect automatic admission to any program because of their skin color. Whites, on the other hand, are striving to meet the most demanding expectations of the schools they would like to attend, and thus become outraged at being told that their "hard work" is not sufficient for admission.\nOne can only speculate what the motives of the IDS are. But as a university newspaper, it should represent the various views and opinions of everyone who calls this school and town home ... for now. That means that any attempt to educate or encourage debate on the issue of affirmative action should be done even-handedly, with opinions or representations from those who oppose AND those who support affirmative action. What the IDS has done is show its haste in reaching some sort of decision on this topic. Let's hope that the debate is more charged and more thorough and more fair when the Supreme Court looks at this issue in the Michigan case.\nKelvin L. Vidale
Graduate student\nComic sends unwelcome message to future IU students \nThere was an offensive cartoon in the Feb. 5 edition of IDS on page 8. The cartoon depicts two men, one white, the other black. The black guy is twice as large as the white guy, whistling a tune, and holding a sign that reads "Being a minority -- 20 points." The white guy is holding a sign that reads "Perfect SAT score -- 12 points." There is a third sign that reads "Feeling entititled to special benefits: Pointless."\nA picture is worth a thousand words. The impression I got was that the black guy really doesn't belong here or at any university. I don't think that IDS expressed good judgment in deciding to publish this cartoon.\nIman S. Morisset
Graduate student