Jordan River Forum

Both sides of blog issue need to focus Due to the recent publicity given to business professor Eric Rasmusen and his web log, I journeyed to the blog myself, and what I found was more offensive and ridiculous than should be allowed on a government funded computer server. Here is a quote: "A second reason not to hire homosexuals as teachers is that it puts the fox into the chicken coop." This offends me to my core. To suggest that elementary school children are "chickens," a feathered barnyard animal, is absurd. Even if chickens were allowed in school, I don't think they would ever pass ISTEP and they would be far behind the rest of the class, just pecking around the carpet for seeds all day. Even more preposterous is the idea that a "fox" could get a teaching license. I think that Rasmusen's opinions on education in America are completely unfounded and off base, or maybe I'm just spending all my free time searching for those who insult me. The philosopher Plato once said, "But when (the Mind's eye) is fixed on the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its opinion shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence." In a society that increasingly defines itself by those who offend them, educators and students alike must not focus on those who are seen as perpetuating decay and form battle lines using differing opinions as autonomist banners. Instead, people like Mr. Rasmusen and people who differ in belief should all look inward and find where their focus lies. Identity cannot be birthed from an insult, and those who spend their lives searching for those who upset them are sentenced to spend their own lives wavering and never fully finding out their true selves … they only find the "self" that is closest to the opposite of another's idea thus eliminating uniqueness. Dan Dark
Junior IU not a 'picture-perfect,' discrimination-free community I'm a junior working on my finance degree at this campus. This fall semester is my second year at IU, and I pretty much feel comfortable and safe living in Bloomington. I used to say to my friends and family back at home that this campus will never discriminate against me for practicing my beliefs. I was here during Sept.11, and I have faced the most challenging situation in my life. I was harassed not by the students but by the outsiders, but I still felt safe living in Bloomington because the University's authority really cares for our safety. They offered comfort and safety when the Muslim community was scared to go out. I really believe in the University's policy against discrimination, but I was appalled when I heard two female Muslim students were being treated poorly at the Campus Access Card office. The students who wear head scarves (also known as hijab) were forced to take off their scarves by a female employee. At first they refused to do so, for the scarves symbolize their faith, and to take off the scarves is like depriving them of their beliefs. They asked whether it is compulsory to do so, and the employee replied that they must take off their scarves otherwise the picture wouldn't be taken. The two students, who were worried they wouldn't get their cards, finally caved in to the threatening request and reluctantly took off their scarves in front of staff, parents and students. It was such a great humiliation for them to be stripped of their long-life faith. The employee didn't even consider letting them go into a room to take the picture in private; at least that would've saved them from the hurtful whispering and staring of others. As a Muslim student who also wears hijab, I refused to believe that such an incident happened on this campus -- a place I considered my second home, a place I used to think would accept and continuously support my faith when others thought we were terrorists. I no longer feel comfortable and safe here. Every morning I wake up, I think about those poor students and wonder if the same thing could happen to me. What if they asked me to throw away my scarves, the only things that make up my identity as a Muslim woman? Why should I be denied of my right stated in the Constitution? I am not doing any harm to others; I'm just practicing the freedom of religion. I believe IU owes the Muslim community an explanation for this questionable act. I demand to be informed directly about any changes that affected Muslim students in the procedure of picture taking for their student identification cards. I hope the incident will be investigated fairly and will be published in the IDS. Nurdilah Mustapha
Junior Display of religious insensitivity gives IU bad reputation Though a new semester brings new students, even new backpacks don't mean we have new attitudes toward others. During the registration and orientation week which was over a week ago, a group of Muslim students went to Eigenmann Hall to get their student's IDs, but to their surprise, two of the students were asked by a woman employee to take off their head covers (also known as "hijab") in order to take their pictures. Being asked to take off their scarves in front of all the parents, new and old students, totally embarrassed them. To my regret, this incident happened again at the IU Bookstore in the Indiana Memorial Union when one of the students lost her ID and wanted to get a new one. She, like the others, was humiliated in front of the parents and fellow students. All of the parents started whispering and she was the center of all those looking and judging. I don't even know what these students had done in order to be so humiliated. I also feel regret that discrimination still happens at IU when we all thought it was over. Besides that, I feel that the freedom to have and practice religions was totally taken away from them. In order to protect herself, the employee said that there is a new regulation that requires Muslim women to take off their scarves in order to get their student IDs. The questions are, if there are new regulations, why are only some of the Muslim students asked to do so, and why are some of them not? Besides that, if there is a new regulation being passed around, how come we are not being informed about it? I am totally angry that these incidents should happen at IU. I did some research regarding this matter and I even asked some of my friends at other universities regarding the new regulations. But, again to my regret, there is no such "stupid" regulation at any other universities around the states. I'm not sure whether the regulation is just a way for the employee to let herself off the hook or if it really is a new University policy. I hope these incidents are noted and investigated by the authorities because not only does it humiliate these poor new students and the Muslim community in general, but it will also make for a bad reputation and bad name for IU. Sarimah Samad
Junior