Caucasian club blues

Lisa McClelland, 15, transferred schools recently. Lisa McClelland, 15, feels she was unjustly persecuted for her beliefs. Lisa McClelland, 15, has a lot to learn.\nThe Washington Times reported last week that this young teenage upstart from Freedom High School in Oakley, Calif., decided to leave her alma mater due to "flak" she was receiving from other students over her decision to try to found a "Caucasian Club" for herself and her peers. The idea behind it all was to promote European culture and heritage because, as Lou Calabro, president of the European-American Issues Forum in San Bruno, Calif., said, "They're tired of being told they're always the oppressor." Sound familiar?\n Perhaps "culture and heritage" weren't the issue, but the recurring theme of the Caucasian population attempting to express its desire to "fit in" with the growing trend of promoting diversity through clubs, holidays and admissions practices isn't something foreign to IU. \nAnyone want to buy a cookie?\nBut we're not here to tell people that they're being racist or trying to stunt multicultural growth. You see, McClelland's "idea" and those of the same camp operate under the fallacy that theory can trump practice and that anger is synonymous with oppression.\nThere's nothing wrong with the theory McClelland offered. By all means, she has every right to promote whatever aims she chooses. Freedom of expression, we like to say. However, conflict occurs when people combine free expression with diacritics. \nThe Washington Times noted how McClelland's mother, Debi Neely, tried to speak with her daughter about the debacle.\n"I tried to explain to her that it was a very touchy issue, but she just kept saying, 'Why?'" Mrs. Neely said. \nIf McClelland truly didn't know "why" the issue of race and cultural preservation is a "touchy issue" in America today, then she had no business swimming in the waters in the first place. \nWhenever someone decides to make his or her statements for diversity, however one may define it, if one does not expect anger, confusion and opposition, then very little will be accomplished. The most to be hoped for is exactly what happened in California and here in Bloomington: unrest and media coverage, very little else.\nAre we ever going to get along and give every person of every race, creed, sexual orientation, gender and veteran status equal opportunity to live and participate in American society? \nDoubtful. \nDoes that mean we shouldn't strive to correct that, whether it be through affirmative action or Caucasian clubs? \nNot at all.\nBut as we do, we need to be strong. There's no crying in baseball or the politics of race. If you can't stomach the blows, find someone who can to represent your cause. In the battle for ideals, everything is personal. This doesn't mean an idea is being oppressed, it means that it's being challenged. May the best man, woman, transgender, Eskimo, P.O.W., divorced, single, left-handed or middle child win.