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News :: Peace |
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Anti-War Teach-In Squashed |
Current rating: 0 |
by Lee Sensenbrenner
(No verified email address) |
04 Dec 2002
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Right-Wing Talk Radio Rips It, School Halts It |
The Madison Metropolitan School District is restricting students from addressing controversial topics unless their forums include equal time for contrasting views.
The administration staked out its position Monday afternoon when a last-bell announcement at Madison Memorial High School told students that an optional assembly today, which would have hosted three speakers opposed to war with Iraq, was postponed.
Until some hawks could be found to balance the discussion, the administration felt that it violated a line of policy that says: "The study of and the teaching of controversial issues shall be in an academic atmosphere as free as possible from bias and prejudice."
That decision, which was reached and ordered by Superintendent Art Rainwater, came after a morning of talk radio that again skewered the district as subversive and anti-American.
For nearly a month, a group of 20 students had worked to organize the anti-war teach-in. They enlisted the help of social studies teacher Pat Calchina and had clustered posters advertising the event around the school.
The speakers were to include Vietnam veteran Will William, peace activist Rae Vogeler and Progressive magazine Editor Matthew Rothschild. It was to have been open to anyone during seventh and eighth hours, followed by an after-school reception for refreshments and more discussion.
"Organizing it was really a powerful experience," said Memorial sophomore Rachael Blumenfeld. "It made me feel like I was a big part of something."
"We all have our opinions, but getting a chance to really express them and share our view - and really touch other people - was a great experience. We worked really hard on it," Blumenfeld said.
Blumenfeld said her detractors, who made "derogatory remarks" and tore down posters, were not meant to be excluded from discussing Iraq.
"They're more than welcome to organize a teach-in from their point of view - in fact, we encouraged them to. But they just didn't get it together," she said.
After the posters went up on the walls, and some were torn down to skid around the floors, a group of students involved in the Young Republicans organization began complaining that the school was going to sanction a message biased against their views. They said they weren't being included.
Principal Pam Nash, as well as the students who organized the teach-in, invited the students to organize their own assembly, a teacher at the school said, or find their own pro-war speakers to participate.
Neither offer was taken, and Monday morning the perception among the conservative students that they had been slighted turned more bitter - and it was being broadcast on AM talk radio.
Memorial High School student Andrew Schneider was on air with WTDY/AM 1670 host Chris Krok - who had drummed up anti-School Board sentiment last year when the board resisted mandated daily classroom recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Those who spoke on the radio show gave slightly different variations on the theme that the school was engaged in some sort of thought control, and it was stifling voices from outside the left.
Some of the talk, too, was critical of Calchina, the teacher who was helping the students organize the assembly.
Calchina, who teaches women's history and other classes in the social studies department, had faced controversy last spring when she helped a group of girls build an American flag made of bras to celebrate women's history month. The project, after some hand-wringing by district administrators, won the adulation of local politicians and a call from Oprah Winfrey's cable TV network.
Calchina said she's concerned about the position the district took Monday, and is bewildered by the line of policy used to justify it.
"Where does it end?" she said.
To illustrate her frustration, she gave an example of how Ron Greer, a conservative, anti-gay former candidate for Congress, visited the school during the week before the November election.
She said she attended his talk, which was before classes started but during the paid school day.
"There was no opposing viewpoint," Calchina said. "I went, and so did students, and we politely asked questions."
"But in no way did we go on talk radio," she said.
Calchina said she was upset by reports that she had been heavily criticized on the air. Despite being told not to talk to the media, she said she had to respond to what she called "outright lies in an incredibly hateful manner."
"I didn't want to step on any toes, but I also felt like - my God, I'm the one being put out there as a demagogic teacher brainwashing my students, so I needed to speak. I needed to speak."
"I defended the right to dissent in a democracy and said that this is all part of the educational process."
Blumenfeld said she and her fellow students did not intend their teach-in to be politically balanced - rather, it was meant to be rather one-sided to counteract what they see as a national bias toward war.
"We're just trying to present a pro-peace side," she said.
For that, Blumenfeld said that "our posters were ripped down by teachers and students."
"It was just incredible, the amount of anger people had just for having a teach-in.
"People see it as anti-American. I think when we're doing something that's against our president's policy, people see us as attacking the American government.
"I think what America truly is, is discussion. I think what a real patriot is, is someone who says what they believe in, even if it's not the most popular thing - someone who just strives to make America better. Not necessarily by agreeing with power, but by demanding a better government and just demanding that their voice be heard.
"I think that's what makes our country so great, or what should make it so great," Blumenfeld said.
Calchina said she and her students have tentatively rescheduled the teach-in for Dec. 13, provided opposition speakers can be arranged.
"If they are not able to dig anyone up, I will," she said, "because these kids are so disappointed."
"We were so excited about this beautiful event that we were going to put on," Calchina said. "But I do believe that this is a very teachable moment. If they can just hold on, on Dec. 13 we can have an even better event. We really can. I have no qualms about the opposition being there."
Copyright 2002 The Capital Times |
See also:
http://www.madison.com/captimes/
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