Journalist and Government Discrimination is a Fact

Journalist and Government Discrimination is a Fact

Cambridge imitates art, where words can mean whatever the government wants them to mean, as in Alice in Wonderland. (Janice O'Leary, "If you ask them, discrimination is a fact of life," Boston Globe, City Weekly, November 19, 2006)
The Cambridge Human Rights Commission whose mission is to address discrimination holds a panel on discrimination. But the most discriminated against group, persons with disabilities are excluded from the panel. The Boston Globe editors do not notice the omission.
It is not newsworthy. Like the Boston FBI Special Agent in Charge, Robert Greenleaf said, "It didn't enter my mind," when asked about 19 murders by his informants, the Globe editors can say the same thing. Is that the stupid defense? This makes sense especially since Cambridge was designated the most accessible city in August 2006, by the National Organization on Disability (NOD). Does the NOD practice similar free ranging use of words? Denying persons with disabilities access to a panel on discrimination. Yes that sounds most accessible. Students with special needs (disabilities) are ridiculed by their fellow students because they are in special classes.
But when the Human Rights Commission hears a panel on discrimination that is not an issue. And the reason is what?
--
Roy Bercaw, Editor
ENOUGH ROOM
Cambridge MA USA

CAMBRIDGE
If you ask them, discrimination is a fact of life
By Janice O'Leary,
Boston Globe Correspondent
November 19, 2006

Nearly one-third of students at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School say they feel discriminated against in stores and restaurants in Cambridge and almost half say racial discrimination in the city is a serious problem. Last month , the Cambridge Human Rights Commission released data from a survey taken in June of 515 high school students of all ethnicities.
At a panel event in the school's cafeteria for students to discuss the issue, several students said they believed guidance counselors at the school could do more to promote achievement among students of color. Nacar Reyes-Ramirez , a senior who is enrolled in Advanced Placement classes, which are the most advanced level, said she was originally put in unchallenging classes last year when she moved to Cambridge from Puerto Rico.
"Before they met me, I was placed in all ESL classes," she said. After she told administrators the classes were too easy, "they put me in college prep classes," which are the high school's standard track.
"I only found out about AP classes from my friends, not the counselors." "Appearance has a lot to do with how much time adults spend with you," she added. If you wear "baggy pants " or speak with accented English, " they may not even mention AP classes to you."
The three adult panelists, one from the business community, one from the school and one from the police department, mostly listened, asking few questions. The survey didn't ask how many students experienced discrimination at school, but asked how many "experienced the school as racially integrated." Eighty-three percent of white students said they think the high school is racially integrated; only 62 and 58 percent of African-American or Latino students respectively viewed Rindge and Latin as racially integrated.
At the Oct. 26 event, the mother of one Rindge and Latin student expressed concern that only a handful of white students showed up. In an interview, Ceendy Moscova , a junior at the school, said white students didn't attend because "they don't feel discriminated against. They think it's not their issue or they say they're too busy."
Laurance Kimbrough, a special education teacher at the high school and one of the panelists, said one of the best ways for white students and students of color to get to know each other is in class. "We have lots of white kids in honors and AP, lots of students of color in CP" (college prep) , Kimbrough said.
"If we continue with these divisions we won't bridge gaps. Students need to feel like they know each other better, which they can do if more students of color are talking with white students in classes. That's one way we as a school could work on this." Several students were quick to say that students have a responsibility to bridge gaps and seek out academic challenges. "It's not fair just to blame adults for poor education. It's up to you to take a chance ," said Tsion Girum , a junior.
"But if we had more adults inspiring students instead of giving up on them, we could achieve more." Seventy percent of Latino students, and two-thirds of African - American and Asian students, said they were treated with less respect than others at least once a year in Cambridge because of their ethnicity.
Many of the students criticized the MBTA. "Adult T drivers give students a hard time, " said Katia Barthelemy , a junior. She described being hassled by one driver who did not believe she was a student when she was trying to buy a student discount pass. "The behavior of the bus drivers is just as bad," she said. "They think they have all this power." The cafeteria rang with applause.