Legal Attack on Women’s Right to Choose (How Did We Get Here?)

by with 3 Comments CultureFeaturedPolitics

There is a calculated attack happening across this country. It’s an attack on women and their bodies. In the past month, we have seen state legislative bodies in Missouri, Ohio, and Georgia pass restrictive abortion laws. Last week we saw the Alabama Senate pass a ban and the Governor, Kay Ivey, signed it into law. Georgia’s Governor, Brian Kemp, also signed a controversial abortion bill, the heartbeat bill, into law. But the bill signed by Ivy in Alabama is currently the most restrictive in the country. The bill signed by Ivy bans abortions — with the exception of when the life of the mother is in jeopardy — in all circumstances. Stop and read that sentence again. If a woman is raped or a victim of incest, according to the Alabama law, she must carry it to full term.

This is extreme to say the least. This bill along with the others passed in Georgia, Ohio, and Missouri all seem to be aimed at one thing, getting their legal challenges heard at the Supreme Court. If legal challenges get to that level then Pandora’s box is open for the Roe v. Wade debate.  Ohio passed a fetal heartbeat bill, which would ban a woman from having an abortion once a heartbeat is detected. Some state legislative bodies are even calling it a 6-week ban, a time when some women may not even know they are pregnant. Georgia’s Governor Kemp signed something similar. In Tennessee, the legislative house passed a 6-week heartbeat bill, but it was defeated in the state Senate and sent to summer study, but is likely to be reintroduced next legislative season.

It would be convenient to rant about the way men are legislating over women’s bodies and giving them no chance to discuss or fight back against that legislation. Instead, I want to challenge you to relive a brief rundown of events that have gotten us to 2019 and the heartbeat bills. The breakdown is below:

  1. 2008-2009: America elects the first Black president, Barack Obama. 
  2. Early 2010: SCOTUS rules in ‘Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC)’ that political spending is a form of free speech that’s protected under the First Amendment. The controversial 5-4 decision effectively opened the door for corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money to support their chosen political candidates. Hate that your politicians are bought and sold by corporations? Blame this.
  3. Late 2010: Ahead of the midterms, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell vows to make President Obama a “one-term president” and Republicans declare a nationwide takeover of state legislatures. This begins the slow but steady Republican calculation to take over.
  4. 2010 Midterms: Thanks to the Citizens United case, Republicans flood the airwaves with political advertising to influence down-ballot elections. Republicans pick up 675 state legislative seats; swept several governorships, including Tennessee; and Republican control increased from 14 states to 26 state legislatures. They also take control of the U.S. House of Representatives, winning 58 seats.
  5. 2011: Now that Republicans effectively have the states on lock, states begin to enact strict voter ID laws, including Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and TN.
  6. 2012: President Obama is re-elected. All is well with the world because we now have the Affordable Care Act (aka: Obamacare) and our president is still Black.
  7. 2013: The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) guts the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the ‘Shelby County v. Holder’ case. As in, Shelby County, Alabama versus Attorney General Eric Holder. As in, the (same) Voting Rights Act championed by Civil Rights activists like Dr. Martin Luther King and Congressman John Lewis. The ruling basically said, nope racism doesn’t exist anymore so Southern states no longer need permission (i.e. “preclearance”) from the federal government to change their voting laws. The decision allowed 846 jurisdictions to close, move or change the availability of local polling places (mostly in predominantly African American counties) without federal oversight. There were also cuts to early voting and purges of voter rolls. Virtually all restrictions on voting after the ruling were by Republicans.
  8. 2014: Things begin to take a turn for the worst. Republicans continue their congressional takeover during the 2014 midterms. Republicans gained control of U.S. Senate and picked up more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
  9. Early 2016: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dies. His death begins the conversation about who will replace him and President Obama is granted option to choose. Obama chooses Merrick Garland, but both the Republican senators and Democratic senators have to vote on his nomination. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocks the nomination, claiming it’s too close to a presidential election so the next president should pick. 
  10. Late 2016: Donald Trump is elected president. Now Republicans are in control of the legislative branch and executive branch. Time to take over the judicial branch.
  11. 2017: Trump has his eye on the SCOTUS pick left vacant by Obama. 
  12. By nominating conservative judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. (Remember, elections have consequences, and in 2014, just 36.4% of eligible voters nationwide turned out in 2014 – the lowest since World War II—and Republicans gained control of the Senate, who confirms all federal judges.)
  13. Fast forward to 2018 and by now, 34 states have some form of voter ID laws. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announces his retirement. Trump nominates Brett Kavanagh as his replacement. Senate confirms Kavanaugh in October, shortly before the midterms, solidifying the bench as a reliably conservative 5-4 majority.

It’s now 2019 and Republicans control the state legislature in 31 states. That is over half the country. Congress is divided – Democrats took back the House in 2018, but Republicans still control the Senate, Presidency, and Supreme Court.

What we are seeing play out today is a deliberate playbook, run by American Legislative Executive Council, also known as ALEC. This is the conservative right-wing organization that essentially creates all the bills and runs them through state legislative, congressional and Senate bodies across this country. They can’t do it unless our elected officials agree to push their proposed legislation. It’s interesting to note that ALEC will pay for members of Congress to attend some of their meetings where they discuss policy and legislation. Elected officials then go back to their respective seats and run their (ALEC) bills. Ultimately, the bills introduced by legislative branches across the country are so egregious and blatantly unconstitutional in an attempt to move the battle to friendly territory – the courts. And we see this happening with the abortion bills across the South. And in case you want even more examples let’s take another look at some recent history and see how there is calculation about the process of moving controversial legislation to the court system.

As soon as Trump became president he introduced the Muslim travel ban. A few judges across the country struck it down because they believed it was unconstitutional. It is now an active open court battle, but the dangerous part is Trump has already had two successful appointees to the Supreme Court and has been placing members on the Circuit Courts as well. This is important to note because states can fight these laws and challenge them, but if they end up in a court where a judge has been appointed by Trump or has a conservative view of the law then these abortion laws could be upheld along with other extreme laws coming out of Republican-led legislatures.

Trump has called for the separation of migrant families at the border. Again, this is something that judges are challenging and it’s heading to legal proceedings within the judicial system. The Secretary of Education, Betsy Devos, and her team are challenging public education with school vouchers. Legal proceedings will take place. Again, this will be headed to the courts. Voter registration is also under attack in states like Tennessee pushing the envelope and criminalizing the civic act. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing and guess where this will end up, in court. And let’s not forget about the 2020 census. The President is trying hard to remove some provisions on how Americans are counted, which will affect funding for states. There are lots of unknowns about the upcoming census, but one thing that will likely take place – a court battle.

When we talk about the calculated attack on women and their bodies, we have to look at how long this has been in play. The attack on abortion laws are systematically set up to eventually end up in the Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade. We should be upset about abortion bans. Louisiana has a case before the Supreme Court and we should all pay close attention to its outcome. It’s a law that would force doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where an abortion is performed, a structure that those opposed to the law insist violates the “undue burden” notion. In 2016 the state of Texas had a similar bill struck down in court.

We will begin to see court cases pop up about abortion bans because as soon as they are signed, they will immediately be appealed. It will be up to state judges, first, to decide their fate and with the stacking of conservative judges across the country we can only hope women’s right to choose is just as important to them as forcing a woman to carry an unwanted baby that the government doesn’t want to financially support once it gets here. 

Twice As Good To Get Half of What They Have

by with One Comment EducationFeaturedGen Z

The cheating scandal involving Yale University, Stanford University and the University of Southern California, etc. has confirmed what people of color in this country have known for years: being wealthy and White stacks the odds in your favor.

Many people believe that being a hard worker, dedicated and honest will make any goal attainable. Sadly, that’s never been the case.

Federal prosecutors charged 50 individuals—including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman—for bribery. They bribed college officials by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to have their children’s standardized test results manipulated, fabricating their kids’ athletic credentials and having their children falsely diagnosed with learning disabilities for extra testing time, which was used to cheat.

The irony of this situation is not lost on me. This behavior is the exact type of “scamming the system” that people of color are often accused of. High school senior Kamilah Campbell from Florida had her SAT results flagged after retaking the test and going from a 900 to a 1230. Her results were deemed invalid and Campbell “felt like she was being accused of cheating.” After being unsatisfied with her original score, she received a tutor, utilized the Princeton Review Prep Book, and took online classes. Black people are often lectured, told not to expect handouts and to simply work harder if we want any semblance of success. Kamilah put in the extra work and was still punished for it. Whenever we make any type of strides, the goal post is moved once again.

I realized that parents involved in the scandal likely did what they thought was best for their children. This led me to remember the story in which a Black single mother was jailed for attempting to do the best for her kids. Kelley Williams-Bolar, a mother living in Ohio, was prosecuted on felony charges after using her father’s address to have her children enrolled in another school district. All Kelley wanted was to keep her children safe and give them access to a better education. She spent nine days in prison, was placed on probation for three years and given 80 hours of community service. Similarly, Tanya McDowell, a mother from Bridgeport Connecticut sent her son to a school in a different district and was convicted of first-degree larceny. Unlike Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, these women don’t benefit from the privileges of being White and wealthy.

The education system is not equal and children of color often get the short end of the stick when it comes to the quality of their education. Kelley and Tanya did what they deemed necessary to give their children better opportunities; however, Loughlin and Huffman had no reason to do what they did. Their privilege gave their kids access to the best tutors, internships, extracurricular activities, and connections that would have allowed their kids to succeed whether they were capable or not. These women should be prosecuted and be punished the way that the system punished Kelley and Tanya. In fact, these women should be punished to a much higher extent.

The most painful part of this story is knowing that money allowed unqualified students to be given spots at the country’s best universities; meanwhile qualified students who did the work necessary to excel legitimately were denied. I’ve witnessed firsthand the work that lower-income students put in so that they can fund their college education: spending hours applying for scholarships, working tirelessly to excel athletically/academically to receive full rides, going into debt from taking out student loans, and posting GoFundMe’s to receive the money to continue their schooling. This scandal comes as no surprise because the playing field is not, and has never been equal. Laughlin’s daughter, Olivia Jade, stated that she did not care about school, and simply wanted to attend for the “experience.” For many people of color, attending college is more than an experience. For many of us, college is a lifeline. It’s a chance for us to improve our circumstances and create the life that we dream of living. Olivia Jade reducing university to nothing more than a chance to attend games and party is a testament to how rich people live in completely different worlds than everyone else. This scam is a testament as to how even if lower-income people of color work twice as hard, the wealthy can rely on money to cut to the front of the line. 

Similar Read: Segregated Rosters

SOTU Reactions… From the Left, Center, and Right

by with No Comment FeaturedPolitics

The president delivered his State of the Union speech last night (2/5/19) under a different set of circumstances… with a new speaker of the House in Nancy Pelosi and a Democratic-led House of Representatives, not to forget a government shutdown looming, all eyes were on Trump. The fear of socialism, immigration, and the border wall were just a few of the many topics he spoke about.

We asked a few of our contributors to weigh in and this is what they had to say…

“In regards to the State of the Union address, I had a hard time deciphering if it was truly the annual update on the process of our Nation or a cameo-filled tribute to the President by the President, flashing all the cool things he has done. One thing I will say is the President has improved his cadence while speaking, as I thankfully didn’t cringe during the entire speech. He hid his usual brash outbursts; however, his viewpoints, particularly on the issues of the Southern border and international relations, were not the most unifying. I found it particularly offensive that he did not address, or better yet THANK, all the federal employees and contractors who worked for 30+ days without getting paid. I pray for the sake of our Nation that the President and Congress come to a middle ground so we don’t have a second government shutdown.” – Left Healthcare Professional 

“Listening to the SOTU left me angry and confused.  It felt like a lot of fluff about unity and being morally correct in the same speech he demonized immigrants.  Once again #45 finds way to instill fear instead of understanding just in an effort to get his way. I would have loved to hear about a real threat to America, such as gun control, our crippling education system, immigration reform, and police brutality.  But none of that was mentioned, just another way to push his agenda of fear.”  – Center Single Mom 

“It was much less divisive than anything we have seen from DC in months. The president remains at odds from the House, but undoubtedly he’s going to get a bounce off the floor he’s been on since January. I don’t know that it changes much in the long-term. The wall is coming – and with it will be the court challenges of what’s pretty certain to be an executive action. The Mueller probe will likely bring a House effort against the president no matter what the findings, and polarization is likely to get more poignant rather than less. But for now, the president has some breathing room, and there is still a lot left of his agenda that’s out there to capture. ” – Right Army Veteran   

Perspectives are important, from the Left, Center, and Right. We should not focus on Trump’s approval rating, which will get an inevitable bump similar to most presidents after they rally the country in their SOTU speech. Instead, we should focus on the citizens who are impacted by his leadership and the gridlock in Washington.

Do you agree with our perspectives?

I’m Tired of “Wokeness”

by with One Comment CultureFeaturedGen Z

Wokeness. You’ve heard of this term. If you are a member of the Black community, you most likely have come across this term through everyday vernacular and if you are a student of color in college, this word has been thrown around in almost any conversation regarding equality rights and progress for underrepresented individuals in depreciated communities. Wokeness is a mental state coined by people of color declaring knowledge upon the current marginalization of Blacks, women, Latinx, LGBT+, poor, and working-class groups. What may have started out as genuinely powerful philosophy has transformed into a popular term. One that has enforced a mentality that progress is only through performative wokeness rather than different intellectual, conversational, and communal spheres.

I’m tired of “wokeness”. Because those who have used it have used it solely to advance their own purposes. We regurgitate the same information. We select individuals and praise them to push their agenda of “wokeness” that services individualistic people in the group. In the Black community specifically, social justice warriors tend to service straight BLack men the most. Their prerogatives seek to validate and confirm old information. Although this information is important and should be supported. Communities of color specifically Black communities have evolved into popularism and elitism online. Social Justice Warriors are influenced by who follows them as well as their audience. Black culture sells. And social movements are sometimes the sole proprietors of mass profit. If not “woke” individuals are benefitting from social enterprise, they benefit from popularism.

We thrive off popularism – especially within the college atmosphere. Where social media likes, retweets, and reblogs dictate and reinforce our success and popularity. As fluid and beneficial social media pages can be i.e. sparking movements like Black Lives Matter, pushing for clemency against wrongly indicted women, and exposing sexual offenders for the world to see, online popularity and social media effects are detracting from real-life conversations, progress and success that would be exhibited in college culture today, all masked in the ideology of wokeness.

However, wokeness has been tested time and time again in the real infringement and harm of certain populations. When media influencers that we love say something against the most popular rhetoric, when we disagree within a marginalized community there is an urge to cast out these people and continue a paradigm of “wokeness”. It’s a hierarchal approach that detracts and limits our conversations on how to fix certain aspects within Black communities. It makes popularism and what is most agreed upon the agenda of engagement instead of encouraging difficult conversations within educational institutions. I am not advocating for limiting knowledge on the difficulties that minority and certain populations go through. Instead, I am advocating for the humanization of these groups. That they are victims of systemic oppressions but also that they can be limiting to their approach of engaging different dialogue across lines. And until we eliminate performative wokeness, we cannot grow our community affairs, detracting from our philosophy of growth and progress.

Student Highlight of the Month: Chioma Ugochukwu

by with No Comment Gen Z

In today’s society, it’s easy for high school students to get distracted and let their grades slip or make bad decisions. Chioma Ugochukwu, a Senior at Detroit Renaissance High School, has remained focused by keeping her eyes on the prize. Not only is she a great student and a member of the National Honor Society, but she is also a model citizen in her community. 

And what’s this prize she’s keeping her eyes on?

She eventually wants to earn a doctorate degree in Molecular Biology, and open a free clinic in her hometown of Nigeria to provide free healthcare. She clearly wants to leave her mark and make a significant impact. When asked about her long-term plans, she responded, “There are children that walk around with no clothing or shoes, and many have a hard time getting to a doctor because of the distance and cost. I plan to set up a free clinic so that all the people in need can get free health care and not have to worry about traveling hours to an industrial inner-city hospital.” 

Such a lofty goal requires a strong academic foundation and a work ethic that’s hard to match, and Chioma has both. She has an extremely high aptitude for math and science, and she’s taken just about every AP and Honors class you can think of. She continuously tries to understand how things work and often searches for alternative ways or solutions to solve problems. As mentioned earlier, she’s a member of the National Honors Society. She serves as the historian, and has proven to be invaluable during meetings and frequently pushes members to reach their full potential.

Chioma has also volunteered for community service projects throughout the city of Detroit. She has served as a youth leader in several organizations and has successfully led teams of other young people to participate in service learning. She’s always thinking about how she can help others, which was evident when she played an instrumental role in getting an AP Psychology course added to her high school (solely to benefit students who will follow in her footsteps).

Considering her strong work ethic, endless curiosity and willingness to take risks, there is no reason to believe that she won’t continue to grow and make great strides in college and beyond. We believe in Chioma and want to see her continue to do to great things. Sooner than later, she’ll be graduating with her doctorate degree in Molecular Biology and planning to open a free clinic in Nigeria.

Chioma, congratulations for being highlighted as the student of the month!

(Mississippi) Gun Line Boss

by with One Comment CultureFeatured

We all remember the classic movie Life starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. One of the movie’s many classic scenes is when Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence first arrive at the Mississippi prison encampment. While being lined up with other new prisoners, the warden reels off the rules of the prison camp. The warden’s hype man, another inmate, carrying a rifle on his shoulder echo’s each remark made by the warden. The most memorable remark echoed was “tell em bout the gun line boss,” which was a reference to the prison encampment not having a fence, but rather a “gun line.” The “gun line” was an imaginary line and if a prisoner ever crossed it he would be shot by the watchtower guards. Later in the movie, a scene unfolds in which a prisoner does, in fact, cross the gun line, and is shot to death in the process.

Fast forward to the real Mississippi in 2018… the recent US Senate race between Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy. 

Similar read: Major League Baseball And Mississippi Politics?

I reference the imaginary “gun line” as a comparison to the State of Mississippi’s horrid racial history, and the forever reminder that crossing that racial line will not come easy. Mississippi may not have actual watchtowers with guards; however, there are racially motivated eyes always looking down on Mississippi, especially when progress is being made against bigotry.

Mississippi, a state on the Mount Rushmore of racism, has historically treated Black people akin to the oppression placed on minority populations in dictator-led countries. And racist Mississippians sure have a lot to be proud of, they lead the nation in a lot of areas:

  • Mississippi is the second highest recipient of federal tax dollars in the nation.
  • It has the fewest dentists in the nation.
  • It’s the most obese state in the nation.
  • It’s one of the poorest states in the nation.
  • In 2004, Mississippi passed a ban on same-sex marriage with miraculous 84 percent support for the ban – Do you know how hard it is to get 84 out of 100 people to agree about anything??? 
  • It’s ranked last in academic achievement by the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Report Card on Education. 

It should come as no surprise a state that drums up the very worst in imagery for many people around the country leads the nation in the worst way economically, socially, and educationally. However, we’ve known this about Mississippi since… well, it was first called Mississippi. 

Just like Martin and Eddie in Life knew prison would be tough, even harder when serving time for a crime they didn’t commit. That’s a given… being in prison is tough, but what isn’t a given is what to do about it? Next time, how can Mississippi flip the 70,000-voter difference that will be sending Cindy Hyde-Smith to Washington and elect a Mike Espy instead? How can a state that still has the Confederate Flag become an inclusive place for all? 

Well… Martin and Eddie took decades to escape from prison. After not speaking to each other for years, Eddie Murphy’s character tried to escape time and time again. Later in the movie the two reunited and came up with a plan to escape, and succeeded!

In order to cross the “gun line” of racism, Mississippi has a lot of work to do. A few key factors… 20 percent of the state’s residents don’t have a high school diploma. And it has a 37 percent Black voting electorate, the highest in the nation. Just like Eddie and Martin in Life had to set aside their differences with the common goal of escaping prison, (with the help from around the nation) Mississippians will need to do the same… and the rest of the nation needs to take an interest in Mississippi. Politically speaking, national liberals and progressives must do more than infiltrate Mississippi 6-months before elections in an attempt to push local candidates across the finish line. Mississippi needs sustainable support, true “get out the vote” efforts, and with the help of liberal to moderate White voters, the state could change politically. 

But the racial “gun line” in Mississippi will always have its history and sadly will only conform so much. Eddie and Martin’s goal wasn’t to make prison more comfortable, but escape it entirely. The goal in Mississippi shouldn’t be to change hearts or even take down the Confederate Flag. But instead, remove the elected officials who proudly want to continue the oppression of non-White Protestant citizens, and replace them with those who want to reverse the Mississippi we know with the one it could and should be. 

The Invisible Numbers of a Teacher’s Salary

by with No Comment EducationNews

Very few subjects are dreaded more than high-end mathematics. I for one hated high-end mathematics with a passion. One subject in Algebra that really burned my bridges was invisible numbers. Yes, there’s a subject in Algebra in which you learn about invisible numbers. Essentially, an imaginary number is the square root of a negative number and does not have a tangible value. Did you get that, no tangible value! In high school, I asked my math teacher with true sincerity what was the point and purpose of learning about invisible numbers. What are they used for? What’s the history of invisible numbers? And once again the numbers are invisible! We’re talking about invisible numbers, man, channeling my Allen Iverson practice interview, I stated “invisible” a dozen times. He responded with how most teachers respond to questions they would rather not nor can answer, “It’s in the curriculum and I have to teach it and you have to know it.”

Fast forward to today and invisible numbers came into my mind once more. This time in relation to the recent news of teachers in Oklahoma on the verge of demanding higher pay. They should demand to get out of Oklahoma, hook ’em nation forever! But that’s for the college football season. The Oklahoma teachers storyline isn’t new, its a sad reoccurring storyline of “teachers demanding more pay.”

The general public always has their opinion on this issue. They vary from the usual “we should pay teachers like we pay athletes” to “maybe teachers do make enough, maybe they spend outside their means.”

Most tend to side with teachers don’t make enough, which they DO NOT. However, they will never get Lebron James’s salary for his money comes from entertainment. And teachers money, of course, comes from their respective state or municipality.

That leads me to the main purpose of this article. The focus is only on teachers’ salaries, yet ignore the reason for teachers demanding higher salaries. The reason is cost of living in relation to salary.

Simply put, the rent is too high and teachers’ salaries don’t equal the growing cost to simply live. Not live in luxury, but simply to keep the lights on, put gas in the car, and an occasional bite to eat.

For example… Teachers in New York are the highest paid in the nation, with an average salary of a little less than $77,000 a year. However, when you factor in what they pay for living expenses and taxes they fall to 22nd place with an adjusted salary of $50,022, which is good for Alabama, not Astoria.

The invisible numbers of the cost of living and separating the objective from the subjective means that definition will forever have economists employed. What is needed to respectfully live and not be forced to work ancillary work or do things that may in comparison to one’s career or morals never be truly defined? There are basics that must be accounted for, especially for the most important profession outside health, which in my opinion is education.

So what’s the solution?

On the forefront, educational spending would have to go into one bucket and not be solely based on local property tax revenue, which is the main reason the Philadelphia school district pays its teachers far less than the affluent Montgomery County pays its teachers, which is just the north. Additionally, a review of teachers’ salary in comparison to that school district’s area salaries with the same credentials and standards for employment should be required. Standards like a college degree, background check, working hour amount, etc.

The invisible numbers surrounding teachers salaries are the same invisible working measures they encounter daily – such as driving a kid home because their parent is stuck in traffic or paying for a student’s field trip because his parents can’t afford it. And the most common, buying supplies for their class. The numbers simply aren’t enough to truly calculate a fair and accurate measure to ensure teachers take home the pay they deserve.

Racist Law Professor, Free Speech Issue?

by with One Comment Education

In the recent weeks, University of Pennsylvania Law school tenured professor, Amy Wax, has come under criticism for remarks she made last year in a video lecture titled, “The Downside of Social Uplift” and in an op-ed she wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In the video, Wax goes on to say, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black student graduate in the top quarter of the [Penn Law School] class and rarely, rarely in the top half… I can think of one or two students who’ve graduated in the top half of my required first-year course.” At the surface, it seems inappropriate; but with accuracy, such a claim could easily be proven by releasing the grades or ranking of students. One part of this very problematic situation is, that grades and rankings are confidential at UPenn Law and for a professor to make such a statement about an issue she has no authority to prove or disprove, is inappropriate at the very least.

In addition to these comments, Wax co-authored an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer in which she stated, “All cultures are not equal,” and called for the reinstatement of bourgeois cultural ideals in today’s society. Her Philadelphia Inquirer piece in addition to her claims of the inadequacy and underachievement of black students in her course, suggest a potential racial bias against black students that she has then used to support her claims of broad racial insufficiency.

The answer is not “show the grades!” The university’s policy maintains the privacy of the students by keeping their grades and rankings confidential – and Wax should have done the same. Black students not doing well in her course is a claim that should be investigated by the university given the other racially disparaging statements made, and the university’s revocation of her mandatory first-year course is the very least they should do in response to her comments. Free speech is a right, but citizens are beholden to the policies of the private companies and institutions they represent.

Education Inevitably Judges Everyone

by with No Comment Education

There should be no doubt in any rational thinking mind that education is how we separate class. In America, education creates a hierarchy. In India, one is born into that class. Here in America, supposedly, you can be born in public housing and go to a low achieving school and still become a millionaire. All you have to do is work hard and pull yourself up by the bootstraps? Um, let’s be honest… that sounds delusional in 2017.

Education is like a rubric, it will be used to judge you. Here in America education is used by society to create a narrative for one to follow. Being that one’s future is scaled based on acquired skills learned in school, it is imperative we understand that schools are not dumping grounds. Therefore, it is very important that Washington and their delegates revolutionize every demographic area, from inner cities to rural America. We should supply all children with the necessary tools needed to hone their skills in every subject area. Our main goal should be social and academic success, regardless of their family’s income or the location of their school district. However, schools continue to heavily weigh math and reading ability, which doesn’t present an accurate picture regarding a child’s potential. Rating these schools ineffective for not reaching “standards” is unacceptable, and it denies them proper resources and/or more incentives to help give children some form of extrinsic motivation to go to school and do well. Some of these schools are truly ineffective; yet, we see students that require special needs education and students who have poor attendance be the primary focal point for determining what nominal funds will be allocated to their school. Why? Well, you have to make excuses to cut money somewhere to spend it elsewhere.

For example… There are three schools in America within a few miles of each other. One school is failing and ineffective and doing much worse than the other two schools. That failing school is going to be phased out and their students will get dumped into the second school, which performs slightly better than the failing school. Now all of a sudden there are two schools in one building forced to share and use the resources meant for one, which over-populates that school and makes each class size larger, subsequently reducing the teacher’s ability to reach each student. This is exactly how students fall behind. Oh, and the third school performs the best so they’re going to get the necessary funding. Now consider this new two-in-one school and the other school that received their funding; which school is going to perform the best moving forward? Why does performance matter? Well, whichever school performs the best is going to get the Mac computers, smart boards, grants for art programming to pay teachers, and so on. It doesn’t take an advanced degree to figure out that the third school is going to continue to perform the best, and the new two-in-one school will probably do worse if you just consider the larger classroom sizes. But why wouldn’t the new two-in-one school with larger class sizes receive the funding? Surely, they need more resources, right? It’s evident that certain kids are left behind regarding the tools and resources needed to academically thrive and keep pace with their generation. Technology is taking over and experimental learning is the way to go. Standard based testing does nothing but perpetuate a bias system, which allows the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.

The federal government allows states to control the majority of educational funding in an attempt to escape the blame for dismal school systems. So who do we blame… the states, Washington, or both? Bottom line, our school systems are failing many of our children while others prosper and prepare for a competitive job market in an ever-changing economy. Educational segregation is what you call it, and when resources are withheld from groups of people that clearly need them the most we should question leadership and inefficiencies on every level. If education inevitably judges everyone, which seems to the case in our capitalist society, how about we give everyone a fair and equal opportunity to reach their full potential?