A Particularly Cheap White Wine

“A Particularly Cheap White Wine: Racism, Scholarships and the Manufacturing of White Victimhood”.
By: Tim Wise                                                        By: Ruby Lazo

1. “It will mean that colleges will become increasingly populated with white students whose SAT scores might be mightily impressive, but whose moral and ethical compasses, to say nothing of their understanding of the real world, leave something just as mighty to be desired.”

College’s accepting their students based on just one aspect will leave them shamefully lacking in others. If colleges were to begin just accepting students with the highest SAT scores, they would be doing a disservice to their college. Yes, these students may have the highest SAT scores but who are they as a person, how much effort do they put into their work, how will they represent their college… Shouldn’t those qualities hold some importance to college admissions? 

2. “The manufacturing of white victimhood”.

I have never heard this term before but it fits this article perfectly: white men and women victimizing themselves.

3. “Race-based scholarships for people of color are the worst form of bigotry confronting America today.”

I was in shock reading this quote. I could not believe someone would ever think to say something like this. If we continue to allow remarks like that to be said then these statements will unfortunately become more and more common in our society and soon people will begin to think that they hold truth.

This was one of my favorites articles we have read so far. The author did a great job defending his arguments. I was extremely shocked by some of the facts and statements I read. I could not believe what ignorant things people will think, say and do.

I wonder how the President of the College of Republicans at Boston University would respond to this. 

In the Service of What?

In the Service of What?                                                                    By: Ruby Lazo

By: Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer  

1. “The service component may help us get the support needed for implementation, he argues, but its real impact is seen in its ability to promote powerful learning environment."

Service learning experiences provide opportunities for students to learn and grow in ways that just aren’t possible in a classroom.

2. “The distance between the one caring and the one cared for diminishes.”                        Once student volunteers immersed into their school assignments they began breaking down walls. Both sides began forming connections with one another. This is especially important if we (as a society) want to begin breaking down stereotypes and misconceptions about certain groups of people. 

3. “Citizenship requires that individuals work to create, evaluate, criticize and change public institutions and programs.”

In order for us to grow as a society we must all work together to create change in our public institutions and programs. As citizens we have the power to change social constructs.

May of 2011, my class and I went on a service-learning trip to the Dominican Republic. While there, in the morning we taught students at local schools English and during the afternoon we ran activities for the children who stayed at the orphanage. During my stay I learned about Dominicans Republics history, their schooling system, politics and the people. I received a lot more out of it than expected. It was amazing.

While reading about both Mr. Johnson and Ms. Adam’s stories I wondered how great it would be if they combined both of their projects into one, creating more of a balance.

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us. by Linda Christensen                        By: Ruby Lazo

1. “We are taught, more than anything else, how not to rebel.”

Beginning at a young age all of us are taught rules in our society. We are taught to live by those rules rather than to ask questions.

2. “Our self-images have been formed by others, but if we don’t dissect them, we will continue to be influenced by them.” 
Others construct our thoughts and beliefs; without questioning or education we are doomed to only think and believe what others have taught us.

3. “Because we can never look like Cinderella, we begin to hate ourselves. The Barbie syndrome starts as we begin a lifelong search for the perfect body. Crash diets, fat phobias, and an obsession with the mate-realistic become commonplace”.
Our obsession to be something that we aren’t corners us into a world of self-hatred. A world where we will never be pretty enough or good enough. We look up to Barbie as the perfect all American girl. We all want to be her, yet it is impossible to be her. If Barbie were to be a real person, she wouldn’t be able to stand on her two feet! Why? Because her boobs are too big, her hips too wide, feet to small and she is just too tall. We look up to a doll as a representation of what all women in our society should look like.

“Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us” was an extremely thought provoking article. I couldn’t help but reflect on my own childhood and some of the cartoons I used to watch. As a kid it is hard to ask questions like, why was it okay for Cinderella to marry a man whom she only knew for a day. However, today it seems as though many adults choose to not ask those same questions.                                       

Disney Princess’s seem to be especially destructive. They begin teaching girls at a young age the value that beauty holds, the insignificance of their intelligence, how one man (along with his money) can provide their “happily ever after”.             

As a kid, I always wondered why Cinderella never once stood up for herself - never once said she had enough. Can you imagine how much more significant and empowering it would have been if Cinderella had told her stepmother she was not waiting around for a man to save her but instead decided to pack her things and get a job! 

Are their any cartoons out there that give out similar messages?