Caucasian Club at Freedom High?   Author:  1225  Category:(Debate) Created:(9/20/2003 11:20:00 AM) This post has been Viewed (726 times) I came accross this article in the San Francisco Chronicle this morning. I was going to post it is the "In The News" section, but I thought that it would make a good debate topic: =================================== Club for Caucasians stirs up Oakley(CA) High school student surprised her idea turned into 'big deal' Jose Antonio Vargas, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, September 20, 2003 --- When freshman Lisa McClelland first proposed a Caucasian Club at Freedom High School in Oakley, she had no inkling of the stir she would cause in the quiet little town on the eastern fringe of Contra Costa County. Three weeks after she began circulating a petition, signed on sheets of binder paper by classmates and town residents, Lisa's campaign has drawn national media attention that has led to a mixed community reaction. Some critics seem more focused on the name than on the activities of the club. "This wasn't supposed to be a big deal," the 15-year-old said the other day. To Lisa, the logic is simple: If there is a Black Student Union for African Americans, a Latinos Unidos for Latin Americans and an ALOHA Club for Asian Americans, then why can't there be a Caucasian Club at her school? The Caucasian Club, as she envisions it, would be a place where students could talk about racial dynamics and how one's ethnic background -- hers being a mix of Scottish, German, American Indian, Latino and Irish -- affects people today, how her "whiteness," as she and others like her perceive it, affects those who aren't white. The racial injustices and prejudices of the past, she said, "belong in the past." But to some parents and students, a club with such a name is too divisive. They say it will do nothing more than reopen old wounds and perhaps create new ones. Oakley is an predominantly white area already on alert. In 2001, someone fashioned a hangman's noose from a shoelace and left it hanging on the office doorknob of Jesse Gossett, an African American staff member and basketball coach at Freedom High. Last year, at nearby Liberty High School in Brentwood, someone left a noose hanging from a redwood tree on campus. NAACP 'VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED' The East County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has already weighed in, saying it is "vehemently opposed" to the name of the club. "It's not culturally sensitive to the community we're addressing, especially in light of what had happened there before," said Darnell Turner, the chapter's vice president. "The club, in name, seems like a backdoor approach to separation. From a historical perspective, this will bring up fears." The possibility of a Caucasian Club -- with a tentative membership of 20 people, most of them Lisa's friends -- was the talk of the campus this week, eclipsing discussion of Friday's homecoming football game against San Ramon Valley High School or this weekend's community Almond Festival. Phones at her school and at her home have been ringing off the hook. CNN called Lisa at 6 a.m. Thursday; Fox News called the night before. The local newspapers have written it up. "It's overwhelming," Lisa's mother, Debi Neely, said as she stood in the kitchen of her Oakley home. Neely said she heard her daughter's name and the proposed club mentioned on several radio stations as she drove to work on Thursday. She expressed pride in her daughter. "If it takes one 15-year-old to make a point, to say that just because you're using the word 'Caucasian' doesn't mean you're being racist, then so be it." DIDN'T FIT IN OTHER GROUPS Lisa, according to her mother, grew up embracing diversity, but she came home from the start of school upset that she didn't fit in the Black Student Union, Latinos Unidos or the ALOHA Club. There was the Power of Unity Club, an umbrella group that oversees all the school's cultural groups, but Lisa didn't want to join that, either. The only club Lisa signed up for, Neely said, was the Gay-Straight Alliance. It was about three weeks ago that Lisa took the initiative. Other students at Freedom High had previously tried to start a Caucasian Club but were told they couldn't, Lisa said. So, in anticipation of "some opposition," she began circulating a petition to get support before approaching school Principal Eric Valto, who has final approval on campus clubs. About 300 students and adults have signed her petition; not all of them, Lisa was quick to note, are white. And, as local newspapers and broadcast media picked up the story, the reaction has been more positive than negative, Lisa and her mother said. Some people, Lisa said, have suggested changing the name to avoid controversy. "To some, having a Caucasian Club makes sense," one parent said on Thursday. "I mean, why not? But couldn't she call it a White Heritage Club? That sounds more politically correct." One of many postings at Freedom High's Web site suggested calling it the "Euro-American Student Union." WILL STICK WITH THE NAME But Lisa, who said she cares little about census demographics or the historical perspective of the NAACP's Turner, plans to stick with the name. The club will take trips to museums. Members will discuss history. Everyone will be welcome. Larischa Dorton, 16, and Kelly Andrews, 14, members of Freedom High's Black Student Union, heard about Lisa from BET (Black Entertainment Television) Wednesday night and see nothing wrong with her idea. If there is a black club, then there should be white club, said Dorton, a junior, who said she's in the Art Club, the Leadership Club and the Gay- Straight Alliance. "It's not this serious," added Andrews, a freshman. "It's either we all have our clubs, or we have no clubs at all." Some Freedom High students weren't so supportive. "This is so dumb," said senior David Borges, who called the whole situation "embarrassing." 'A LOT OF DRAMA' "It's just gonna start a lot of drama -- a lot of unnecessary drama," said Borges, 16, who is Portuguese and Italian and calls himself white. He is a member of the ALOHA Club; since he's had Asian neighbors all his life, he said he sees nothing wrong with joining the group. "What is white culture? What are we proud of?" asked senior Clint Simons, 17, who said not many people would want to join a Caucasian Club. "What will people do? Dance the electric slide?" Both laughed. Gossett, the 50-year-old coach who found a noose hanging on his office door, said he sympathizes with Lisa. "She's a freshman. This is a new environment for her, and every student here, every single one of them, wants to belong. "This is not about race. This is about belonging," he said. Gossett showed pictures of the school's Black Student Union, its members from all races; at one point, he said, there were more white students in the club than there were black. "To these kids, and perhaps to Lisa, race is not that big of a deal," Gossett said, adding he was the first to integrate Camden Fairview High School in his native Arkansas in 1967. "It's a bigger deal for us adults, who have experienced more, who have seen more." ==================================== So, what's your opinion, Mr./Ms. USMer? You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or interesting stories for the world to read and respond to Click here Scroll all the way down to read replies. 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