Readers respond to the DP race series

To The Editor: The Daily Pennsylvanian is missing the point. By definition, racism is the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. How long will the media continue to propagate racism by focusing on race itself? Physical differences mean nothing when it comes to the core values that make us human. We are the same regardless of skin color or eye shape. We all have the same capacities for love and hate, fear and joy, life and death. When will we be able to look past physical differences and see people for who they really are? We need to focus on cultural differences, not racial ones. All of our beliefs, religions, and ideas are enhanced and modified by our culture. I want to be part of a culturally diverse campus, not just a racially diverse one. We shouldn't ignore race, but it can't be the focus. Just because someone's skin is dark, should I assume they relate to African culture? To someone born and raised a proud American, that could be considered a racist comment. Or what about the "white" person who was raised Nigerian? Should I completely ignore their culture and just throw them into the "white" category on someone's racial survey? Are we really afraid to get to know people as individuals and respect their cultural differences accordingly? I grew up sheltered with little or no cultural diversity on my high school campus. Coming here has been great for me, not because I look around and see different "types" of people on the Walk, but because of the relationships I have made and the amount I have learned about cultures other than my own. Ethnic groups on campus don't celebrate their physical differences, they celebrate their culture. The moment you categorize people according to their physical appearance, you are supporting the idea that it's OK to make judgments based on those characteristics. These stereotypes and generalities are what lead to racism. I pray for a day when people will look at each other as created equal, yet still respect each other's differences. I do not want to look at someone and see only race; I want to see a person full of ideas, beliefs and culture. I don't claim to have answers or to even understand the problem. But I do know what makes my friends unique. It's not their race alone -- It's their culture. Those who say there is no answer have never read the book this country was founded on. That book talks about a Jew who loved every culture and every race whether Jewish, Roman, Samaritan or Gentile. We need to focus on solutions that work and educate people on cultural diversity, not on how to further segregate people according to their appearance.

Luke Stokes Engineering '01

To the Editor: Personally, I find it admirable that there are living places at Penn where students who have similar interests can coexist. Accusations that W.E.B. DuBois College House is segregated may seem true to the unobservant, but there are factors that one must consider. First, living in DuBois is a choice -- neither administration nor community force anyone, regardless of skin color, to live there. Second, DuBois is seen as a living community, as are many other program- or topic-intensive residences. For example, the Science and Technology Wing in Kings Court/English College House is a place where people who share the same interests live together, share experiences and create a community. The same can be said for any of the other residential program groups on campus. Even the Greek houses fall into this category. People with similar interests tend to gravitate toward one another, but only if given a chance. DuBois is one of a few places on campus where the African American community can come together to learn about culture and heritage outside of the classroom. Penn offers its students a wide range of choices of places to live. Students are supplied with a roof over their heads, but topic specific residential areas, like DuBois, make living a learning experience.

Mayumi Hirtzel Program Assistant, College House Office

To the Editor: I would like to commend the DP for its effort to put in focus the race issues on Penn's campus. I come from a very diverse environment. I am not American, and coming to the U.S. and seeing this gap between the races came to me with great shock and sadness. It annoys me how at Penn, everything is so divided. There are "white parties" and "black parties." Interracial dating is seldom seen, and it is a taboo to say "white" or "black" when describing a person. From where I come from, skin color is just a person's own characteristic. My best male friend is 100 percent Kenyan and his being black was equivalent to my having freckles. We both laughed when he would not show up in photos because he was so dark. And it was OK to laugh -- I wasn't being a bigot or politically incorrect. In a truly diverse environment being friends is simply being friends. When I think of my friend, I don't think of him as my black friend. He's a buddy, a friend I can always count on. Renata Zaleska College '04 To the Editor: As a freshman at Penn who is half Japanese and half white, I could really relate to the article, "Asian students defy definitions" (DP, 12/05/00). Because of my mixed background,ÿit is hard to tell whatÿrace I am. Recently, one of myÿAsian classmates commented jokingly to me that I should dye my hair blackÿbecause I was Asian "on the inside," but didn't "look Asian enough." It surprised and frustrated me that a friend would think that way. Stereotypes of Asians come not only from non-Asians but from within the Asian community itself. And although everyoneÿagrees thatÿthe best way to overcome stereotypes about race is to educate, different racial groups do not associate, which makes it difficult for the educating to actually occur. The series on race in theÿDP was an interesting look into the diverse groups on campus, and hopefully it will lead to more awareness and understanding about race at Penn.

Catherine Porter College '04 To the Editor: I think both Alex Wong's column ("Gore's muddled reality," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 12/4/00) and Joseph Fuoco's letter ("Gore's dangerous tactics," DP, 12/5/00)) have missed the point in accusing Vice President Gore of manipulating and distorting the election. We should begin with a simple fact that must be accepted: we will never really know who won Florida, since the election came in within our system's margin of error. There's nothing we can do about that. Democrats have butterfly ballots, dimpled chads and black voters turned away from the polls. Republicans have absentee ballots without postmarks and voters in the panhandle who stayed home because the networks called the state for Gore early. The only fair solution really would have been a statewide recount under standards set to measure voter intent, but the time for that has come and gone. It should also be noted that no ballot has yet been counted four times, and there are some that haven't been counted once. And repeated statistical analyses have shown that in the areas where the percentage of voters counted 'no-voting' for president were highest were also the same places where the most antiquated machinery was used to count the votes. Contrary to Wong's assertion, the Gore lawyers did not invent the standards for voter 'intent,' but it is in fact Florida law under which local elections boards may discern dimpled chads as votes. Further, it has been shown that the occasional careless voter is capable of not fully perforating the punch card despite intending to do so. The vice president is not abusing the legal system or manipulating the election; he is simply exhausting the legal avenues open to him to ensure that every vote was counted to the satisfaction of all parties. These procedures were set in place long ago and their use should not be discouraged in a rush to name a president. The courts have long exercised restraint and good judgement, and I believe they will in this case.

Theo LeCompte Engineering '01

The writer is president of the Social Planning and Events Committee.

To the Editor: Monday's editorial, "Problem of perception," (DP, 12/4/00) poses a few interesting assumptions about the Undergraduate Assembly.The main one is that the UA has a problem communicating with students concerning their issues. The UA has made some efforts to bridge the communications gap between students and their representatives, but we have a ways to go. There have been a series of proposals, including more visibility on Locust Walk, attending campus events more regularly and holding open forums. The UA also suffers from the problem that few student organizations know that they can go to us with their issues and try to lobby us on behalf of their causes. During the past semester, UA members have visited different student groups on campus, learned about their issues and helped raise awareness for the groups and their issues. We urge undergraduates and their organizations to e-mail us, approach us and talk to us concerning issues that they are having trouble solving. We are not a panacea, but we can help some of the time and can advocate for various causes when they prove to be worthwhile to the undergraduate community.

Aaron Short College '03

The writer is a member of the Undergraduate Assembly.

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