red balloon

2005-11-17T03:29:00.000-08:00

i like this story

2005-11-06T02:01:00.000-08:00

Romance on Bus #3A It was September 5, 2006. It was Leon [Redacted]’s first day in a normal class at Fair Lawn High School. After 4 years of home-schooling due to behavior problems, it was decided on that he was ready to go back to a real school. So, it was Leon who was walking towards the school bus stop on Berkshire Road and 30th Street to wait for the bus. The bus was #3A, a bus dating from 2002 with many features such as air-conditioning. The driver was a tough guy, but Leon had had him before a couple of times, and his wife for 3 years straight. So he got on, and sat in the middle with a boy from school he had never met, who told him his name was Billy Dee. Being that he had never had a full-size bus, he didn’t talk. He watched the bus cross Broadway, and actually waved to an NJ Transit driver in a city bus on the highway. In front of the firehouse, the bus made it’s next stop on Plaza Road and Rosalie Street. He saw someone familiar get on. Her name was Sara, but he didn’t know that. He just knew of this attractive girl as “Samantha’s sister.” Leon had met Samantha [Redacted] at a bowling program 2 years before, and he fell in love. He had gone so crazy that he went to Samantha’s house against his parent’s orders, where he saw this girl. Though he had gotten over it, Samantha had never escaped the back of Leon’s mind. So he had never expected to see her very own 14-year-old sister getting on Bus #3A, facing him! Billy said to Leon, “this girl is hot!” The bus driver said in his German accent, “Hey, don’t say that!” Billy whispered in Leon’s ear, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that. Don’t mess with George, he’s tough. I was on this bus last year, so I should know.” Leon replied, “Oh, you’re a sophmore?” Billy said, “Yeah! I also play on the baseball team, and I’m a big Yankee fan!” That started a big discussion between Leon and Billy about baseball. Leon had a tough day at school. The teachers were tough, and he had a lot of homework. This meant he had no time to post on message boards. This really sucked, big time. Even worse, Sara was not on the bus. But Leon was too tired to worry. He had a lot of stuff to do. The next day, Leon got on the bus with eager attitude. He was going to save his seat for Sara! After crossing Broadway and passing the firehouse, the bus stopped and Sara got on. Leon said, “Hey Samantha’s sister, sit here!” She said, “My name is Sara!” but not before George gave Leon a look. Leon apologized and explained how he met Samantha at bowling and fell in love, and how he saw her. When he finished, they had arrived at school. Leon said “See ya this afternoon!” but Sara said “I’m not on the bus afternoons. I help out after school.” They had a different lunch period though, but Billy said “Hey, you’ve got your eye on a girl already? And George didn’t even criticize you at all!” Leon said “Yeah, maybe I should have taken the opportunity and gotten my own bus, as I am eligible for it. But you might have heard my conversation with her.” But Leon and Billy went back to baseball after that, over their slices of pizza. But the next day, Sara wasn’t in the mood to chat, She said hi, and then fell asleep almost immediately. Leon got off and told her, “You snore!” Sara said “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. I was watching TV until 1:00 after doing 4 hours of homework.” The next day, they began chatting. They talked about anything and everything for the next week. “You really are like your sister,” Leon said to her one day. On Monday, Leon asked Sara if he could call her later that evening. She asked, “How do you know my number?” He answered, “I looked it up back when I loved Samantha, your address too.” So we chatted on the phone, and we helped each other with our math homework. And on Tuesday, we asked a senior who was headed to the library to take us as well. And on Saturday, Sara came over to my house. I showed her my room, and we played a game of Monopoly. But it was the start of a relationship. The next Saturday, Leon went over to her house. He made special care the day before, including being extra-healthy so as to not get an allergic reaction to her dog. But the following Monday on the bus, Billy said, “Hey, did you forget about me? All you care about now is Sara!” I told him it was not the same, but he still didn’t care. We had a big fight, and we got punished. I got detention for a day in school, and George banned me from the bus for 2 weeks, and only because the school insisted it not be a month. I took the NJ Transit bus to school during that time. After that, we decided to renew our relationship. We decided to go on our very first date. We agreed to go to the mall on Saturday. So, we took the 171 bus to the Garden State Plaza. We walked around, hand-in-hand, and shared some pizza together. My dad waited for me at the NJ Transit bus stop on Fair Lawn Parkway, but all was fine afterwards. The next Monday, I called Sara up and I asked her, “Would you like to go somewhere very romantic?” She said OK, so we agreed for Saturday. She came over to my house, and my dad drove us to Garrett Mountain Park in Paterson. I showed her the romantic view of I-80 and where Fair Lawn was. While a Greyhound bus passed by on the highway below, we had our first kiss. Then I took her to the Paterson Falls. Of course, that was something un-romantic, as that place was and is full of litter and graffiti. She fell asleep in the car, and while she was asleep on me, I gave her another peck on the cheek. Unfortunately, another girl saw us kissing. Clara Johnson, the biggest rumor-spreader in Fair Lawn High, was jogging with her dad over there while we were sharing our moment. She didn’t say anything, until Monday when she told everyone in school. Thank God she’s assigned to bus #30 instead, though I don’t know how the guys at Rec Center can put up with her anyway. On Tuesday, I became the laughingstock of Bus #3A. The dumb gangster kids in the back, who always do damage to the bus and even broke the air-conditioner once putting the bus in the shop for a week and giving us crappy Bus #2 from 1996 instead, were making the biggest noise about this. George took are of them, and they deserved it for once. We decided to stay away for a while, just talking on the phone and the internet. Billy apologized for everything, and defended me. Sara and I didn’t date for 2 whole months. But one day in late November, her sister Samantha came back from college in Rhode Island for winter break. Sara told me this on the phone one day. Samantha decided to take us to our best date, dinner and a show in New York City. That Saturday, we got on the 164 bus directly to the Port Athority Bus Terminal. We got tickets for a Broadway show, and we ate at a restauraunt that is fancy, or fancy for high-school students, anyway. Samantha paid, of course. After the show, under the bright lights of Times Square and 42nd Street, we kissed with her lips in mine for 60 whole seconds. We took the 171 bus from the George Washington Bridge on the way back, so I could take Sara on the subway. Sara had never been on the subway before, and I told her a lot of cool facts about it while we were riding the famous “A” Train through Harlem. We had a very good relationship, and it extended for years. We got married in 2015, and engaged 2 years earlier. I went into politics, even if she eventually became a shrink. That made my mother happy, though. Samantha became a very famous actress on Broadway and later Hollywood, thus earning her fame. We all had a very good life. And on my birthday of October 5, 2028, I gave a very excellent speech in Fair Lawn High School, my alma mater. Sara was there too, and she gave a speech as well. I had won the Democratic nomination for President. My running mate was once just my cousin from California. The speech in the high-school convinced the whole town of Fair Lawn to vote for me, and I won all the swing states and became president. On the White House floor on January 20, 2029, I made mention of my beautiful Sara several times. I loved her, and our 2 kids were also very nice as well. But it sure is a good thing that happened to us. Only in America could a couple that met on Fair Lawn Board of Education’s school bus #3A one day become President and First Lady,

Iono about this, Eugene

2005-11-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

From Volokh.com
[Eugene Volokh, November 1, 2005 at 1:11pm] 1 Trackbacks / Possibly More Trackbacks
People Unclear on the Concept:

In the comments thread to one of Dale Carpenter's posts on same-sex marriage, I admonished a commenter for calling another's comments "asinine."

A third commenter responded:
Lessons I learned from Professor Volokh: Using the word 'assinine' is wrong, but comparing gay people to brother/sister incest is OK.
Racial invective, wrong. Incest comparison, OK.
Religious bigotry, wrong. Incest comparisons, OK.
Sexism... well, that's usualy OK, as long as it's not too overt. But if it's overt, it's wrong, and comparing same sex relationships to incest is OK. . . .

Except for his bottom line, the commenter is almost precisely correct: Our general policy in the comments is generally to tolerate a vast range of substantive argument, because it's important that those arguments be aired. For instance, the analogy of same-sex marriage to incestuous marriage is sometimes an important and eminently legitimate argument (though most certainly not a dispositive one, which is why I myself support recognizing same-sex marriage but do not support recognizing most incestuous marriages). To take the most obvious example, if someone is arguing -- as Dale Carpenter is not, but as some do -- that consenting adults have an inherent right to have their marriages be legally recognized, then it's entirely fair (and in my view persuasive on this point) to point out that this argument would legitimize incestuous marriages as well as same-sex marriages.

However, all arguments -- good or bad, bigoted or saintly -- should be framed without the use of personal insults or invective, since such devices are not only offensive and likely to lead to a worsening of the discussion, but also unnecessary. Offensive ideas, fine; offensive modes of expressing those ideas, unnecessary and thus not fine. Cohen v. California is a good guide for constraining government repression of speech. I don't think it's a necessary or wise rule for editorial decisions in publications such as this one.

My critic then responded: "You're failing to see that the legitimizing of the analogy is, in it's self, an insult. Incest is not mentioned because it's going to happen, it's mentioned because there's a moral taboo around it, and an odd one, because distant cousins marrying is somewhat OK, but not siblings. Siblings don't choose to marry knowing they're siblings, but the comparison contains the same taboo. What the opponents of same sex marriage are trying to do is invoke the taboo, and the sense of moral dissaproval. It's the same with the 'gays are promiscuous' attacks. Cloaking it in politeese changes nothing. Bigotry is by nature, rude."

Folks, let me mention something that I hoped I didn't need to: If you don't like reading arguments that condemn homosexuality or homosexual relationships, don't read a debate on same-sex marriage. Conversely, if we were to exclude all arguments that you think of as "bigotry" against homosexuals, or that convey "moral disapproval" of homosexuality, it wouldn't be much of a debate, would it?

As it happens, I support legislative recognition of same-sex marriage, for many of the reasons that Dale does. I hope that the debate between Maggie Gallagher and Dale Carpenter will persuade some readers to join me in this. I think that our side has the better arguments, so I'm happy -- both as an abstract intellectual matter and as a tactical political matter -- to have people hear both sides.

But you can't rebut substantive arguments by simply condemning them as rude "moral disapproval" of homosexuality. The whole point is that many people do morally disapprove, in some measure, of homosexuality, or at least find homosexual relationships less morally worth than heterosexual ones. To persuade the audience, you have to let these arguments be aired and then respond to them on the merits. That, at any rate, is the theory of this blog.

Finally, as I've noted before, let me preemptively respond to the near certain response: "But would you let commenters advocate the Holocaust? Slavery? Mass rape?" Well, though I support same-sex marriage, we need to have some sense of perspective: The denial of equal rights here ain't the Holocaust. There may well be a pale that certain things are beyond. Yet the pale should be pretty far out, and the fact that advocacy of mass murder is beyond it doesn't tell us much about condemnation of homosexuality.

But -- vastly more importantly -- no matter how deeply you support equal rights for gays and lesbians, remember that we are in the minority. Some views are so marginal that you can just ignore them, or conclusorily condemn them as evil and not see the need to confront them on the merits. That's just not true as to opposition to same-sex marriage, or condemnation of homosexuality. You're up against the majority view. It's got to be confronted, not just peremptorily dismissed as rude. Get clear on that, and perhaps you'll win; ignore it, and you'll lose.

Stefani’s mascots

2005-11-01T03:46:00.000-08:00

New doubt: Is Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku obsession offensive? By Heather V. Eng

Gwen Stefani may be crazy about all things Japanese, but not all Asian-Americans are crazy about Stefani.

With her debut as a solo artist last year, Stefani traded in her No Doubt bandmates for a posse of four Japanese females. Now she’s traveling around the world with her Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005, which comes tonight to the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. Her Harajuku girls represent women from the fashionable Tokyo neighborhood that inspired Stefani’s clothing line, L.A.M.B., and songs from her album “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” Harajuku girls are known to express their individuality with wild street fashion, ranging from shocking candy-colored hair to Halloween-style get-ups.

But while Stefani may think she’s presenting Asians as fashion style-setters, some observers feel she’s merely perpetuating a demeaning stereotype.

“When I saw (Stefani) and her crew at the Kid’s Choice Awards ceremony, I was like, ‘Wow, what the hell is that?’ ” said Shirley Tang, professor of Asian-American studies at UMass-Boston. “It reminded me of that scene in ‘Austin Powers’ with the Japanese women in the roles of sex symbols. Men-pleasing roles.”

With their sexy outfits and subservient demeanors, Stefani’s Harajuku girls seem more like colorful, geisha arm-candy than trendsetters. In Stefani’s act, they’re seen either giggling and fawning over the Caucasian star or staring with blank expressions and behaving like robots. If the rumor that they are under contractual obligation not to speak in public is true, they literally have nothing to say for themselves.“I do think it’s harmful,” said Sophia Kim, who has created anti-racism and anti-sexism campaigns with the Asian American Resource Workshop. “It’s imposed this box on Asian women, on who we can be and can’t be. And with non-Asian women and men, it shapes what they think about Asian women.”

According to Tang, the mainstream media typecasts Asian females into three categories: the super-sexy, exotic, diva slut; the submissive woman who will do anything to please a man; and the innocent little girl.

Stefani’s Harajuku girls certainly aren’t breaking any stereotypes - and neither are her song lyrics. In “Rich Girl,” Stefani sings about things she would buy, cooing “I’d get me four Harajuku girls . . . I’d dress them wicked, I’d give them names.”

Kevin Quan, communications director for Asian Media Watchdog, said Stefani’s Harajuku obsession is part of the Western world’s fascination with Eastern culture, from anime movies to Chinese character tattoos. But the fact that it’s understandable doesn’t make it any less offensive.

“There is a chance she thinks she’s doing something good and fun and opening up different cultures,” Quan said. “(But) suppose she picked four African-American women and created the ‘Zulu Lovers’ tour. Would nobody question that? Or if she had the ‘Latin Lovers’ tour with four Latino females following her around?”

While Stefani’s management refused to comment on the criticism, not all Asian-Americans are offended by her use of Harajuku girls. Indeed, some admire it.

“I don’t think it’s portraying Japan in a negative way,” said Rico Mochizuki, director of programs at the Japan Society of Boston. “I think she hits (her portrayal of Harajuku girls) on the money. It’s almost like the lead singer with the chorus. You’re not demoralizing or putting them down.”

2005-11-01T03:08:00.000-08:00

http://www.makinshats.com/wcfw.html

Listen to Tracy Chapman Live

2005-11-01T02:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=mb&air_date=10/11/05&tmplt_type=show

"Fast Car" begins at 12:45

2005-10-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

MIT Economist: Religion Is Good for You

2005-10-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Gruber (MIT, Department of Economics) has posted Religious Market Structure, Religious Participation, and Outcomes: Is Religion Good for You? on the NBER web site. Here is a description of the paper from the NBER Digest (Oct. 2005):

A number of researchers have found striking correlations between religion and various measures of well being. For example, religious participation is correlated with lower levels of deviant behavior and better health. And, attending religious services weekly, rather than not at all, has the same effect on individuals' reported happiness as moving from the bottom to the top quartile of the income distribution.

However, the same factors that determine religious attendance may also determine these outcomes; for example, it may be that happier people go to church, not that going to church makes you happier. Jonathan Gruber seeks to solve the problem of estimating the effects of religious participation on earnings and other economic measures. His solution draws on the fact that individuals are more likely to attend religious services if they live near others of their religion (that is, where there is a "higher density of co-religionists" in Gruber's terms). Catholics who live in more heavily Catholic areas attend church more than those who live in less Catholic areas. Further, living near others of one's religion can be predicted by living near others in certain ethnic groups that share the religious preferences of your ethnic group. For Italian Catholics, for example, living near persons of Polish extraction will mean being more likely to be near other Catholics than, say, living near persons of Swedish extraction. Yet living near persons of Polish rather than Swedish extraction should not affect any other aspect of the Italians' life, so that any effects of living near such "complementary" ethnic groups should reflect religious attendance only.

Gruber first uses data on religious preferences, ethnic heritage, and religious participation from the General Social Survey to show that the people living in an area with a higher density of co-religionists are more likely to participate in religious activities. This is true even after controlling for general differences in religiosity across areas and across ethnic groups. Moreover, they are no more likely to participate in other civic or social enterprises, suggesting that this co-religionist density measure is having effects only through religious participation.
He then turns to the 1990 U.S. Census to measure the effects of co-religionist density on economic outcomes such as education, income, employment, welfare participation, disability, marital status, and number of children. Gruber's results suggest a "very strong positive correlation" between religious market density, religious participation, and positive economic outcomes." People living in an area with a higher density of co-religionists have higher incomes, they are less likely to be high school dropouts, and more likely to have a college degree." Living in such an area also reduces the odds of receiving welfare, decreases the odds of being divorced, and increases the odds of being married. The effects can be substantial. Doubling the rate of religious attendance raises household income by 9.1% decreases welfare participation by 16% from baseline rates, decreases the odds of being divorced by 4%, and increases the odds of being married by 4.4%.

Gruber concludes that being in an area with more co-religionists leads to better economic outcomes through the channel of increased religious participation. Although this paper does not investigate the mechanism through which religiosity creates these results, Gruber suggests four possibilities: that religious attendance increases the number of social interactions in a way peculiar to religious settings; that religious institutions provide financial and emotional "insurance" that help people mitigate their losses when setbacks occur; that attendance at religious schools may be an advantage; and, finally, that religious faith may simply improve well-being directly by enabling the faithful to be "less stressed out" by the problems of every day life.

randy cohen

2005-10-27T01:39:00.000-07:00

Question:
I am an education researcher studying papers written by a group of university students. I promised them confidentiality and that they would face "no foreseeable risks." I discovered that one paper had been plagiarized. May I inform the instructor and cite the source from which the student stole if I do not give the student's name?

Someone at the office of my institution's research review board suggested that I drop this paper from my study; then I'm no longer bound by my confidentiality agreement. Is that OK? -- Anonymous, Kentucky

Answer:
Your contemplated backdoor promise-breaking is not OK. Leading the instructor to the plagiarist even indirectly -- has brown hair, a Boston accent, loves cheesecake -- subverts your pledge to the study's participants. This would not only offend ethics but also damage your profession by inhibiting future student participation.

There are circumstances when you should break your word -- to prevent imminent serious harm to another person, say. If a paper revealed a student's determination to shoot one of his classmates, you would have to come forward. But you may not do so to rectify this past misconduct. What you may do is contact the student, reassure her that you will not disclose her name and read her the riot act.

Your colleague's letter-of-the-law solution is both bad ethics and a betrayal. Now the question is, Do you report him to his supervisors? Presumably he would say yes -- but indirectly, maybe by re-creating your conversation in charades.

(Readers can direct their questions and comments by e-mail to ethicist@nytimes.com. This column originates in The New York Times Magazine.)

The Map

2005-10-27T01:10:00.000-07:00

Originally published on August 6, 1965 – the twentieth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima – The Map (“Chizu”) by Kikuji Kawada is a true icon in the history of photographic publishing. Its status as the “ultimate photobook-as-object,” coupled with its scarcity, combined to make it one of the most famous and sought-after photographic publications in existence. The Map combines powerful graphic design with a masterful photographic narrative exploring recent Japanese history – its imperialistic past, western-influenced popular culture, and brutally violent clash with the United States. The photographs, many visible only with the opening of the multiple gatefolds, capture on high-contrast film scenes of places and objects seared with the memory of horrific wartime events, from the atomic-bomb dome in Hiroshima to a trampled Japanese flag. Nazraeli Press, in association with Getsuyosha (Tokyo), is proud to announce a facsimile reprint of this historic book. This edition is limited to only 500 copies for distribution in the United States and Europe. Each copy is hand-numbered and signed by the artist, who also oversaw production of the project.

Group seeks midshipmen’s help in overturning gay ban By Christopher Munsey

2005-10-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

A homosexual rights group that wants to overturn the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy hopes Naval Academy midshipmen will sign an electronic petition stating their willingness to serve with openly gay service members.

As of Tuesday, gay rights activist Jacob Reitan said the online petition had netted about 16 midshipmen’s signatures.

At least one e-mail response represented a prankster, since a person supposedly named “Amanda Hugginkiss” had submitted a positive response, Reitan said.

Reitan, 23, an organizer with Equality Ride, said the group is trying to spread the word throughout the 4,000-strong Brigade of Midshipmen in Annapolis, Md., about the petition.

The petition is on the Web site of Equality Ride, a Lynchburg, Va.-based group targeting policies that expel openly gay students from private colleges and the nation’s military service academies.

For the petition, midshipmen who agree with the statement that they are “ready, willing and able to serve with openly gay and lesbian people” are asked to list their name, class, home address and e-mail address and submit additional comments, Reitan said.

He said the group is trying to verify that anyone who responds with an academy e-mail address is indeed a midshipman.

Through the petition, Reitan said the group wants to show that it’s not midshipmen, and by extension service members, who oppose openly gay people serving in the military.

“I think if we get to 50, we’ll make some type of announcement,” he said.

On Friday, about 40 members of the group walked onto the grounds of the Academy at Gate 1, after showing their IDs to Marine Corps gate guards.

The group originally wanted to talk to midshipmen they encountered on the yard about the military’s policy, which discharges openly gay service members or those who engage in homosexual conduct.

Before Friday, participants said they were told by academy officials that they faced the possibility of arrest if they came onto the yard to protest or engage midshipmen.

That didn’t happen, and as a result of what looked like an on-the-spot compromise, members were allowed inside. They had lunch at Dahlgren Hall and walked the grounds of the yard, saying hello to midshipmen hurrying along to class until mid-afternoon, but not talking about gay and lesbian issues.

Friday’s academy visit and the petition is just the beginning of the group’s campaign, Reitan said.

The group plans to come to the academy again, and visit the Air Force Academy and West Point next spring, as well as Christian colleges that expel students who are openly gay, he said.

Search for solutions is born out of anger over a student newspaper piece about the Latino-Asian academic gap at Alhambra High School.By Jia-Rui Chong

2005-10-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

It was presented as good news.

In front of a group of student leaders at Alhambra High School, Assistant Principal Grace Love spoke in February about the school's recent gains on state tests.

Alhambra, she said, had narrowed the gap in test scores between Asian and Latino students. Overall, Latino test takers had improved their composite scores on state tests faster than any other group over the last four years.

Robin Zhou, an 18-year-old columnist for the Moor, the school newspaper, listened skeptically. He had trouble seeing any reason to celebrate.

To him, the real news in Love's statistics wasn't the small gains she was pointing out, but rather the wide gulf that still existed between Asians and Latinos.

The composite scores for Asians at Alhambra High were still far above those of Latinos. According to Love's presentation, 57% of Asian ninth-graders passed the state's English Language Arts standards test, but only 28% of Latino ninth-graders passed. It was even worse in algebra, with only 12% of Latinos passing the test as compared to 49% of Asians.

To Zhou, the data raised a question: "Why was the gap there in the first place?"

With the next round of state tests looming, Zhou decided to examine the subject in his newspaper column. He said he did so out of a desire to get people to focus on solutions. That's not what happened — at least not at first.

That there are gaps in test scores among racial and ethnic groups is an uncomfortable truth in modern day education.The achievement gap, as racial disparities in test scores are known in education circles, exists at schools throughout the nation. It also exists across class lines.

Examining the issue requires traversing a political and cultural minefield. Every possible explanation is likely to offend, which may be why the subject rarely provokes the kind of discussion that might eventually lead to change.

Using test scores as a measure, Latino students are "not pulling their weight," the article said. Zhou then went on to try to explain the gap. The first reason, he wrote, was largely cultural, in that Asian parents were more likely to "push their children to move toward academic success, while many Hispanic parents are well-meaning but less active."

The editors and reporters in the room crowded around co-editor-in-chief Lena Chen to read the draft. They understood that Zhou's article touched on dangerous ground; they agreed that he needed to tone down his language, even though many of them thought he had made some valid points and had thoroughly researched the subject."

My first reaction? Robin's gonna get beat up," recalled Sara Martinez, a 16-year-old Latina, who was the only non-Asian student to read the article that day.

The paper's advisor, Mark Padilla, agreed that the story could use some qualifying. But he reminded the editors that this was a column, and therefore offered more leeway. It was important, he reminded them, for journalists not to shy away from sensitive but important subjects. No one could accuse Zhou of that.

'Racist'

On March 22, the paper was distributed. Anastasia Landeros, 18, was in her first period English class when a friend turned to her and asked, "Did you hear about the article about how Latinos are not pulling their weight?"She hadn't. She got a copy and started reading. Zhou's article seemed to suggest to her that Latinos were slackers whose parents didn't care about their children's education.

Who was this guy, she wondered. If Zhou thought Latino parents didn't push their children, he ought to come to her house and listen to her mother nag her about homework.And how could he say Latinos weren't achieving? She was getting A's in music and drama, and B's and C's in her other classes.

For days students talked about the article, often angrily. Some teachers tried to use it as a tool for teaching cultural sensitivity. Other teachers were simply incensed. One math teacher scrawled "racist" across the article and posted it on the blackboard.

Heading home on the day the article came out, Landeros wondered what her mother, a 45-year-old nurse and certified diabetes educator, would think.

Rosa Linda Landeros had always told her three children to be proud of their Mexican heritage and prove that stereotypes about lazy Latinos were wrong. As soon as Linda Landeros walked through the door that evening, Anastasia handed her the school newspaper.

"Mom, you gotta read this article," she said.

'Hecho en Mexico'

In the days that followed, Zhou's friends told him that Latino students he didn't even know were talking about beating him up or pelting him with paintballs at graduation.

The dean and the principal called him in to discuss his reasons for writing the article. They reassured him that they would look out for any hint of trouble.

On March 30, those who disagreed with Zhou made a show of solidarity. Almost all the Latino students and a few white and black students wore shirts that were brown or made statements of Latino pride, including "Hecho en Mexico." Landeros wore a T-shirt with the words "Stay Brown Chicanas."

Zhou walked onto the stage that week at an assembly for an academic award. He heard boos."I did some soul searching as the controversy continued — whether it was right to have confronted the issue head-on like that," he said.

Different Expectations

Researchers who study the issue of racial disparities in academic performance say that even they have to be careful how they present data.

Laurence Steinberg, a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, and his colleagues wanted to look at factors, including race, that affected student achievement several years ago. "We were nervous about how people would react, that we'd be accused of being prejudiced," he said. "There's nothing nice you can say about this that's going to make people feel good."

Steinberg and his colleagues found that even after economics were controlled for, Asian and Asian American students performed better on tests than any other racial group. Latinos and African Americans performed the least well.

Steinberg's research further suggested that an "attitudinal profile" influenced academic success, and that Asians tended to have the most students that fit the profile.The first variable wasn't parental involvement, as Zhou concluded, but something more subtle: parental expectation. Steinberg asked students what was the worst grade they could get without their parents getting angry. For Asian children, it was a B-plus; for Latino and African American children, it was a C.

Another factor was that Asian children in the study were more likely to associate with peers who valued high marks in school, whereas Latino and African American students were more likely to have friends who put less stock in good grades.Steinberg found two other differences that seemed linked to success. Asian children were much more likely to attribute their grades to hard work rather than aptitude. They also were more likely to believe that doing poorly in school would harm their chances for success in life."If you have these four things, it doesn't matter what ethnic group you're from, you'll do well in school," Steinberg said. "It's just more common among Asian kids and less common among black and Latino kids."

Pedro Noguera, a sociologist at the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New York University, believes class plays more of a role than Steinberg does. He points to a mostly Asian high school in San Francisco with a high dropout rate. "They're not dropping out because they're not sufficiently Chinese, but mainly because their parents put an emphasis on work." Noguera also suggested that Latino parents may be less adept at navigating the American school system and advocating on their children's behalf."It's not that they don't value education," Noguera said. "They're putting too much trust in the schools. That's a big mistake."

Noguera wasn't surprised to hear that Zhou's article created a stir. "If Asian and Latino students are not communicating with each other, or if there were already strained relations," he said, "then there was no context for a thoughtful discussion, and the article merely served as a catalyst for more conflict."

'Another Attack'

As Landeros' mother read through Zhou's column, she thought: "Here's another attack on my people. Here's another person stepping on our neck."She knew that average test scores for Latino students at Alhambra High School were lower than average test scores for Asian students. But she hated how Latino students were hit with a constant stream of news reports about how badly they performed in school. That wasn't making things better, just lowering expectations.

Linda Landeros was proud of the letter her daughter sent to the school newspaper. It was published April 12.

"As if it weren't enough to worry about academics, the entire Latino student body apparently also has to worry about racial profiling by our school newspaper," Anastasia Landeros wrote."My issue is not with the 'facts' that are present, but with the facts that are missing regarding a community and a culture he apparently has no knowledge of," she wrote. The article was "inflammatory" in singling out one ethnic group based on a stereotype."It would be wrong to write, 'Because of Asian drivers, insurance rates in Alhambra are high,' " Anastasia wrote. "Wouldn't the article be seen as a one-sided, non-researched piece?"

Food for Thought

It was obvious that Zhou's article polarized students and parents. But it also got them thinking and talking about race, culture and achievement at Alhambra High.

Several Latino students said they were nervous when they walked into Advanced Placement classes and saw a sea of Asians. But this turned to disappointment when some teachers seemed to expect less from them."When we answer a question wrong, they say, 'It's OK. You're really trying hard,' " said Perla Trejo, 17. "It's like, OK, but what's the answer?" Trejo said teachers don't treat Asian students the same way in her class.Saul Pineda, 16, said he almost quit one of his AP classes last summer because it was difficult and he felt uncomfortable. But now that the article has come out, he said, "I want to try harder.""Mostly just to prove them wrong," Trejo added.

Russell Lee-Sung, 41, who was principal of the school at the time, says he felt torn about the turmoil Zhou's article sparked.

Lee-Sung had not only thought about the issues raised in Zhou's column, he had lived them. Lee-Sung's father, who is half Mexican, grew up poor in Texas. His mother was born in China and grew up wealthy.In his own home, he had seen cultural differences in attitudes toward education. His father, he said, "was very encouraging about what [grades] I got. If I tried my best, that would be fine."My mom, on the other hand, said, 'You need to get good grades. You need to go to a good school.' If I came home with all A's and a B, she'd question me. 'What's the problem?' "But it would be a mistake to say his father cared less about his schoolwork, Lee-Sung said. "They both valued education," he said. "They just communicated in different ways."Lee-Sung knows the subject is difficult to discuss. "This is one of those issues in education that is so taboo to talk about," he said.

But talking about it was what he had to do in the weeks after Zhou's column. He said more than 30 parents contacted him. Some commended Zhou for bringing up a point that needed to be addressed. But most were critical of the student, the newspaper advisor and even the principal.

Lee-Sung tried to use the controversy as a teaching tool. He held several discussions with the school staff. He created an "Action Planning Committee" of parents, students, teachers and administrators.

Lee-Sung also invited students who were upset by the article to the first of several "student committee" meetings so they could meet Zhou and other newspaper staffers. At the meeting, students had a lot of questions for Zhou: Why had he used such offensive language? Why was he stereotyping people? What business did he have talking about the Latino community when he was not Latino? Zhou told them he was trying to be straightforward with his words. He explained that he grew up in Echo Park, with mostly Latino friends and that his baby-sitter was Latina.

Some students weren't satisfied, and one Latina student said the conversation didn't make her feel any better about the article.

But near the end of the first meeting, which lasted about an hour and a half, the students started coming up with ways to close the gap, Lee-Sung said. Their questions were trying to clarify, not accuse. Suggestions included holding periodic student-moderated dialogues on topics including students' relationships with teachers and administrators, and cultural assemblies to discuss historical differences, not just food and dancing.

At the second meeting a few weeks later, more solutions were proposed.The school should expand a program, which has benefited mostly Latino students, that prepares students to attend a four-year university and take some AP and honors classes. Latino students should be encouraged to join more after-school clubs and to take more AP and honors classes.

In the May 10 issue of the school newspaper, Zhou wrote a letter about what he had learned from the experience. "I realize that pointing out a disparity between two of the major student groups on campus has the potential to divide us, to turn students against classmates and neighbors against each other," he wrote.He went on to offer "my deepest regrets to those who have been hurt," saying that "it was not my intent to make anyone feel they are inferior or unable to succeed, but rather to address an issue in desperate need of attention."He didn't apologize for the points he made in his article.

A Lasting Change?

It remains to be seen whether the controversy will result in lasting change. Most of the key students have graduated. Zhou left for Stanford University. Landeros is studying at East Los Angeles College. Lee-Sung accepted a job as principal of Walnut High School. But Lee-Sung still has hope. By the end of the school year, more Latino students had applied for AP classes, though he couldn't say how many. Students founded a chapter of the Mexican American student group MEChA. And Latino parents formed an organization to support their children.

When the state released scores from the spring 2005 standardized testing, the percentages of Latino students passing the English Language Arts exam and all but one of the math tests had improved from last year. Lee-Sung thinks the awareness spurred by Zhou's article played a role.

"I think some students who may have had the thought that nobody cares and nobody looks at these scores realized that people do look at them," he said."I would imagine for some students, there was a sense of pride. 'Know what? I don't want people to think this way about me, and I'll work harder on the test than in the past.' "

Linda Landeros says she and her daughter are still angry about the article. But she acknowledges that it may have spurred her daughter on as well. Near the end of the school year, Anastasia Landeros wasn't doing well in her high-school math class.Her mother brought up Zhou's column, saying, "See, he's right in this article."The daughter blew up, but her mother's taunt made her pull up her grade.

Zhou is philosophical about what happened. "You can't expect to write something like this without taking a few lumps," he said. But, he added, "If nothing happened, I'd be feeling even worse."

Union in Nightclub Racism Row

2005-10-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

Gabrielle Union's publicist is calling for celebrities to boycott Los Angeles nightclub Mood, after the venue's owner allegedly cancelled the actress' birthday party when he discovered she was African-American. The Bad Boys II beauty was set to celebrate her 33rd birthday with a starstudded bash at the top club this weekend, until Mood owner David Judaken allegedly realised he had mistaken Union for white beach volleyball player Gabrielle Reece. On Friday , Union's publicist Holly Shankoor of BWR Public Relations sent an email around the publicity industry, urging a boycott of Mood. Shakoor's email wrote, "You should all be aware of an incident that occurred with my client Gabrielle Union and the owner of Mood. "Mood was going to host her birthday party. Once the owner found out she was African-American, he not only cancelled her party, but he proceeded to say that he 'didn't realise Gabrielle Union was black'. "You can discourage your celeb clients from going (to Mood) and also doing any events (there)." Shakoor quoted Judaken as saying, "I don't want (Union's) kind of people in my club." In a statement to E! Online website, Judaken says, "All the statements written in her email are untrue. To say that this event was cancelled over race or creed is hurtful and slanderous." Jadaken is now considering legal action against Shakoor, declaring her email "has an immediate negative impact on my business". Shakoor's bosses at BWR says their employee's email "by no means reflects our official position on this matter".