STANISLAUS CONNECTIONS
Working For Peace, Justice, and A Sustainable Environment
November, 2002
A Modesto Peace/Life Center Publication
Community
An
essay for peace
By ASMAA ALSUFI
Oakdale
Charter School
Division
2, First Place
Since September 11, 2001,
racial and ethnic discrimination have become obvious in my community. Many acts
of violence have been committed against people in our community. I would like to
organize a group to educate people about cultural, racial, and religious
diversity, because education is the best tool in fighting discrimination. I
think that my group could help to educate the community. I would like to
contribute my extra time to help solve this dilemma.
Hate crimes are a big deal
in this country. I’m a Yemeni Muslim, and I know some of the victims of these
tragedies. For the worst case, my family and I know of a man in a town nearby
who was brutally murdered. Because of the way we dress, Muslim women can’t go
anywhere without being verbally harassed. Hate crimes against Arabs, Muslims,
and Sikhs have been increasingly reported to the local police forces. In
response, the police have contacted local (Muslim) mosques and (Sikh) temples,
urging Muslims and Sikhs to notify them in case of any problems. Many people
don’t realize it, but “small” hate crimes are a form of terrorism.
If I were to assemble a
group in my cause, I think that I would most likely call it the
“Diversity-Tolerance Connection.” Initially, this group would include youth
from our local mosque, and leaders of the Muslim community. Eventually, we could
invite people from other communities to join our group. People in our community
have been working with non-Muslims to educate them about Islam. For example,
police have been invited to learn about Islam from people in our community. I
feel that our community should be more involved with other communities. We could
have a dinner at our local mosque and invite leaders of local law enforcement,
other faiths, and the general public. I feel that my group could make a
difference.
I think that I can help in
many ways. I like to learn about other people’s customs and religions. I also
like to teach people about my customs and religion. I could rally kids my age to
talk about positive ways to contribute information. To describe, we could meet
with a leader of our community to inform us how we can teach people about our
religion and cultures. Our community should be more involved with other
communities. For instance we should work with other communities to better
understand each other’s issues. Nobody can live alone.
I don’t know for sure
what job I’ll end up with, but I know that I’ll have a responsibility to
educate the community about Islam. I could volunteer time at local public
schools to talk about discrimination. I could attend Interfaith Conferences, and
I should learn about other peoples’ cultures and religions. I could
participate in anti-hate rallies, as I do now, and encourage other people to do
the same. Nobody can get rid of all the hate and discrimination in the world by
themselves, but if we all work together and help each other, this world will be
a lot better off.
2003
Peace Essay
By
INDIRA CLARK
“A
peaceful future depends on our everyday acts and gestures.”
— Fredrico Mayor,
Director-General of UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization
In our society and world,
we see more and more individuals and groups acting out anger and frustration
through verbal, physical, and emotional violence, which hurts or destroys
others. Although conflicts are often resolved in a fair and peaceful manner,
these events seldom make the headlines of the news stories. Learning to resolve
conflict in a way that builds respect between the participants, honors
differences, and opens avenues for reconciliation will be important preparation
for creatively meeting the challenges of the future.
The 17th annual Peace Essay
Contest offers students the opportunity to examine a conflict from their own
lives or the world around them, write a more peaceful and fair ending for all
involved, and describe what the participants would learn to enable them to meet
future conflicts in a more constructive way.
This contest is open to all
5-12 grade students who live or attend school in Stanislaus County. Deadline
is December 6, 2002.
PFLAG
initiates local Liberty Action Network
By
TINA ARNOPOLE DRISKILL
“When reciting the Pledge
of Allegiance, we speak the words, ‘with Liberty and Justice for All,”
quotes Marian Martino, co-coordinator of the newly formed Liberty Action
Network, “Yet as GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) people we find
ourselves reminded that our reality is often ‘Liberty and Justice for SOME.”
It is with this thought
that the new Liberty Justice Network was formed, taking its impetus from the
overwhelming enthusiasm shown by nearly 100 friends, members, and supporters of
the Stanislaus Chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays) during this year’s Fourth of July parade in downtown Modesto.
“It just seemed like the
perfect opportunity to seize the enthusiasm...and direct our energies toward the
cause of equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals in our
own community,” says Martino. Until now who has the gay and lesbian community
been able to “rely on to stand up for them when facts are ignored, rejection
is strong and hate turns to crime?”
Martino cites that more
than “30% of teens who commit suicide in California each year are struggling
with their sexual orientation” making suicide “the leading cause of death
among gay and lesbian youth.” She notes that “each day we continue to read
hurtful, mean-spirited letters in our newspapers, churches often reject those
struggling with sexual orientation as sinners,...and the second leading victims
of hate crimes in our state are gays & lesbians.”
“I’ve talked to
countless gay & lesbian victims of hate and they’re truly scared to live
in our community,” says Kelly Huston, co-coordinator of the Network. “I
think it’s important that our community benefits from an advocacy group that
will work towards educating people about the facts and dispel...the hurtful
stereotypes.”
The Network goal is to
raise awareness and bring about change on local issues, says Martino. This is in
addition to PFLAG’s twice monthly support groups, local telephone help line
and historical stands on such issues as No on Proposition 22 (the Knight
Initiative), campus safety policies, billboard campaigns, as well as
presentations at Day of Respect and college campuses, support of the NAACP
‘Say No To Hate’ campaign and providing Human Rights Scholarships to local
graduates.
ACTION:
Become actively involved and learn more by contacting Liberty Action Network at
P.O. Box 4311, Modesto 95352-4311 or info@libertyactionnetwork.com.
By
LEE RYAN MILLER, Ph.D..
“On election night at Republican headquarters we will Have (sic) a drawing for a Winchester, Model 94-10, Lever Action, Shot gun, 410 Magnum, a very nice equalizer. One ticket per $100 contribution. Two tickets (sic) For (sic) $200, etc., etc. Retail value is $450.” (Quoted from a campaign contribution solicitation by Mathew Ward, candidate for Yosemite Community College District Board of Trustees.)
Voters are being offered a very stark choice in the election for the Board of Trustees for the Yosemite Community College District (YCCD), the body that oversees Modesto Junior College (MJC) and Columbia College. A slate of conservative political activists disdainful of programs promoting tolerance are attempting to unseat incumbent board members.
Mr. Ward’s gun raffle fundraiser is just one way in which firearms play a role in this campaign. During the debate of candidates on Thursday October 10, Anne De Martini, another challenger, criticized the incumbents for allowing the firing range at the MJC West Campus to fall into disrepair, forcing its closure. In fact, the board was correct in closing the range, given the fact that it was located adjacent to a child care facility and was creating a significant lead pollution problem.
The October 10 debate showcased the contrasting values of the incumbents and their challengers. Incumbents Delsie Schrimp and Allister Allen touted the Beyond Tolerance Initiative. This program has won a national award for promoting greater tolerance and inter-cultural understanding.
Over the past three years, the Beyond Tolerance Initiative has sent over 400 YCCD employees to the world-famous Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles for training on the promotion of tolerance and the prevention of hate crimes. This training enabled YCCD faculty to incorporate tolerance training into their curriculum, and for faculty and staff to organize many forums and events dedicated to enhancing tolerance in our community. These include organizing regular rallies against hate crimes, and hosting on the MJC campus many noted speakers on issues of tolerance, including Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard – a young man beaten to death in 1998 because he was homosexual.
When the challengers, Mathew Ward and Anne De Martini, were asked whether they supported the Beyond Tolerance initiative, they replied that they supported the goals of the program. Then they suggested that the resources devoted to this program might be better spent on building a new parking lot (Ward) or on repairing the MJC swimming pool (De Martini).
We live in a country afflicted by acts of violence against people just because they are gay, black, Muslim or members of some other group. The Beyond Tolerance Initiative aims at combating the roots of such misguided hatred, helping to spare our region the sorts of tragic racial incidents and hate crimes afflicting many other areas of California and the United States. Should not this program be at least as high a priority as building a new parking lot or fixing a swimming pool?
Mr. Ward and Ms. De Martini present themselves as candidates indifferent to the values promoted by Stanislaus Connections, namely, “to build a more just, compassionate, peaceful and environmentally-healthy community and world.” We face a clear choice.
ACTION: Vote on November 5. If you are not registered for this election, or have moved, you must re-register before the next election. If you did not get a sample ballot, go to the League of Women Voters website www.smartvoter.org, and follow directions there.
Military
recruiters’ student access on a par with college
recruiters
Stanislaus Connections
recently obtained a copy of the school access policy passed by Congress. Details
of this policy are spelled out in a briefing paper issued by Donald Rumsfeld,
Secretary of Defense, and Rod Paige, Secretary of Education.
Congress passed the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 as a part of an amendment to the Education Code.
Later, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 was passed
which provides funding for the armed forces. The second bill, however, didn’t
just affect budgets but included
access to students for the military.
The crucial effects of
these acts affect the privacy rights of school students and their families.
Basically, any school
district which receives funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (ESEA) must follows the rules. Taken together, the acts require these
school districts to provide students’ names, addresses, and telephone listings
to military recruiters when requested, effective July 1, 2002.
The school already provides
this information to institutions of higher education for secondary students
(high school) unless the parent has “opted out” of providing such
information. A single notice to parents is considered sufficient notice if they
do not wish their child’s directory information to be given out to anyone.
Failure to comply with this
requirement to disclose information means the loss of federal Education Funds,
and this includes private schools as well as public.
Some high school teachers
have told us that military recruiters are on campus regularly, mixing with
students to explain what a wonderful bargain in education military service is.
This is a new development.
Representatives of colleges
and universities do meet with graduating seniors by appointment to explain their
programs. This has been going on for many years, but theses college
"recruiters” have not mixed with students in the same way that military
recruiters are now doing.
Along with rumors of a
possible reinstitution of the military draft, this new recruitment pattern may
concern parents who do not wish their children to be contacted on campus by
military recruiters.
We have not heard whether
any notice has been sent to parents giving them the option of “opting out”
of having their names, addresses and phone numbers given out to the military.
ACTION: If you are a parent of a high school student and have not received notification letters from the district, ask your high school principal or the school district what they plan to do. More information on military access and the ESEA can be found at: www.ed.gov/offices/OM/fpco/hot_topics/ht_10-09-02b.html
(Information obtained by Myrtle Osner)
