Online Newsletter
Page Two
Diversity on the campus
Minority enrollment at IUSB last year reached its highest rate in at least seven years and perhaps the highest rate in the history of the campus. Minorities accounted for 9.3 percent of the IUSB student population during the fall 1998 semester, according to figures recently compiled. The data was compiled based on students who chose to identify their ethnicity on admission records.
College officials attribute steadily climbing minority enrollment to concerted efforts to recruit students of color.
Minority student recruitment is linked to recruitment of faculty and staff, said Charlotte Pfeife, IUSB's director of campus diversity. Students of color "want to see faculty and staff that represent them," she said. Similarly, it is easier to attract faculty and staff reflective of the community if job candidates see a diverse student body.....SB Trib
Potawatomi mark evident across Michiana
If the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians is looking for signs of its presence in southwest Michigan and northern Indiana, the group does not have to wander far to find them.
There is the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend; Pokagon State Park and Potawatomi Inn in Angola, Ind.; Pokagon Township in Michigan; and countless other roads, country clubs and churches that have taken on the group's name.
"The park was named Pokagon to recognize the very rich Native American heritage found in Indiana," park naturalist Fred Wooley said of Pokagon State Park. Many of the places in this area were given either the name of Pokagon or Potawatomi for that same reason - to honor the American Indiana Chief Leopold Pokagon and his son, Simon, and to recognize the large population of Potawatomi Indians who settled here. One of Chief Pokagon's most notable contributions was bringing Catholicism into the area, Wooley said.
But what means honor and tribute to those using the name carries a different meaning to those holding the name. "It's almost like an ordinary word," said Clarence White, a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indiana. "But they never get acquainted with the Potawatomi people or the history."
Sam Bush, a Pokagon Band member, refers to the widespread use of the Pokagon and Potawatomi names as "attitude" or the "sensitizing" of mainstream society. He uses those words to explain that the places given names from American Indian cultures have little to do with the traditions or the people but do acknowledge the presence of that group in a particular area. "To name something after Leopold Pokagon is not offensive," Bush said. "If we don't share some of the things from our culture, then no one will ever know about them."
What is offensive, however, is when American Indians are depicted by mainstream society in a stereotypical way, said John Warren, the tribal cultural coordinator. The Pokagon Band worked with Dowagiac Union High School to change the school logo, which depicted a Potawatomi Indiana wearing a large headdress. "We don't wear things like that anymore and we found that offensive," Warren said. "The high school was very cooperative in working with us to come up with something better." But Warren said he does not mind seeing the widespread use of both words throughout the area. "It's kind of nice because it shows how deep our roots are here," he said.....SB Trib
Racism review ordered at prison
Governor Frank O'Bannon has asked state police to investigate charges of racism, drug trafficking and other corruption at the Putnamville Correctional Facility, which is near Greencastle, Indiana.
O'Bannon ordered the review after a June meeting with legislators, including members of the Black Caucus. Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, a member of the Black Caucus, said he was contacted by a prison-reform activist.
Since the 1980's, the Department of Correction was dogged by persistent rumors that some prison employees are members of an alleged white supremacist group called the Brotherhood.
Doug Garrison, an FBI spokesman in Indianapolis, said his office already conducted a brief investigation and discovered no violations of federal law at the facility.....SB Trib
As students return to school, families nationwide vow: "Schools will not be safe until they are free of homophobia"
"This fall, a growing number of school districts have adopted zero tolerance of hate speech and harassment. It's time for parents to adopt zero tolerance of school districts which don't." That's the advice of Rev. Paul Beeman, national president of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and Judy Shepard, mother of a murdered young gay man.
Citing studies which consistently show that hostile educational environments cause gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students to skip classes, drop out of school or commit suicide more than their peers, one of the nation's largest grassroots-based family groups today called for change. Schools must be held responsible for "the scourge of fear and homophobia that hurts families and entire communities," Beeman said.
PFLAG is redoubling its efforts, through its 425 chapters in communities nationwide, to ensure that sexual minority youth are safe, respected and able to learn in environments free of harassment. As a new school year begins - and the nation continues an unprecedented dialogue about school safety in the wake of recent massacres in Colorado, Georgia and elsewhere - PFLAG is urging schools to address the underlying ignorance and prejudice that give rise to violence.
"Too many of our schools, which ought to foster acceptance and reinforce the fair-minded values we teach our children, instead have become breeding grounds for homophobia and hate," Beeman said. "Enough is enough. These are our children, in our schools, in our communities - and we will not stand idly by while they face intimidation and abuse. Every school in America must protect all of its students. Every parent should demand it, the US Dept. of Education requires it, and PFLAG stands ready, willing and able to help any school do it."
PFLAG families were among the first in the nation to call for - and work for - safer schools. Since then, thousands of schools nationwide have provided training, passed non discrimination policies, enforced "zero-tolerance" policies against harassment and abuse and integrated objective facts about sexual orientation into appropriate curricula. "We were there in the beginning, and we'll be there until harassment ends and acceptance is universal," Beeman said. "Our efforts are making a profound difference. The challenge now, for all fair-minded Americans, is to help every school stop hatred."
Today, PFLAG released a powerful new tool in that effort: "An Open Letter to School Administrators" from Judy Shepard, whose son was murdered because he was gay. In her moving letter, Shepard tells schools, "My son was killed because someone, somewhere, his killers learned that the lives of gay people are not as worthy of the same respect, dignity and honor as the lives of other people. I ask you to ensure that students in your school never learn that dangerous lession."
PFLAG's website - www.pflag.org - offers expansive resources, statistic and opportunities for dialogue on creating safe schools (including Judy Shepard's letter to school administrators.)
