Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / April 2, 1987, edition 1 / Page 2
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' Tv /.5T:\aVT ' f t'" ' TT T* > i ./# ** l ■ V > ' Victory Over Sexism ISySHBc? in 1880 Paul Johnson, an tmployst of ths Santa Clara County (California) Transpor traon Agency, was refhsed a promotion. Ths Job hs sought was glvan to Diana Joyce, a par son with lass Job experience and who made a lowar Scots on tha Job interview than did Johnson. Bettering that ha had boon treated unfairly Johnson filed a lawsuit charging discrimination. With tho Court ruling in fo vor of Joyce, Johnson appealed all tha way to ths U.8. Supreme Court With the high Court upholding tho lower court ruling in a 6-3 decision, ths Court had for thO first tints upheld an affirmative ac tion program for women. The majority opin loi\ as written by Justice William Brennan waa a stem rejection of the Reagan adminis tration and conservative group, who had sup boriei Paul. Johnson’s claim of discrimina tion.. y./v dra Day O Connor, Johrf-Paul Stevene, and LmvU Powell, said that employers should not have to admit discrimination before adopting affirmative action plant ai a means of ereat ing a more balanced work force. O'Connor, a Raagaa appointee, said in favoring the Joyce decision that aha, nevertheless, believes that the court had gone too for in endorsing affir mative action. >'•. : Another Reagan appointee, Justice Anto nin' Scalia, writing the minority opinion, stated forcefully that "A statute (the 1964 Civil Rights Act) designed to establish a color blind and gender-blind work place has...been converted into a powerful engine of racism and sexism..." Chief JustJoe Wil liam Rehnquiet and Justice Byron White vot ed with 8calia. If Justices Scalia, Rehnquiet and White consider affirmative action a form of racism and sexism, we have to wonder what they would call a society where women, from the very moment they enter the work force, earn considerably less than men? This is exactly what a survey of 10,000 recent high school graduates in the United.States revealed. In foot, a basic comparisoiTof annual wages shows that four years after high school gradu ation men earned an average of 30% more than women or, $11,000 a year, compared to $7,800 for women. Furthermore, in the typical discrimination way, 87% of the office clerical workers were women while men comprised 93% of the skilled trade jobs with pay averaging 31% more than the clerical jobs. The point is, there is still in America considerable resis tance to women pursuing careers and job op portunities in many jobs traditionally held by men. Of course, black- people, older and young workers continue to experience discrimina tion in the work place. Therefore, the Paul Johnsons of this nation will have to live with what some call "reverse discrimination" until justice for all becomes a matter-of-fact reality for all Americans and not the Anglo Saxon white male, "...there can be no mis taking that what is happening (in the work place) reflects what is happening in the coun ,, tfy.V k,. The quotation )ve have used to end our edi torial on "Victory Over Sexism" emerges from Jonathan Yardley's Washington Post article about the "now hotbed" of racial ani mosity on the nation’s predominantly white college and university campuses. Yardley attributes much of the new racism in the na tion to a gross lack of moral leadership by the Reagan administration. For example, the White House was strongly opposed to the U.S. Supreme QoUrt's Johnson vs. Joyce {decision, it made no effort to recruit black' personnel for senior level positions and has in fact let their number decline by over 5096" & Rea gan's six years as President (Charlotte Post, March 26) and has significantly cut federal aid to higher education. The latter action by the Reagan policies will have a particularly heavy impact on higher education opportunities because too many black parents are still locked into low et paying jobs because of job discrimination and the absence of meaningful affirmative action programs or more ideally, a racism loss society. Yardisy goes on to say that "the college campus, which a quarter-century ago became the spawning ground of civil rights activism, - n®w seems to be breeding a new and especial ly distasteful racism." Indeed such a state ment causes one to wonder what is the quality of American higher education? Yardley notes that a survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education confirms racial conflict and hos tility at eight known colleges and universi V ties, all in the North, except the Citadel, and X •«*» with incidents at least equal to if not worse than the Citadel’s hazing If a black ca det. $ Spr? < While the administrStions of these institu - tions of higher learning "reacted with genu ine shock and anger to disclosures of racial ' prejudice, and most tried to deal responsibly with it," they have too often exhibited a lack of moral leadership. This is most evident in the failure of such institutions to hire black per sonnel across the board in any and all avail able positions. The pattern and practice too often is to focus the only black department head in Afro-American studies which also probably has most of the Mack-tenured pro fessorships or to make them vice chancellors of student affairs or community relations. School Bated Health Care Cliniee are on the firing line. Some school systems, parents, stu dents, and teachers feel that they are necessary and can aid in fighting teen pregnancy ana AIDS. But are school based clinics giving into the problem rather than fighting it or solving it? To many the idea of ouch clinics are saying that parents lack the nped responsibility to raise children and instill values in them. Sex edu cation, which is the core of the controversy, in schools is to be an en hancer of values taught at home for teens' re sponsibility and re straint. Oftentimes parents are reluctant to discuss sex uality and sex with their children fearing that it will encourage them to partake in such actions. According to Secretary of Education William Ben nett, this is not true. He believes that by discuss ing sex at home, much of the mystery is re moved through the frank, candid conversa tion. It also allows a par ent the opportunity to convey and ingrain a value system in relation ship to what sex is and how it is to be used. Increased pregnancy and increased abortion are two things not to be encouraged among teens. School clinics in many cases almost con done the fact. They are saying to teens that sex ual activity is fine and if Jmthflpupe pregnant in th<r mb an while we can fix that, too; and it's still okay. Where is the pa rental involvement? Churches, especially black churches, are making strides in com bating the problem of sex education. A select few are offering value based information that is accu rate, straight forward, and involves the parents. These candid sessions meet the problem of edu cating head on: no eugar and no tide-stepping. Medical personnel, re ligious leaders and counselors make up the forum along with chil dren, teens, and par ents. Parental consent is needed and participation is greatly encouraged. School Based Clinics do not need parental con sent to counsel the young person nor to dispense contraceptives. It seems as though they are try ing to keep the parent from finding out what is going on. The parent is developed as the opposi tion rather than an ally. Trust and communica tion between the young person and the parentis) can become non existent. The public education systems do hot have money laying around al located just for such use. Thus some pharmaceu tical companies that pro duce contraceptives are using this opportunity to instill product loyalty by funding these clinics in the school. It is the same idea computer compa nies used in a different vein. To educate chil dren, computers are one thing but contraceptives, sex education^ and the like are another. While these clinics claim to be comprehensive health clinics too often they be come dispensaries of condoms and birth con ; trol pills: a cope out. Can this be called sex education? Handing out a method is not educa tion; it is saving "It's okay - everybody is doing it." Everybody is not do ing "it." Where ie the stressing of responsibili ty, or teaching real sexu ality in all aspects? Where are the values that say "You do not have to do it to be socially accepted?" or "Partaking in such activity is not in your best physical and mental interest, at this time, so let's stay away from it." Condemning and/or condoning are not the answers. Some type of revolution is needed whereby administrators, teachers, parents and young people come to {[ether to meet the prob iems of sex education and School Based Clinics head on and work to solve them. Parents must stand up and be responsible. They need not be experts to control and voice opin-. ions about the clinics. In fact, parents have a right and obligation to know f and be part of what is go- I ing on in the public edu- f cation system. Neighborhood schools are fast becoming part of the past. Thus parents need to become viable parts of the school, no matter how dose or far. The interest is needed be-1 5 cause what happens within those hours each day affects the entire 24 of the fami ly’s. What is learned there is brought into the home. What if a child brought home con traceptives or informa tion concerning sex edu- va cation without narental consent? Parents must f once again become in volved in what is going on in school and the edu cation of fhAif iMassive Job Exodus! By Sherman N. Miller " Special lb Hie Fbct Many Americans have watched their high-paying Jobe become the bounty of cheap, foreign labor. This inactive job exodus has gen •rated a national paranoia Avar America's non* compctitlvsness in interna tional trade arenas. Thus sons peopls worry, "What will we do when the commu nist Chinese start exporting goods?" Yet Han Xu, ambassador for The People's Republic of China, does not see an imme diate threat to American jobs from an onslaught of cheap, Chinese goods. He argues, "We are not a country like Japan. In China, trade pos sesses only a minor part of our economy. First we have to meet the needs of the domestic '■* market." Ambassador Han Xu's comment offers some solace to worried American work ers. But how long will it be be fore we see China incorporat ed as a formidable competitor in international trade are nas? "It will take quite some time," says Ambassador Han Xu. "Hien wo will become more competitive maybe." Ambassador Han Xu could not offer a more definitive time table. Han Xu pointed out further that America's business lead <»• ers should not moroly focus on per capita income when as sessing China's market po tential. He sees the total In come of highly populated countries as a move realistic economic barometer. "By the end of this century we will quadruple our econo my," said Han Xu. "At that time the per capital income will be IBOO U.S. It Is not very big, but considering at that time we will have 1.3 billion population, the total income will be $1 trillion." Although China represents a huge market, its commu nistic philosophical bent does ' not set welt with Americans. Yet Han Xu, who has also served a tour in the Soviet Un ion, does not see China fol lowing the strict Soviet style communist doctrine. He says they are developing a unique Chinese economic system where they are employing the strengths of both eapitalism and communism. "So long as we stick to the principal that our ownership is public ownership," con tends Han Xu, "and also we follow the destination of com mon prosperity, we have no fear to make Use of the capi talist way (for instances, the Stock Exchange). Han Xu'e comment! sug gect that the Chineee are look ing for proven methods to quickly improve their econo my. "Through this Stock Ex change we can reinvigorate our internal economy. In the factory, when some workers become shareholders, they be come more enthusiastic to wards their work because they believe there is a share of their property." His enthusiasm was very high when he offered me a new buss phrase to position China's economy in the inter national arena. Han Xu pro claimed Ohtna has, "a planned commodity econo my." Can American businesses afTord to ignore a $1 trillion economy and be competitive in the world market? Would it not be foolhardy also to think you can ignore one bil lion people? - n? •> An Opinion About Proposition 48 | Dear Editor: According to many expert*, Proportion 41 (aa it it affection ataly identified), deplete our •al leges' and universities' efforts to etrengthen the academic base of the athletics programs. Their claim is that many of our athletic programs have ventured outside the intent or mtaaicn of formal ed ucation and the educational insti tution* of thia nation. Others claim that "Proposition 44" is an attempt to discriminate among our stu dent-athlete population in order that certain sports (football and basketball come to mind first) be come more racially balanced at our predominantly white institu ,linns, as well as discrimination of minorities to exclude them from attending college period. It has become evident that ma jor college athletic programs and •mall schoole aspiring to great heights have and will continue to embrace the rules of this NCAA policy for participation and eHgi bflity-700 BAT minimum and 2.0 • " : grade point average. Although each aide tor and against this new requirement talnly has perhaps legitim claims aa to their positions, I sub* *. mlt the following: 1. Proposition 4t presently has ' greater impaet upon Mack athletes as attested to by those who have been declared ineligible aa fresh* atati. S. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon one's point of view, Proposition 46 will not oauae a substantial number of black ath lete* to migrate from predomi* nantly white colleges and univer i. Proposition 46, even though its intent may be of a discriminato ry posture, will in the end assist blade and minority athletes more so than hurt them. This will apply both academically and athlsticd* ly. 4. In Division II and II}, the ad justment period to moot this new standard is August, 1666, which means a high school student sin* oewljr interested In a college edu cation and a quality educational experience will have an ample op portunity (two academic yean) to better prepare himeelfifcerself to ward this adjustment. ’SRS2SS leg* la offering a series of work snops to prepare tutor* teachers. to pass the National Teachers Sx *tZ S’ prove tect-Uking sldlle, Increase reading speed, enhance reading comprehension, and reduce test taking anxiety. fiT To register or for more Infor mation, call 808-323-2196.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 2, 1987, edition 1
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