To The Editor:
I recently received a blitz from the "Multicultural Project," an organization created by the Tucker Foundation in conjunction with several local elementary schools, which is apparently seeking to "expose area public school students to cultural education which they might not be exposed to." Hoping to recruit student volunteers, I was asked if I would be interested in participating in this program. Before responding to this offer, I felt the necessity to address several crucial issues surrounding this project which confirm that not only does the "multicultural" agenda have no place in the elementary school classroom, but the goals of this project are in direct contradiction with the group's inherent ,long-term agenda of creating diverse student bodies at the college level.
As one looks around the Dartmouth Community and closely examines the current state of the "multicultural" movement on this campus, one is certain to see this agenda in utter chaos. Unintended but ever-present segregation flourishes, stickers advertising tolerance and "Friendly Space" for specific groups unnecessarily abound on professors' doors, and each term more exclusive, radical "minority" groups such as Colors, which equate the Holocaust with isolated name-scrawling incidents, are adding to the already entangled multicultural bureaucracy. This fiasco does not belong in a third-grade classroom.
Unai Montes-Irueste '98, the Project Coordinator, suggests reading "Asian-American poetry to elementary school kids and then talking about the poems with the kids, or asking them to paint pictures of the imagery." I have no doubt that these kids would have a blast taking time out from Math to paint pictures, but is it the responsibility of the school, the government, or a politically active college student to teach a third-grader how to be tolerant? Or rather, is it the duty of the parents to raise their children in an environment which encourages understanding? What these children need is a firm foundation in subjects such as Math, Science, English Literature, and American History. Let the parents introduce their 10-year-old children to gay/lesbian politics, African tribal dances, and Jewish folktales if they feel that these are appropriate subjects.
I feel it safe to assume that based on their agenda, these very same "multicultural" enthusiasts are avid supporters of affirmative action policies which artificially enhance "cultural diversity" on college campuses. The most effective route for enhancing the diversity of student bodies, is not to rely on feeble racial quotas, but rather to provide young people with a solid education, creating an applicant pool where students of all ethnic groups are equally competitive. Sacrificing time in the fundamental courses for identity politics taught by college students might introduce a child to Asian-American poetry, but will certainly not create more productive and competitive students. With these ideas in mind, I kindly responded to their offer, "Thanks, but no thanks."
