To the editor:

When I opened the Daily Wednesday, I was taken back by the utter ignorance that flowed from the pen of Mr. Woell. To think that blacks or any other ethnic minorities are not being squeezed into a submissive position is nonsense.

It shows the insensitivity and intolerance that remain on campus and run rampant in this nation.

Imagine you are a young black person in Chicago and you are one of the top junior students in a predominately black high school. Your school is one of the top ten in the state, but you use the same algebra book as the sophomores because there isn’t enough money in the budget to buy trigonometry books. Across town at a predominately white high school, there is a new Olympic swimming pool and three new cellos for the band. Do you think that’s unfair? Oppressive? Maybe. Discriminatory? Definitely.

Let’s take Ames. A black student from a big inner city comes to Iowa State cocky and arrogant because he has been in gifted programs all his life. Failing most of his fall classes a white advisor chose for him, this student is loaded again with the same kind of classes in the spring. Failing those, his advisor says, “Maybe you should go to a trade school.” He was then dismissed on temporary enrollment. God forbid she investigate!

Sure, there may be other reasons for her lack of attention besides covert oppression, but couple this with the recollection of years of black codes, convict lease systems, Woolworth’s, police dogs, water hoses and Emmit Till, and you have a damned good argument for oppression. Are you still certain that oppression by the white majority doesn’t exist?

Albert Farr

Senior

English