From Aug. 3 to 5, I was able to see a glimpse of what real humanity was.

The YLF (Youth Leadership Forum) conference was in Ames and dealt with students with “special needs,” otherwise referred to by most as the handicapped.

I was amazed with the amount of insensitivity many students displayed. I found it appalling.

A delegate in a wheelchair was looking for another delegate and a student walked by and said, “Get out of the way, it’s bad enough your kind of people have me driving everywhere looking for a parking spot.”

Upon hearing this, I apologized to the delegate and followed the person to his car and scared the hell out of him.

I wanted to rip his face off, but there were YLF delegates around and it wouldn’t have been proper.

This guy deserves a back alley beating.

I couldn’t fathom why someone in perfect health would have such contempt for someone else because he had to walk a couple more feet.

We see it every day in this society. We have prejudice and animosity for those who are different.

If this student had gotten to know one of the delegates, he would have realized that these “people” are God’s people.

They are the most warm and sincere folks one could meet.

Every time I walked down the hall in Friley I was greeted by a friendly smile and hello.

In the future I would hope that you could have more compassion for people with special needs.

You refer to them as the handicapped, but in my opinion, they are perfect, and the one who is truly handicapped are people like you.

Andy Gonzales

Junior

Political science