I am writing this letter in response to the article concerning Ebonics which was written by Robert Zeis. I found this article to be both demeaning and blatantly offensive to the black culture and its dialect even if it was not intended to be so.

He bashed about everything he could concerning the nature of Ebonics. Sure its grammatical structure is not perfect, but how can Mr. Robert Zeis, ye old white master of the English language, not acknowledge its true purpose— to allow for the inner city youth to learn the basics: mathematics, history and science. I am not saying it should take the place of English, but, in my opinion, it may be used as a device to extract hidden knowledge capabilities from within these youths.

Now I would like to share with you, the reader, one of Mr. Zeis’s blatantly offensive remarks. His words, as read in the Daily, were:

“The message sent by these administrators (Oakland) is that black students cannot succeed unless the playing field is lowered to their level.”

Whoa, who placed this guy on such a high pedestal of English supremacy? I’m a white male, but I sincerely hope I do not place myself on any such pedestal. Sure, I feel fortunate to come from a reasonably comfortable lifestyle living in a reasonably protected area called Iowa, but to feel like I am above anyone else would be arrogance and ignorance on my part.

I sincerely hope that despite the linguistically differences of Ebonics, people will respect the effort given to provide an atmosphere which may or may not help in teaching these youths the basics.

Andy Hauck

junior

graphic design