Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: Can segregation be a good thing?
By: Autumn Golonka
The Tack (Buena Vista U.)
06/19/2006

(U-WIRE) STORM LAKE, Iowa — Legislature voted this past April to divide the Omaha school system into three districts: one mostly black, one predominantly white and one largely Hispanic.

Segregation is not new to the city of Omaha; the districts are already segregated based upon race and socio-economic status.

In North Omaha, African Americans are a majority of the percentage of lower socio-economic residents, South Omaha's majority is Mexican American, with a percentage of its residents at lower socio-economic status and a majority of West Omaha residents are Caucasian within the middle to upper socio-economic class.

Why is it that we only bring attention to disparities when we have to save face?

The issue of inequality within the school districts is not a new one; this has been going on before I was born and will continue to be an issue until we "get real" with ourselves.

There is no reason why some Omaha elementary schools are still using the same books I used when I was in elementary school.

Schools in West Omaha are constantly rotating their reading information along with the various resources they have access to.

People in Omaha and across the United States are huffing about this current bill, but what people fail to realize is that Omaha school districts and other districts across the US are dealing with the same issues.

Before people criticize what is going on in Omaha they should look more at the underlying issues that face Omaha citizens.

Students are forced to go to schools in areas where the educational system has denied them resources for higher learning while serving those same resources on a platter to West Omaha students.

Over six years ago, the state legislature decided to stop bus integration in Omaha, and I did not see any national attention. Students were forced to go to schools within their districts without the option of receiving a better education in an outside district.

There are very good schools within the districts students are assigned to, but there are many schools that lack the teachers, resources and facilities to give students a good education.

Putting the power back into the hands of the oppressed is something that needs to happen not just in Omaha but across the US.

If we continue to have educators and politicians who do not have vested interest in the politics and the children of the community, we will continue to have inequality in opportunities and ways of life.

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