HIGH SCHOOL IN THE FIRST GRADE

When I first went to school it was at Berryhill  High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I rode a yellow school bus with other students of all ages.  My teacher was Mrs. Stockwell, and I remember that her husband would come to the window and talk with her every now and then.  Was he really a policeman or is that just my imagination?

Best (and only) friend was Sally Watson, who lived down the road and was with me in first grade.  I don’t know who called me “teacher’s pet,” but I know Sally must have been, too.  It was a good experience and the school put on a musical program in which we first graders sang You Are My Sunshine,  which had just been  published.

There were no litter boxes in the classroom for pooping in, and I wasn’t arrested for singing “Or Would You Rather Be a Queer,” ( Instead of a “Mare.”).  I remember the teacher explaining to another that I didn’t know what I was saying, which was true and remained true for several more years.

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I WENT TO A STUDENT MEETING AT O.U. RECENTLY,  to which townies were invited, as a full-blown adult.

It was the first time since Public Access closed.

I wasn’t aware of the Community Rights Organizing activities and that my town’s City Council was meeting to decide whether to buck the state legislature, which was moving toward cutting off funding for universities who fail to follow these dictates::

OHIO SENATE BILL 83

The Higher Education Destruction Act, (someone has named it.)

It bans required DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) training and programs

Bans groups, clubs, organizations based on race, sex, sexuality, gender identity, possibly athletic teams and dorms

Bans programs, policies, practices based on race, sex, sexuality, gender identity

Restricts discussions about race, sex, sexuality, gender identity, “controversial” topics, including climate change

Bans public statements and positions about “controversial” topics

Bans academic relationships with China

Bans employee strikes (faculty, staff, students)

SURELY IT COULDN”T PASS?  [It has already done so, and been signed]

Can’t be sure of anything these days, and I don’t need to remind you of the current travesties. The meeting I attended was at O.U., sure to be outlawed.

Today, reading the bill itself is, I fear, above my ken, but I do see that it denies any student in a state institution of higher education of the freedom to protest.  Is it too much to assume that it might be headed for the Supreme Court, at least to weigh on its conscience if ignored?