Is eighth grade class president white? Check. Is the vice president black? Check. Is the seventh grade president white? Check. Is the treasury secretary black? Check.
Feel like you're in a time machine? We do.
Students at Nettleton Middle School in Mississippi were allowed to compete for class officer positions if they matched certain race-based criteria. Officials from the school, which houses sixth, seventh and eighth grades, sent a notice home to parents outlining the following:
School officials said the practice started 30 years ago and was meant to make sure minorities were represented in student government. The school is more than two-thirds white. Obviously, once the news was made public by The Smoking Gun, officials realized they needed to revise the outdated requirements.
"It is felt the intent of these election procedures was to ensure African-American representation in each student office category through an annual rotation basis," the school said in a statement.
"It is our hope and desire that these practices and procedures are no longer needed to help ensure minority representation and involvement. Furthermore, the Nettleton School District acknowledges and embraces the fact that we are growing in ethnic diversity and that the classifications of Caucasian and African-American no longer reflect our entire student body."
Should schools have segregated school elections by race?
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Tuesday, August 31st 2010 at 2:04PM
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