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By Michelle DeWitt

One of the top stories from this week has been the fallout from a recent Dr. Laura radio broadcast. No, people aren’t upset about how self-righteous and unnecessarily aggressive the show is. They are upset over her repeated use of the n-word to allegedly prove a point.

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Following the incident, Dr. Laura went on Larry King to announce that she is ending her show and that she hopes to “regain my First Amendment rights.” A comment, which in my opinion, is nothing short of fascinating.

Quick refresher for everyone, the First Amendment reads as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Maybe Dr. Laura read a version that includes the clause: the right to broadcast racial slurs over radio waves and not lose any sponsors or have anyone get mad at you. Or maybe she’s just dumb. It could really go either way.

When the “founding fathers,” with whom the conservative community is deeply infatuated these days, weren’t referring to radio programs like Dr. Laura’s when they wrote the Bill of Rights, they were referring to civilians living their lives in the 18th century.

What I don’t understand, is how this seemingly educated woman has come to the conclusion that her rights were violated. She wasn’t arrested, imprisoned or tarred-and-feathered. She was at risk of losing some of the millions of dollars she gets from advertisers and sponsors, and some listeners called her a racist, which by an incredible stroke of irony is their First Amendment right. The same right she was stripped of! What a world we live in.

Congress can’t pass a law forbidding Dr. Laura from using the n-word, just like they can’t pass a law forbidding people from calling her a racist. That is the First Amendment, Dr. Laura, so stop trying to make yourself out to be a victim because no one feels bad for you (at least I don’t).

By: Michelle DeWitt

This week, everyone from Jon Stewart to President Obama weighed in on a very controversial New York City issue: the mosque at Ground Zero.

Currently, there are plans to build a Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan, near the site of the 9/11 terror attacks. This plan has been met with great opposition by people who feel that a mosque near Ground Zero would tarnish the memories of all those who died in the September 11th terror attacks.

I get where these people are coming from, I really do. I have been to the World Trade Center site and it was so eerie I couldn’t stand to be there and I can’t imagine what it must have been like living in New York at that time. Those who oppose the mosque are coming from a place of fear, anxiety and anger, which makes sense, but that doesn’t make them right.

The 9/11 terror attacks were perpetrated by Islamic extremists, not the entire Islamic community and I think that’s a very important distinction to make. By discriminating against an entire religion, not only are we going against the United States Constitution, but we are promoting the same ideas of hatred and intolerance of our attackers.

I think that it is also important to recognize that terrible things have been done in the name of religion for centuries. And yet there are churches and temples throughout the nation.

By accepting this Muslim community center into New York, America would be fostering an environment of acceptance and tolerance that would honor all those who died because of hatred.

Michelle DeWitt

President Obama’s education initiative has come under some scrutiny this week. The program he has implemented, ‘Race to the Top,’ rewards states based on their plans to reform education.

My issue with the government running schools is that a lot of times the people in government making these decisions don’t totally know what they’re talking about and have never spent time in a classroom full of babbling children. Obama has recently said that the “goal is accountability” and that teachers need to have the necessary resources to effectively do his/her job. Which is all well and good, but let’s be realistic.

It wasn’t too long ago that I attended a public high school and I can honestly say that even a great teacher is completely useless when faced with an apathetic, lazy and unwilling student. This applies to elementary schools too. If a parent is not going to take the time to see that a child is doing his/her homework and understanding the material, how much can a teacher really do?

My issue with these all encompassing education reform efforts is that they take on the attitude that all students, parents and teachers are the same. Not all students learn the same way or take an equal interest in their education. Not all parents take an equal interest in their child’s education. And not all teachers take an interest in their students.

I think that the first step to reforming education is the recognize that we are not all the same and that is ok. In addition, we need to break the pattern of financially punishing schools that aren’t up to snuff because that only hurts students. We need to look at students as individuals, figure out what their individual potential is and help him/her reach and surpass it.