Adventures in Multicultural Living
Ann Arbor's Ultimate Cultural Divide: University of Michigan vs Ohio State
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"Who put the Ohio State sign in the King School parking lot?"
Upon arriving at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School this morning, Principal Kevin Karr was dismayed to discover this act of resistance/sabotage in the school parking lot, which prompted a blog post in which he writes:
“Today when I arrived at King School, I was greeted with the following in the parking lot. When this type of thing happens at school, it is obviously VERY concerning . . . and it quickly sets in motion an investigation to find out who is responsible. Putting up Ohio State University signs in or around school is NEVER acceptable!”
The King School Principal's parking spot sign usually sports a block M
A gust of wind reveals that the Principal's parking spot is usually designated with a big University of Michigan block M. Is that standard for Ann Arbor Public Schools?
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a second-generation Chinese American from California who now divides her time between Ann Arbor and the Big Island of Hawaii. She is editor of IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, lead multicultural contributor for AnnArbor.com, and a contributor for New America Media's Ethnoblog. She is a popular speaker on Asian Pacific American and multicultural issues. Check out her website at franceskaihwawang.com, her blog at franceskaihwawang.blogspot.com, and she can be reached at fkwang888@gmail.com.
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I never saw such blatant pro- U of M signs in any parking lots but I have to say that our daughter went through the top notch A2 school system and, by the age of 10, had decided she would attend the University of Michigan. She did just that: started by walking to her first class at U of M while still a senior at Community High. I think there was "some influence" from k-12, and I see nothing wrong with the "prep" level promoting the college level: especially when it's the MOST RECOGNIZED college in the country - according to USA Today and other sources.
U of M has a huge impact on our kids: few cities have a great university aiding and reaching out to their kids. Encouraging them to think "Leaders and Best" about themselves is nothing to sneeze at, is it? So - I turn a blind eye to this principle's little affectation. We need more like him.
As for the OSU prank sign: If we didn't have OSU to be our Goliath to our David, we'd probably be less ourselves. Now, let's have some enterprising U of M prankster go down to Columbus and put up a big "Reserved for Wolverines" banner across the goal posts at the Horseshoe.
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Posted Nov 21