been hitherto a culturally undernourishednhinterland, a typically colorlessnnational tract.”nUnlike, say, Flatbush.nAt all events, secession is an excellentnidea that ought to be revived.nGothamites can keep the name “NewnYork,” which always struck me as annaristocratic hand-me-down appellationnanyway. Perhaps we’ll opt for Genesee,nor Iroquois, or some other apt oldnIndian name. We’ll even give LongnIsland and Westchester to the newnurban state, to keep New York Timesneditors, equestrian competitors, andnminimalist fiction writers fi’om litteringnour landscape.nSomeday — soon I hope — the sonsnand daughters of the Burned-OvernDistrict are going to learn the pyrographicnskills of their ancestors. Foreignersnmay assume that the arrayednforces of city and state will be too muchnfor a gang of backwoods and hick-townnfire-eaters, but consider this: GordonnLish and Nelson Rockefeller are onntheir side, but John Gardner and thenAngel Moroni are on ours.nBill Kauffman’s first novel, Everymanna King, is forthcoming from SohonPress.nLetter From thenVolunteer Statenby William R. HawkinsnThe New Racism on CampusnHaving done four years of graduatenwork at the University of Tennessee-nKnoxville, I was distressed to learn thatnthere, as elsewhere, a few radical activistsncan rout a weak administration andnfaculty by crying “racism.” Last Februaryna special Task Force on Race Relationsnreleased a report to justify thensubordination of education to racial politicsnat UT-K. The task force had beennappointed by Ghancellor Jack Reese atnthe request of the UT Commission fornBlacks. In early May, Reese acceptednvirtually all of the report’s 22 recommendations.nThe report claimed to find “lingeringnvestiges of racism” at UT-K, yet it hadnto look hard to find any evidence. Thenonly campus incident cited was thenyelling of “racial slurs” by fraternitynmembers at a black student for repeatedlyntaking a shortcut through theirnhedge and across their lawn. Unfortunately,nyou can hear enough profanitynand slurs on any campus, used bynmembers of all races and sexes. Had thentrespasser been white, curses just asninsulting would have been found andnused, for it was the act, not the actor,nthat triggered the outrage.nThe report branded white studentsn”apathetic” as well as “hostile” to blacksn—thus classifying as racist the vastnmajority of whites who accept blacksnwithout a second thought. Mere acceptancendoes not exhibit sufficient “sensitivity”:nwhites must take “affirmativenaction” to prove that they no longernharbor racist thoughts.nThe faculty was found to be just asnguilty. The task force had to find somenway to explain why black students onnaverage have lower grades than whites.nAlleging a racist plot is easier thannadmitting the dismal condition of urbannschools, the sociopathic street culture,nor the high incidence of broken homesnin the black community—all factorsnaffecting academic performance longnbefore college is reached.nAmong the proposals the chancellornaccepted are “sensitivity training programs”nto educate the public to thenspecial needs of blacks — the public innthis case being all white students andntheir parents, the faculty and staff, andnbusinessmen and community leaders ofnKnoxville. These propaganda exercisesnwill be put together by the director ofnAffirmative Action, the Commission fornBlacks, and the Black Faculty and StaffnAssociation. Reese also endorsed newnefforts to improve the attitudes of thenfaculty toward black students. Undernpressure from the administration, thenfaculty senate had already agreed tonbegin the curious task of holding discussionsnto “confront” their alleged “insensitivity”ntowards minorities.nReese declined to call for mandatoryncourses in Afro-American studies, as thentask force demanded. Since UT-K alreadynhas a battery of such courses andnsince students need only a total of sixnSCORPIONS IN A BOTTLE:nDANGEROUS IDEAS ABOUT THE UNITED STATESnAND THE SOVIET UNIONnMoral Equivalence. Glasnost. Find out hownthese notions are a deadly threat to thenWest in essays by William Bennett, PeternBerger, Sidney Hook, Jeane Kirkpatrick, IrvingnKristol, Melvin Lasky, Michael Novak,nand Joseph Sobran, produced from thenHillsdale conference profiled In TimenMagazine.n’rff tii#»ire’ift«Tar-oFf:SWe^n• dangerous giants; two, 1 think the imagerynis, ‘scorpions in a bottle.”nMidge Dector. Executive DirecrornCommittee lor the Tree Worldn$5.00 PAPERBOUND (Michigan residents add 4% sales tax)nVISA AND MASTERCARD ORDERS 800-253-3200, EXT 801nHILLSDALE COLLEGE PRESSnHillsdale, Michigan 49242nnnNOVEMBER 1988145n