Essay 4633

Spacing out with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Astronauts on the international space station added a new room to the complex—a compartment that will serve as a docking port. If U.S. astronauts were involved in the creation, it’s sure to feature a full wet bar too.

• T.I. was released from jail after posting a $3 million bond on Friday, and he’ll be on home confinement until his trial for weapons charges. No word on how he’ll shoot the time away.

• The founder of Overstock.com thinks people overreacted to his recent comments, and he rejected the NAACP’s call for an apology. Patrick Byrne was speaking at a debate in support of school vouchers for Utah families when he said, “Right now, 40% of Utah minorities are not graduating from high school. You may as well burn those kids. That’s the end of their life. That’s the end of their ability to achieve in this society if they do not get a high school education. You might as, just throw the kids away.” Responding to criticism, Byrne remarked, “These folks have been selective in their editing. I very clearly said the system is throwing away 40% of the minority kids because they’re not graduating. I’m saying that I’m against throwing kids away. People against vouchers are in favor of throwing the kids away.” Voucher opponent and NAACP Salt Lake branch president Jeanetta Williams didn’t buy the explanation, insisting Byrne meant that non-graduating minorities should be burned or discarded. She also noted Byrne failed to mention the White students who don’t graduate (Utah is over 80 percent White, 11 percent Latino and 1 percent Black). “It says he’s not sympathetic to the minority community and he means exactly what he said,” argued Williams. Unfortunately, this spat isn’t over yet.