It could have ended there, but our librarian seized the moment and called the drama kids together to explain why Peter Pan was dropped. She talked about honoring other people’s cultures and traditions by not making fun of them. She explained that when something you do or say hurts someone, you should stop. “You know the great thing about getting an education?” she said. “When we educate ourselves we can understand things better, and when we understand, we can change.”
I don’t know if those wide-eyed seven year olds got it. And I don’t know if Chief supporters will ever get it. I just know that the university is missing an opportunity to teach its students some important lessons and heal the rift that has divided the UIUC campus for so long.
— Rita Pyrillis, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, is a journalist in Evanston, Ill., and an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha.
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