This week, I started this blog for the my Middle School students in Daejeon. Throughout the semester, we will be practicing our English by responding to topics relevant in the broader contemporary world. Our first topic was the recent reaction to the winner of the Miss America pageant, Nina Davuluri. The students responded to this fictional post, and their comments will soon be posted:
“The online world was in uproar this week, and all because of one name: Nina Davuluri. Ms. Davuluri, an Indian-American, recently won the Miss America pageant. Many viewers were not pleased with her victory. People said she shouldn’t have won because she “isn’t American,” and that her heritage might even link her to terrorists.
Although
these racist comments are foolish, the whole situation has made me ask why we
have the Miss America pageant at all.
How can we choose one person to represent our entire nation, when it is
a nation of so many cultures and races?
Our diversity is what makes us strong, and it is impossible to say one
woman represents that more than another woman.
What is the
beauty that we are celebrating? Are we
celebrating diversity, or did this contest reveal that people fear
diversity? And what makes a person an
ideal American, the perfect “girl next door?”
Personally, I don’t think this contest is a healthy way to answer these questions,
but I would like to know what others think.”
