Universal School- serious clash of cultures
Reader comment on item: A Madrassah in Bridgeview, Illinois

Submitted by A. Festine (United States), Jun 21, 2005 at 15:45

Your article piqued my interest, so I first read the Marguerite Michaels article in Time, then I visited the website for the Universal School. There I looked at the school's disciplinary policy.

At Universal School, "immoral fraternization" between the sexes is an offense of equal seriousness to conduct that is a felony in most places- like calling in a bomb threat, assaulting a teacher, or bringing a weapon to school.

Let me get this straight. At Universal, a couple of teenagers caught necking their way to second base are subject to a 3-14 day suspension for a first offense, and expulsion for a subsequent offense. (the same as serious criminal activity).

But a student who commits an academic offense like cheating or plagiarism is subject to a 1-2 day suspension for a first or second offense.

Something is seriously wrong with this picture. It underscores major differences in Muslim and western culture. It also makes me recall an op-ed piece published in the NY Daily News about a year ago by Charles Krauthammer, in which he accurately points out that sex, sexuality, and the role of women in society are significant components of the present conflict with Islamic facism.

Yet teenagers being teenagers, I'm reluctant to believe that all the students at Universal just succumb to this indoctrination without question or other adolescent rebellion.

These schools are relatively new. It will be interesting to see how these students develop as adults over the long haul.

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