I was immediately appalled when I read with great interest your article concerning racial discrimination at my high school, Enloe, in downtown Raleigh.  I am a junior attending Enloe who is involved with the magnet and International Baccalaureate programs that Enloe has to offer.  In fact, one of the main reasons for my decision to attend Enloe has been on the diversity that the school offers.  I challenge the concerned black parents to walk through the hallways of any other high school in Wake County and see the greeting that their children receive there.

                I wake up every morning at five oclock to ride the bus for an hour so that I can get the best education that Wake Countys public schools has to offer.  When I arrive, I notice all sorts of diversity evident in the halls.  Our school is very special in the fact that you will see people walking together from all walks of life.  As a result, the students of Enloe are closer to one another. 

                I read the references to the complaints from a black parent who has a child at Enloe, who states that complaints against a Spanish teacher were not paid attention to by our Principal Lloyd Gardner.  I believe that the problem that the original article was concerning was with the overall racism displayed by the school, not with a specific teacher.  We have the best educators available in the state, and I do not suppose that this would harm the non-magnet students in any way.  In fact, it should only serve to encourage them to take more advanced classes.  I believe that there is a policy that states that if an individual teacher discourages a student from taking a class, a parent is allowed to request that class for his or her student is there not?  A teacher at Enloe will only discourage an individual from taking an advanced class if s/he believes that the students academic qualities do not meet the rigorous outline of an advanced schedule.  I know of after-school tutoring programs that would help the students with a difficult time making the grade, if only they would attend them for the help.  These programs are available to all Enloe students.

                The single paragraph that offended me in the original article stated that there is not only a mental discrimination at Enloe, but also a physical barrier between the black and white races.  The paragraph stated that students are separated by the breezeway that connects the two buildings.  The day after the article printed I began to count the amount of black students traveling both ways along that breezeway.  I did not have enough fingers on my hands to do this, however, because this allegation is completely false, and in some way, it angers me greatly.  I have seen all races around all areas of the schools campus throughout all of my years attending Enloe.

                In conclusion, I believe that Enloe offers the greatest amount of diversity available in the entire Wake County, and that there are many great students of every race attending that school.  It hurts me to see Enloes name in the headlines of a newspaper that I have so much respect for, if it is not receiving positive feedback.  I believe that the media should stop focusing on the negative attributes of each individual students experience, and instead focus on the vast positive opportunities that our wonderful school has to offer.

I had to shorten this 732-word editorial down to 250... and I got 249, and then sent it to N&O.

     As for his desire for tax cuts, I propose a suggestion.  Since he is so full of it on many political levels, I would like to see him use the money that he saves himself through the use of tax cuts to cleanse himself with a healthy barrage of colonics throughout the New Year.