This one will be called the Task Force for Racial and Cultural Harmony, which unfortunately sounds like something the Chinese Communist Central Committee would have set up circa 1968. It is being created by Philadelphia School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman to address the nightmare that is South Philadelphia High. Ackerman told the School Reform Commission of her plans at a meeting Wednesday, as she sat through several hours of testimony from Asian students about how they regularly serve as punching bags for African-American classmates. Ackerman urged all concerned not to make it a racial issue. It's a little late for that. It is a full-blown racial/ethnic/public relations disaster for the district, which isn't helped by the assertion by victims that officials persistently ignored the problem. The story was first exposed by journalist George Miller in a superb piece in September in Philadelphia Weekly, but it didn't get legs until Miller urged the Daily News to look into the latest incidents. See Miller's follow-up piece in today's Metropolis. Also in Metropolis, Jack Stollsteimer, who once served as Safe Schools Advocate, expresses skepticism - to say the least - over the district's ability to address these issues.
