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clothing or athletic abiliry. Appearances can make ar break you in the middIe school sncial <br />�vorld. Some teens decide who will become their �riends, which classmates to avoid, and even <br />who they wili bully, just because of what they see or� the outside. <br />7ust a few days ago, we k�ad free tirne for a game in school. We chose a ball game. No <br />one was required to play, but most oi th� class did. After a rouncl was finished, one gzxl asked if <br />she could have the ball for a minute befare we started agazn. Once sl�e got the balI, she gIanced <br />quickly at anotl�er gir� who had been sitting and reading the whole tinne. Then she threw the ball <br />as hard as she could rigk�t at the sitting giri. "Oh, sorry, it was an accident," she said, b�t the <br />whole class knew she was lying. When I asked the girl why she had done that, she insisted that it <br />was funny. Ali the girls at our table told hEr that it wasn't close to funny, and she replied, "Well, <br />have you even looked at wha� she wears? And I bet she picks her z�ose." <br />This pxime example of prejudice, almast sicker�ing to �vatch, happened raght in my <br />classaroorn. The �'reamble to �he Universal Declaratinn af Human Rights states that "recogz�ztion <br />of the inherent dignity and af the equal and inalienable rights of aIl me�nbers af the human <br />family is the foundation o� ft'eedom, justice and peace in the world." How can we live up to <br />those lofty words when we cannot er�en respeci people who share the same zip code? <br />The Universal Declaration of H�aman Rights is nat a law. It is a set of principles for all <br />nations a��d persons to follow. Because it states universal principles, the Declaration is just as <br />important to h�an rigl�ts as the Bill of Rights and Minnesota Humar� Rights Act. Uniess we <br />rnake respect, faiarz�ess, az�d freedom part of our lives, we will never solve the �roble� of <br />discrimination in the United States, Minnesota, or Roseville Area Middle School. <br />Can this world ba the peaceful place w� all want it to be? Can we ever end <br />discriminatian? Or is �hizalcing this way just like believing iz� fairy tales? Maybe ouar world can <br />3 <br />