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C lothing or athletic ability. Appearances can make or break you in the middle school social <br />world. Some teens decide who will become. their friends, which classmates to avoid, and even <br />who they will bully, just because of what they see on the outside. <br />.dust a few days ago, we had free time for a game in school. We chose a. hall game. N <br />one was required to play., but most of the class did. After a round was finished, one girl asked if <br />she could have the ball for a minute before we started again. One sloe. got the ball., she glanced <br />quickly at another girl who had been sitting and reading the whole time. Then she threw the hall <br />as hard as she could right at the sitting girl. "Oh, sorry, it was an accident," she said, but the <br />whole class knew she was lying. When I asked the girl why she had done that, she insisted that it <br />was finn All the girls at our table told her that it wasn't close to funny, and she replied, "Well, <br />have you e en. looked at what she wears? And I het she picks her nose." <br />This prime example of prejudice, almost sickening to watch, happened right in m <br />classroom. The Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "recognition <br />of the inherent dignity and of the e qual and inalienable rights of all members of the human <br />family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." How can we Live up to <br />those lofty words when we cannot even respect people who share the same zip code? <br />The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not a law. It is a set of principles for all <br />nations and persons to follow. Because it states urtiversal principles, the Declaration is just as <br />important to human rights as the Bill of Rights and Minnesota Human Rights Act. Unless we <br />male respect, fairness, and freedom part of our lives, we will nearer solve the p roblem of <br />discrimination in the United States, Minnesota, or Roseville Area Middle School. <br />Can this world be the peaceful place we all want it to be Can we ever end <br />discrimination? Or is thinking this way just like believing in fairy tales? Maybe be our world can <br />3 <br />