If you're reading this, there's a good chance you know someone from my hometown. As a matter of fact, there's a good chance that you are someone from my hometown. About 40 people from the Hudson High School class of '95 are here in Athens, and I hear there are about the same number or even more from each class that has followed us. That's a lot of Hudsonites. According to my math (which is highly suspect), we make up about 1.1 percent of the Ohio University population. That might not sound like a lot, but for the sake of this column, let's pretend like it is. Otherwise, I'll have nothing to write about.

Since there are so darn many of us here, I thought it might be a useful public service if I took some time to tell you a little bit about our fair city. Hudson is a small town in northeast Ohio. It's closer to Akron than to Cleveland, but all of us claim to be from Cleveland. (Who wants to say that they come from Akron?) Hudson High School's athletic teams are called the Explorers, which may be the least-intimidating moniker in the history of sports. Local landmarks include the Clock Tower, Western Reserve Academy, the spacious library and Historical Society, and old-fashioned Saywell's drugstore. If you're there in June, the annual Ice Cream Social is a must-do event.

Hudson's uniqueness is not, however, limited to landmarks and festivals. This little burg also has the distinction of being one of the whitest communities in the world (So I presume, anyway). Now, don't misunderstand what I mean by "white." I'm talking about skin color here not zoning codes. And don't underestimate what I mean. Hudson is the whitest place I have ever been. That's saying a lot considering I've spent the last four years here in Athens.

Looking back, I only remember having real conversations with three non-white students, and I can't count any of those three as close friends. It's not that I didn't want to get to know people of other races, it's just that there wasn't anyone there. To put it succinctly, Hudson is not exactly a hotbed of multiculturalism.

As a white kid coming from a white town, I thought it might behoove me to learn something about other cultures while here at college. Needing a handful of hours in order to graduate this spring, I registered for African-American Studies 341: The African-American Personality. This being the third week of the quarter, the class has only met six times, but it's been pretty good so far. I already have learned a surprising amount about African-American history, and I count that information as invaluable. More than anything else, however, I have been struck - or rather, bothered - by an article about "radical" African-American psychology. I don't have enough space to go into great detail about the article as a whole, but I can address the issues that troubled me.

The author's goal in the article is two-fold: To distinguish between various schools of African-American psychology, and to explain the difference between what he calls Africentric and Eurocentric psychology (Personally, I'm not yet sold on the idea that the two are absolutely incompatible, but that's beside the point). While discussing the European model of psychology, the author asserts - without citation -that its "mission in truth is to explain and to predict behavior in order to control (dominate) the behavior of people." He also makes a point of capitalizing "Black," but not "white," notes "the fact that in the words of Chancellor Williams, whites are the implacable foe who have never come in peace (italics mine)," and nonchalantly refers to people of African descent as "the Race."

Does that bother anyone else? It seems clear to me that this is blatant racism. If a white author spoke that way about people of European descent, he or she would be condemned, and rightly so. What, I ask, is the difference? Why can a black author freely use that sort of language? Why doesn't that send us into a moral uproar? Have we deluded ourselves into thinking that only white people can be hateful, that only members of the majority can be guilty of racism? Hatred and racism are evils that need to be corrected, regardless of who the hater or racist is.

It's one thing to be proud of one's cultural heritage. To observe traditional holidays and festivals (be they Kwanzaa or Oktoberfest) is a healthy thing to do. But there is an unhealthy extreme, and I wonder if we've become too sensitive to recognize that. In our politically correct society, anything that might possibly be construed as anti-minority is absolutely taboo. For instance, I am terrified to admit that I think "Black Power" (as I understand it) is just as wrong and as dangerous as "White Power." Why? Because it's racist, that's why.

Frankly, we put too much emphasis on race. I was recently chastised for using the words "black" and "white" instead of "African" and "Caucasian." It's better, I was told, to refer to people by their landmass of origin (For the record, I have no idea where I can find the land of Caucasia on a map). Personally, I just don't see what the big deal is. It occurs to me that all of this politically correct stuff may do more harm than good. When we bend over backwards to avoid offending anyone, we end up going out of our way to call attention to a person's race. And as long as we're preoccupied with race, we'll be unable to see one another simply as human beings.

I like to think that someday, white kids like me won't get nervous when they describe someone as black. And I like to think that black people won't feel uncomfortable noticing that others are white, or are Oriental in appearance, or whatever. I like to think that someday, words like "black" and "white" will carry as much force as words like "blonde" and "brunette." I like to think that someday, descriptive adjectives will be just that, and nothing more. Wouldn't that be great?

Jordan, who tried really hard not to offend anyone with this column, probably did so anyway. Send your thoughts to mj276795. Even Keel appears on Fridays.