The Making of Miss Hornet

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Photo courtesy Fareedah Shayeb.

The Making of Miss Hornet

February 11, 2012

I’ve been teaching high school social studies for 18 years, so it’s hard for me to be shocked by the behavior of students. But every once in a while, someone manages to surprise me. One day last year I looked up at the auditorium stage to hear one of my students deliver a speech that changed my idea of what it means to be an American.

As you enter Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School, the eyes of history are upon you. The portraits of women stretching back in a line to the 1930s form a gauntlet, the faces staring slightly down at passersby. Each one was named “Miss Hornet” for her class, as the embodiment of virtue and school spirit. The tradition is nearly as old as the school, founded in 1913.

As you walk the main hallway, a culture of inclusion unfolds. Hair styles change to reflect the ideal of glamour for a young black woman of a bygone era. In the 1970s, the afro suddenly asserts itself, loud and proud. In 1979, the first Asian face appears: a young émigré of Vietnam. That’s a good story. A few steps beyond and a white face appears among more black ones. In the last decade, the pattern portrays an explosion of diversity: South Asian, African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic. A reflection of the new America? Perhaps.

Then the last face: a smiling young woman, her hair covered in a resplendent white hijab.

Welcome to Booker T.

The same year the voters of Oklahoma approved a measure banning the practice of Sharia law in the state—a practice I am sure few of us understood and even fewer of us actually witnessed here—the voters of Booker T. Washington high school chose as their Miss Hornet a woman who wore head scarfs and practiced a different religion. If you believe in the power of education to promote appreciation for cultural diversity, individual expression, and freedom of choice, then the appearance of Fareedah Shayeb on the Miss Hornet wall is an American success story. But, as is usually the case, a story offers as many angles as a portrait.

To run for Miss Hornet, you have to fulfill certain basic qualifications: GPA, attendance record, other measures of participation. You also have to pass peer review—selection by a number of homeroom classes. The real showdown takes place at an all-school assembly. The young women and men (there is also a Mr. Hornet) appear onstage and each takes a few minutes to leave lasting impressions on the student body.

Maxine Horner, a member of the class of 1951 and one of the first black women to enter the Oklahoma legislature, once said about BTW: “That school put a shine on you. You walked out of there and you didn’t know there was even such a thing as segregation. They put a shine on you and you felt like you could do anything.” Looking at the faces on that wall, you see pride, confidence, poise, and power. In those Baby Boom days, the ceremony was arranged by a teacher everybody called “Mama” Bratton. You did not cross Mama Bratton. The ceremony had all the trappings of a royal coronation.

In 1979, Thu-Hong Tran appeared onstage with a bundle of balloons of different colors. Losing one, she said, “This is what happens when you let one person rise.” Opening her hand, she released the rest of the bouquet. “And this is what happens when you let everyone rise together.” The student body, which had been integrated in 1973, got the message. She still relates with pride her time at Booker T., though she now lives in Boston, where she teaches science.

“Booker T. has a special place in my life,” she told me in a 2009 letter about how she tries to emphasize the value of education and discovery to her own children.

Today, the winner of the Miss Hornet contest is one who can turn unknowns into friends. The candidates usually sweep their peer groups, the people who know them best. The freshmen are the largest bloc of students with no real knowledge of any of the seniors, so they form a key swing constituency. To win their vote, candidates usually dance, sing, or perform something silly and outrageous. Raps and funky moves are common. It can be a fun show, and the September 2010 competition was no exception.

Until Fareedah approached the podium.

She’d been a student in one of my social studies classes every year for four years. You couldn’t miss her: She always sat in front, always asked questions and follow-ups, was happy to give you plenty of sass. And, of course, there was the hijab. Rather, many hijabs—she was no stranger to fashion, and could go a whole month without repeating her choice of scarf. “You will never see my hair,” she told me once, though on occasion I had noticed her scarf slipping a bit.

She was Booker T. through and through. Her mother, an alumnus of the school, teaches in the English department. Fareedah, who is African-American on her mother’s side and Palestinian on her father’s, was active in student organizations and took the most rigorous classes. She loved the pep rallies and the games, and she was always beaming. Her smile lit up any room. She had experienced some challenges as a Muslim girl in a Midwestern state—stares, awkward questions—but in general she had found a happy home for herself in our diverse student body.

But, could she be elected Miss Hornet by a body of 1,250 students?

I think she remembered the story of Thu-Hong Tran when she prepared her speech. When she reached the podium, she smiled broadly and said:

“Hi, my name is Fareedah Shayeb, also known as the girl in the scarf or as Ms. Asad-Pratt’s daughter, and I just want to start out by saying thank you so much for nominating me for Miss Hornet! I am going to start by explaining what I think Miss Hornet represents, then the good stuff will come later…

“So, basically, Miss Hornet is the girl in the senior class that embodies everything that is Booker T. So I am here to tell you why I think I could be that girl:

“Number 1, I love Booker T. so much. I know everyone on this stage does, too, and I am honored to be up here with all of them. I also think I represent how diverse BTDub really is. My name is Arabic and it just so happens to mean ‘unique.’

“So how many Muslim Miss Hornets have you heard about? Well, I am about 100 percent sure that I would be the first. And, honestly, how many Muslims do you know to begin with? All right, well, how many black, Arab, Native-American Muslims do you know? I know some of you wanted me to rap but I’m not sure that would have worked out very well so I am going to do something else. Because we all have to work with what we are given in life.

“You know some people wonder whether or not I could even fit a crown on my scarf and let me assure you that I can. And I am sure that every single person in here has, at least at one point or another thought: What does her hair look like?”

And then, before a hushed student body, she began unfastening the scarf. Hair tumbled out. She did not sing, or dance, or perform a rap. But she held that audience in her hand.

I was as transfixed as anyone else. It was a beautiful moment. The students voted over lunch and she won, of course. But then something else developed. Fareedah had been wearing a wig! She hadn’t actually revealed her natural hair.

The rumor mill had already been turning, of course. Some students had wondered whether her unveiling had meant she was no longer a Muslim. A few were upset, feeling that they had voted under misleading conditions. It’s hard for a teacher to sample student opinion on a point like this, so I’m sure I don’t understand the public mood completely. But I do know that Fareedah bore the questions with her usual character and courage. She wore the scarf again every day and went about her business.

Talking to Fareedah, I knew that she had given the matter a great deal of thought. Growing up in Tulsa, she had endured the looks and questions for a long time. Her scarf was an endless source of speculation. Coming of age after 9/11 didn’t help, of course. And while she is classified as black or African-American, she didn’t always fit in with black culture here in Tulsa. She had grown up living in multiple worlds. Maybe this is what had prepared her for the event. When you consider the row of Miss Hornets from the last decade, it becomes clear that the winners are the ones who can cross cultural lines. I think Fareedah was having a bit of fun at the expense of anyone who had ever questioned her: If you think there is something magical about my scarf, or that it defines me as a person, then you deserve to be fooled.

It was as though Andy Kaufman had been elected prom queen.

That was in September. The year wore on and Fareedah was crowned in a beautiful ceremony and her picture was added to the wall. She busied herself with her studies and high-school life. She wrote papers, took exams, applied to schools and hung out with her friends. She was very much the ordinary, if over-programmed, modern American teenager. Life continued, and it turned out that most people didn’t really care about the scarf. It’s a diverse school after all: We select students on a geographic basis and there is no racial majority on the campus. Since there is no one dominant group, students have traditionally felt freer to express themselves as individuals. They learn to make choices about themselves. In general, the students accept and move on. In many ways, I think they are better than adults at accepting change.

Finals came with a rush, and the year raced to an end. Then, in May, during the Senior Farewell Assembly, Fareedah closed the story. Amid the testimonials and the farewell performances, Miss Hornet 2010 appeared on the stage to say goodbye—in curls. No scarf this time, no wig, and no gimmick, just a bright teenager with a gleaming smile. As she said later, “Why should something as insignificant as a scarf matter? The Qur’an doesn’t say that women must cover their heads. It just says to be modest.

“Plus, it’s not that great for my hair.”

In her own terms, Fareedah revealed herself to a school she had grown to love over four years. She had grown from a precocious freshman into a more mature young woman, capable of making her own decisions about her identity. She was happy and ready to take on the world. Last month, Fareedah wrote to me reflecting on the event.

“People fear what they don’t understand and I live amongst people that are chronically misinformed. And that not only does that make my life more difficult because of cultural misperceptions, but it adds another strike against me in a male dominated society.”

Ironically, I barely noticed the event. Like most teachers, I was standing in the back of the auditorium talking about schedules or some other minutiae when she appeared on stage. It took me a minute to realize what was going on. Maybe that was because of the student reaction. Some of them already knew what was going on, and some of them didn’t particularly care. In the end, the story was not that a Muslim girl was elected Miss Hornet, or that this proved that the school was culturally tolerant. Students don’t think like educators, and teenagers don’t think like their parents. For them, the scarf was ultimately no big deal.

That’s the lesson.

Note: This article was originally published September 26, 2011.

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Will Katz

Amazing…thank you for sharing this story.

I’m so proud to be a Booker T. Washington Hornet! (Class of 1986)
Ezbnme40

This is amazing. I still get teary eyed when I think of my years at BTW and it was renewed at our 25 reunion we as HORNETS are a part of a rare legacy which will never be forgotten.
tate brady

the first asian to be the first non black ms hornet was hang tran btw 1980 not 1979
Lauracourtney

But she was forced to wear the scarf because she was a female. Offensive and I am saddened that my alma mater approves of the fact. Yes, it is a “big deal.”
T.TenQuestions

“As she said later, ‘Why should something as insignificant as a scarf
matter? The Qur’an doesn’t say that women must cover their heads. It
just says to be modest.’”
Apparently she wasn’t forced. I knew her sister as well and she didn’t act like she was suppressed at all or forced to wear it either. I don’t know a lot about the religion, that I’ll admit. But both Fareedah and her sister seemed proud to be who they were and proud to wear their hijabs. Not forced.
Booker T. is an amazing school that allows people to be who they want and be treated equally. She proved that, no, a scarf on her head didn’t, in the end, set her apart from any of the other students a bit.
Lauracourtney

You can believe she wasn’t forced if you want. She’s been brainwashed since birth. And of course a scarf on her head set her apart from other students. If it didn’t, why would this article even exist?
T.TenQuestions

You say you went to Booker T? I don’t know why but I find that hard to believe. If you want to go to the brainwashed from birth idea you can very easily say we all are in some way. But that doesn’t make how she lived her life wrong or beneath how you do. She was happy and successful.

And my point about her not being different, I apologize that I wasn’t clear, wasn’t that she wasn’t different from other students at all of course she was. We’re all different in our own ways. Hers was just her religion. I meant that at Booker T., the school you claim as an alma mater, it didn’t truly set her apart from other student. She wasn’t outcast because of her hijab. She wasnt treated as different or strang, really. She was treated as another student. She was voted the highest honor in the school by her peers. She was evidence of how at Booker T., your race or religion doesn’t earn you a place at a table in the cafeteria By yourself.
Sherri B

Yes, ir was Hang Tran. Class of 80 but voting was in the fall, hence the 1979.
Captdavestambaugh

Thanks, Cici, for getting this on tbe web. Makes me proud to be from Tulsa – having great institutions, great new press coverage, and wonderful writers (there are no adequate superlatives to describe J W’s teaching talent).
hohum

This is a good story about tolerance and the power of young people to get past the kinds of small-minded issues that frequently cause adults to stumble. The story, however, is not unique to BTW and the fantasizing that persists in Tulsa about what Booker T. is and represents tends to ignore the reality of the place. BTW is NOT some bastion of tolerance and understanding, but is an institution that suffers from issues of racial, economic, and shamefully, academic division. Where students often suffer from an inflated sense of importance and entitlement merely because they attend this school. I’m pretty tired of hearing the nostalgic references to Booker T. as though the place it perhaps once was, is still what it is. It ain’t. Get over it already. Tulsa is not a one-high-school city anymore, but it seems only the people associated with BTW don’t recognize this.
MB

Sure, its not the same school, but its still a great school. Students may be more separated than before, but we all love Booker T. The Miss Hornet election for this year has just passed, and although the winner moves in different circles than me, I am still proud to have her represent me. I think everyone would have been happy for any of the candidates to win, because they know they each love Booker T. That’s what its all about. We come from all over the city, and all backgrounds, and we mesh together to create one school that we all love. Its not about “tolerance” or “entitlement”. Its a much deeper connection to the people and history around us. We love our school. Division inherently exists – nobody is ever going to have the same experience as someone else. Its all about what you choose to do with those divisions, and although there may be shortcomings, I believe Booker T. is still ahead of the curve. I love Booker T. and I’m proud to go there as the school it is today.

(And just so you know, a gay kid won Mr. Hornet this year. If that doesn’t show tolerance and acceptance, then I don’t know what does. You can’t chalk it up to a one time deal.)
http://twitter.com/dbgilders Britton Gildersleeve

Having lived for years in Muslim countries, working now w/ a Muslim office mate, and having two BTW alum sons, I’d like to say that her religion ALONE sets her apart in Oklahoma. And no, she hasn’t been ‘brainwashed’ any more than other children raised in religious households are.
Dlrich1

This was aninspiring article, about Ms. Hornet, BTW, and in some unspoken way, also about Mr. Waldron. I am not an alumni of BTW, but my daughter graduated last year, she knew Ms. Hornet and really admired this young lady for her values and strength. She also had Mr. Waldron for 2 courses, and I think he helped mold who she became at a very critical time in her life. He helped teach her that it is OK to be you – even if you are different than others. Thank you Ms. Hornet for show ing my daughter that diversity is beautiful. Thank you Mr. Waldron for taking the time in class and out of class for being a role model for youn people to understand that being themselves is really great. And thank you BTW for being an incredible melting pot because that represents the real world.
hohum

I’m glad you love your school, MB, that’s great. Here’s the thing, lots of students at other schools love their school too. They also have students of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientation with whom they attend class and school activities. I’m not criticizing BTW as a school so much as the misperception that it somehow represents a unique reality in Tulsa. That it is somehow idealized as someplace that has sustained a vision that in reality no longer exists there. To the extent that it may be unique is actually a sad commentary on the state of education in TPS, when only roughly 10% of our high school students are afforded this opportunity. That aside, I can’t tell you how many times people give an incredulous look when the possibility of attending a high school other than BTW is raised. It’s time to pay attention to the interesting and important activities and achievements of schools other than BTW. We can’t afford to have one high school and a 8 also-rans in a city the size of Tulsa. Can we just stop fantasizing about what Booker T. really is as opposed to what it once was? It’s a high school with an important history in Tulsa, but it isn’t an island of idealized educational reality.

You are probably too young and inexperienced to have witnessed the realty of the BTW sense of entitlement, but believe me it’s real. I’ve seen it too often to believe it is chimerical. I hope you can avoid it as one currently (and apparently unconsciously) being privileged by it. The fact that you believe your school is somehow ‘ahead of the curve’ suggests that you already harbor a sense of this privileged status. I’ll ignore your parenthetical closing comment as it completely misses the point of my earlier comments.
MB

Sorry, it seems I misunderstood some of your comments. I agree 100% that there should be more than one great school in Tulsa. Is there? I’m really not sure. Tulsa Schools has dropped the bomb on pretty much every other school in the district and maybe that proves your point. I just don’t think the mentality of Booker T. should be penalized for that. Until there’s another option, we have to keep what works around. I’ll have to disagree that Booker T. hasn’t sustained its vision. I still believe Booker T. is a great school and should be a place where students who want to go to a great school are welcomed.
WNL

Excuse me, but I’m getting the feeling that you have NO idea what Booker T. is really like or what it is about. I always knew that going to Booker T. was the best choice I could have made, not because of its numerous city, state, and national awards, but also because education is important to me and the faculty do a superb job of stressing educations importance and creating that want and need to do well in all of the students. While I was a student there, I knew that Booker T. was and still is the top high school in Tulsa, and I am still so incredibly proud of that. Oh, and if you want proof, look at our grade averages, how we do on standardized testing, graduation statistics, the numerous Advanced Placement classes offered, the number of National Merit Scholars, and the fact that Booker T. is the only high school in Tulsa to offer the internationally known and recognized International Baccalaureate Program. Having graduated and now being in college, the stunned and impressed reactions I still get from people when I tell them I went to Booker T. solidifies our renowned status. Being a teenager and recent high school student, I have talked to kids that went to other Tulsa high schools and they have admitted that their schools did not prepare them, did not harbor a sense of learning and education, and that none of the students cared to be there. Maybe the fact that Booker T. is one of the hardest Tulsa schools to get into is an obvious sign of something. Haters gonna hate.

MB, I just want to thank you for being so proud of Booker T. and defending it. You are a true Hornet.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=682197186 Dillon O’Carroll

Why try to destroy a wonderfully well written article about a splendid past-time and it’s beautiful participant? Keep your comment to yourself if you don’t have anything nice to say. Well done Mr. Waldron.
hohum

Your response exemplifies the one-sided, blinkered, and completely uncritical view of BTW that I hear over and over again. Forgive me for ever suggesting that BTW is not the world’s greatest place. You may continue now with all your self-congratulating, as though anyone outside of the BTW circle cares. God forbid anyone should point out the possible shortcomings of BTW and you are labelled a “hater.” Your response speaks volumes about the self-absorbed perspective one finds coming from BTW apologists. How arrogant the constant, yet fallacious drum beat of “we’re better, we’re smarter, it’s harder.” Get over yourself. Your disdain for anything not Booker T. is as clear as it is petty. I detect no love for anyone or anything but the “self,” yet you call me the hater?
Chris Gafney

Will, thanks for sharing this! I want to echo that I too, am VERY proud to be a Hornet! – Chris Gafney C/O 1986
sophist

Was lashing out at the author of this piece and the other posters as satisfying as you’d thought it would be?
sophist

Or like you’ve been brainwashed from birth to believe that all Muslims force their daughters to wear the scarves?
Amy

In my life, BTW is a unique place where issues of acceptance and tolerance were part of the daily life of the school. I remember the election of Hang Tran as Miss Hornet in the fall of 1979. It was a controversial time at BTW. A time that taught us all a lot about our perceptions and ideas about who we were as a school and as individuals. BTW is a special place with a special history in Tulsa and beyond. It was then and it is now. BTW had plenty of controversy and difficulty surrounding issues of race and class and acceptance when I was a student there. I expect that those issues are still a part of BTW. We were encouraged to openly talk about how to be who we were and how to accept those who were not like us. It was hard, but the experience has kept me asking those questions since I was a student there. Thanks for writing this story!
anonymouse

this guy clearly didn’t go to booker t.
grandma barbara

She has been indoctrinated, so to speak, with “do unto others…”, Always be truthful and never steal; work hard and achieve all that you can in the way of good, and know there is a creator in this universe who listens to all your prayers and will guide you to what is best for your life even though you make the decisions. Thank you mr. Waldron.
Peace and God’s love to you all.
grandma barbara
Pcremin

What a terrific story. Were all of America so rational and accepting, so much of the dvisiveness and problems we see would melt away. Go girl–you are special.
Bobby Clemente

Nice article but Oklahoma is NOT the Midwest. Don’t know if people around here who use that term will ever be able to understand it so best thing to do is travel to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, etc and ask them if Okieville is the Midwest. We need to come up w/ a different name. I suggest the Mid-America.

As for Ms. Shayeb, I’m sure she is more than worthy to have been Miss Hornet of my alma mater.
Bobby Clemente

Nice article but Oklahoma is NOT the Midwest. Don’t know if people around here who use that term will ever be able to understand it so best thing to do is travel to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, etc and ask them if Okieville is the Midwest. We need to come up w/ a different name. I suggest the Mid-America.

As for Ms. Shayeb, I’m sure she is more than worthy to have been Miss Hornet of my alma mater.
http://thislandpress.com/11/20/2011/meet-cecilia-whitehurst/ MEET: Cecilia Whitehurst | This Land Press

[...] copy editing, I think my favorite was John Waldron’s “The Making of Miss Hornet” — he was my high school history teacher, so it was a little bit of payback to get to [...]
Lexi T.

Absolutely radiant. So proud to call you my former teacher, Mr. Waldron. Please keep sharing your insightful and graceful observations- they are truly unparalleled and always relevant.