Row over student's Caucasian club Lisa McClelland's plan has put her at the centre of a storm By Maggie Shiels in Oakley, California
To some, 15-year-old Lisa McClelland is a heroine - while to others she is public enemy number one.
One thing she herself says [is] she is not a racist, as she defends her attempts to start a "Caucasian club" at her California high school.
"I think I am doing a great thing," she told BBC News Online in the garden of her home in Oakley, 50 miles east of San Francisco.
"I'm trying to break racial barriers.
"Without a Caucasian club things at school are kind of segregated and I think if we have a Caucasian club it will go along with the rest of the race clubs so the school might be a little bit more diverse."
The school is already home to the Black Student Union, the Asian Club and Latinos Unidos, an Hispanic club.
Pupils of all races can join any of the groups but Lisa says she does not fit in and believes her Caucasian club will help bridge the gap for many.
"I came home from school one day, the day we were signing up for clubs, and I didn't see any that really interested me.
"We were talking about how there are all these other racial clubs but there isn't a Caucasian club and me and my mom talked about it and how there would be nothing wrong with trying to get it started."
But ever since Lisa went public, she and the school have been in the spotlight.
The topic is a regular staple on American cable programmes and the favourite punch bag of right wing radio talk shows.
School principal Eric Volta has found the attention overwhelming but perhaps understandable.
"A club by that name tends to make people nervous. Even school administrators as far as what it's purpose is," he said.
"As long as it stays positive, it's not a problem."
And Lisa promises that it will be.
"It will be where kids can go and learn about their heritage and break down their culture more than the school does. Any race can join."
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/3143760.stm
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/ dave /