Maps, Mumbles and Miss Teen South Carolina

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  09.07.07 | 12:46 PM ET

misssouthcarolinateen

I don’t want to pile on Lauren Caitlin Upton, the Miss Teen USA pageant contestant from South Carolina who botched her answer to the question, “Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?” As of this morning, the video of her awkward response has been viewed more than 13 million times at YouTube. Now, the Web site Maps for US has given her assertion that “some people out there in our nation don’t have maps” some additional infamy, parodying telethons and asking people to donate maps.

The site’s About section features a video and riffs on Upton’s response:

MapsforUs.org is the online home, where people can donate maps to the citizens of the United States.

From South Africa to Iraq, the world is alarmed at the recent polls that show a fifth of Americans can’t locate the US on a world map. We personally believe that it a crisis of epic proportions that US Americans are unable to do so, because some people out their in our nation don’t have maps.

And we believe that our education, like such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere…like. Such as. And we believe you should donate maps to this cause.

So far the site has received donated maps of, among other things, the Las Vegas Stripthe London Underground highlighted as an Emu and a video of the song Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Upton is an easy target for comedy, but, really, the whole episode just makes me cringe. It’s the video, sure, but more so those alleged 60 million Americans who can’t locate their own home country on a map. One bright spot: The Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act was reintroduced in Congress earlier this year. According to the National Council for Geographic Education, the Act could be in effect within a year.

 



5 Comments for Maps, Mumbles and Miss Teen South Carolina

TambourineMan 09.07.07 | 6:40 PM ET

The TambourineMan would like to offer Caitlin private cartography tutoring.

He also gives big props to the great Mario Lopez, who held it together like a pro.

Eva Holland 09.07.07 | 6:53 PM ET

Hah! Just watched the video for the first time… TambourineMan, thanks for the confirmation on the Mario Lopez sighting. I was so distracted going “Is that AC Slater??” that I almost missed her second round of “like such as”...

To be honest, I’m not sure that geography is this gal’s biggest issue.

TambourineMan 09.07.07 | 7:04 PM ET

Whatever subject Caitlin needs help with, I’m there for her.

Yes, it is indeed AC Slater, Saved by the Bell LEGEND…and the next Bert Parks.

travelina 09.08.07 | 4:30 PM ET

Oddly enough, Miss Teen South Carolina’s answer was correct, and the question was wrong:  according to the 2006 Roper Public Affairs-National Geographic Study of Geographic Literacy, it’s not true that one-fifth of Americans can’t find the U.S. on a world map—94% can. (Perhaps the pageant organizers meant to ask: Why can’t 63% of Americans find Iraq on a Middle East map?  That would be true). But if you dissect Miss Upton’s answer about why Americans are geographically challenged, it turns out she’s right.  According to the Roper-NatGeo study, only 19% of the Americans they polled owned a world map.  So buy a world map today, and fight geographic illiteracy!  There are some nice ones here:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/gateway/120/105.html

Report of the Roper-NatGeo survey here: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf

Debbie 09.09.07 | 3:20 PM ET

This poor girl is a victim of the public education system, with a smattering of personal responsibility for not applying herself in school No doubt she has been taught those wonderful social courses offered on “Women’s Studies”, “Cultural Diversity” and the always riveting “Environmental Global Warming” hype.  Perhaps if reading, writing, arithmetic and geography were brought back to the forefront we wouldn’t have to be subjected to the Ms. South Carolinas of the world.

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