4 OPINION Page 4 Wednesday, October 19, 1988 7t. A cI* -n Daily Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan, toE1 milagro de Michigan? Vol. IC, No.30 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor. MI 48109 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. eQue e LAST WEEK, the federal appeals court in Denver, Colorado, approved peti- tioners' efforts to place a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 8th ballot, which would establish English as the state's official language. This ruling rejuvenates a controversy that was de- bated in California two years ago. In 1986, a similar amendment was passed in California by an overwhelm- ing majority of the electorate; this or- dered the legislature to "take all steps necessary to insure that the role of En- glish as the common language of the State... is preserved." Proponents of "English only" claim that a Spanish sub-culture will develop in America because immigrants' chil- dren do not have sufficient motivation io master English since government services are available to the immigrants In their native language. But, this is simply not true. A survey conducted by the Rand Corporation in 1985, revealed that pore than 95 percent of first-generation Mexican-Americans are proficient in English and more than half of the sec- bnd generation cannot even speak Spanish. This rate of learning English is historically consistent with other immigrant groups entering the United States, thus the fear of such a sub-cul- lure is unfounded. The support for English as the offi- cial language comes from areas where Hispanic populations have increased significantly due to immigration. Police and social service officials say that ethnic tensions have been mounting in such cities. These large "foreign" esto? communities are perceived as threaten- ing because of their growing size and concentration. Laws establishing English as the of- ficial language would be no help at all. The State Personnel Board of Califor- nia predicted that 2 million residents would be denied access to state ser- vices if the government wholly elimi- nated bilingual access. Legislation was proposed in 1987 which would require welfare applications, driver's tests, and student financial aid forms for state universities to be printed only in En- glish. Bilingual education would also be significantly decreased in an effort to push children into speaking English. These measures would only limit im- migrants in their efforts to compete so- cially and economically, and enter the American mainstream. An amendment that makes English the official language is an unfounded reaction to a growing number of Span- ish immigrants. As Jessica Fiske, di- rector of the A.C.L.U. in Los Angeles questioned, why should "the ability to be protected by the state constitution... be dependant upon proficiency in En- glish?" In order to eliminate poverty in the Hispanic community, the government should focus its attention on education rather than a law that would exclude and isolate Hispanics from society. The Hispanic community needs access to education and support, but the result of an English-only amendment is dis- criminatory rather than advantageous. If the referendum passes in Colorado, it would be the eighth state to have a law which makes English the official language. By Anne M. Martinez Dear President Duderstadt, Allow me to offer my congratulations as you assume your new position as Pres- ident of the University. While you have been celebrating your new position, I have been attending conferences of great significance to me, both personally and as a member of the University community. I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts and experiences of the past few weeks. In your various celebratory speeches, you have vaguely mentioned some of the current and future "diversity" programs at the University. You have frequently brought to light the efforts to attract mi- nority faculty to Michigan, mentioning the numbers of new Black faculty, and adding in dismay that efforts to attract Latino faculty have failed miserably. I started to think about my own career here at Michigan, and started to think about those professors who have served me as role models and mentors, encourag- ing me and inspiring me over the past few years. I realized that my mentors and the institution I attend have no relationship. That is, the handful of professors who have inspired me the most are at the Uni- versity of Illinois-Chicago, Stanford, the University of Minnesota, Texas A & M, and the University of California-Berkeley. It's interesting to note that I am Chicana, and these professors are all Chicanos. And it is troubling to me that the University of Michigan does not have one single Chi- cano professor. This made me to think some more about these role models, and how I've come to know and respect them. The primary contact I have with these people is at the National Association for Chicano Studies (NACS) Conference every April, and the NACS Midwest Regional Confer- ence which I attended this past weekend. I've also had the opportunity to meet a couple of inspiring Chicano educators through their visits to Michigan as part of the King/Chavez/Parks Program. While I am happy to get to know these scholars and their work, it seems to me a disgrace that I see them once in a lifetime, or at most once or twice a year. We are thrown into this cycle of waiting Anne M.dMartinez is a LSA senior in Latino Studies. for that King/Chavez/Parks Scholar who happens to be Latino to come to Michi- gan. And then we spend four or five days with this person - and it's a bonus if s/he happens to be in a field remotely re- lated to your own. And after this scholar leaves, there is a week or so of despair that you are pretty much on your own again, waiting till the next conference or visiting scholar comes along. Over the past few months, I have also been frustrated by the fact that Minority Student Services does not have a Hispanic Representative. After attending the Mid- west Voter Registration Education Pro- ject's Hispanic Leadership Conference, October 7-9, I am convinced that this opening is due not only to the fact that the search started three months late, but also to the image Michigan has in the eyes of many Latino leaders in the area. One Latino who attended the dinner and show you and Vice Provost Moody put on Oc- this University can attract top-notch Latino scholars if it really wants to. If Michigan in willing to make a commit- ment, as the University of Wisconsin has recently done, to truly dedicate itself to a curriculum and academic research in Latino Studies, it can become the multicultural setting you and I are both striving to achieve. If Michigan is willing to expand the Latino Studies Program beyond the current half-Assistant Professor, who must get tenure in another department; if Michigan is willing to hire a full-time, Full Professor for Latino Studies and a handful of faculty with interdepartmental appointments in Latino Studies and related disciplines for 1989-90, then it will start to emerge as a respectable institution among NACS members and other Latino scholarly association members. When Michigan is ready to make conditions fi- nancially, socially, and academically sup- portive for Latino students, they will start '[I]t is troubling to me that the University of Michigan does not have one single Chicano professor.' tober 5 at the Power Center, felt that Latinos were included "as an afterthought." And since I have yet to receive the invita- tion Vice Provost Moody promised to ex- tend to me for that event, I would have to agree: Latinos are an afterthought. I guess this all seems rather negative, but I feel there is hope. I believe you and I want the same thing. We want the Michigan community to become a diverse community. We want Michigan to be tle kind of University where Latino students, staff, and faculty will, well, "flock" as our prominent Dean Steiner might put it. And though there are certainly those among us who would disagree, I am confident that this bastion of higher education could only improve with the increased participation of Latinos. And even though the NACS national body passed a resolution in 1987, con- demning the University of Michigan ad- ministration for it's inaction in the face of, the nationally publicized racist conditions, to "flock" in. When Michigan is ready to support research on the history, culture, and socio-economic concerns of Latinos, Latino leaders will look to it as the ex- emplary institution we are trying to make it. We'll call it El Milagro de Michigan-- The Michigan Miracle. President Duderstadt, I implore you to take the helm of this grand university and turn away the FBI recruiters on the basis of their discrimination against Latinos. Honor the. Boycott of California table grapes until the UFW strike is over. (How can anyone take the King/Chkvez/Parks Program seriously if we stand in direct conflict with one of its namesakes by having California grapes on tables across this University?) Take the bold initiatives that will demonstrate that Michigan is ready to move beyond tokenism for Latinos. Tell the University, the State, the Nation, and the World that the University of Michigan is ready for the 21st Century... and do it now! a '} 4.. Mfo otb all supreme To the Daily: In her column ("Maize and Blue Patriotism," 10/6/88), Donna Iadi- paolo maliciously contorts the meaning of collegiate patriotism into something evil and absurd. Iadipaolo claims that spirited, pa- triotic University students who en- thusiastically rally behind the Michigan Wolverines are blind and naive. Why? Because Michigan football is a forum for "racism, sex- ism, elitism and classism." Labelling Michigan football as racist is so absurd it should not even be argued. The author's main em- phasis centers around Michigamua, an honor society that allegedly de- picts Native Americans in an offen- sive manner. First, it is Iadipaolo's personal opinion that Michigamua is racist. Second, Michigamua in no way represents the beliefs of the en- tire Michigan football organization. Characterizing Michigan football as racist is a severe assertion and should be substantiated with more plausible ;evridence. S-The are no women on this year's, t-fpotball roster. Iadipaolo is right: the * organization must be sexist. As be- f ore the Michigan football team is inaccurately related to the male- ° dominated Michigamua honor soci- R: qy. Michigamua is an all-male club . by choice. The Michigan football team is in a rather different situation. I realize the author refuses to at- lend football games, but she should be clever enough to recognize the absolute necessity of separating men from women in the Big Ten compe- tition. elitism and classism. Athletics are a plus, not a minus. Football games bring spirit to the University and make the students more enthusiastic about being here. Athletics made the school more at- tractive. Football games are a supreme so- cial event which students will never forget. Twenty years from now, stu- dents will be following Michigan football as if they were still in col- lege. Indeed, the most visible and stable link between an alumnus and his school is through athletics. Michigan athletics benefits this campus tremendously, and showing your loyalty to the Wolverines with fervent patriotism does not make you elitist, racist, sexist or classist. -Niko Dounchis October 5 Vote no on Proposal A To the Daily: I am writing in response to Steve Morrow's letter (10/17). Morrow says he will vote "yes" for Proposal A, which will cut off Medicaid funding for abortions no matter what the cause of pregnancy and no matter how young the woman is. Morrow claims that because preg- nancy is preventable by abstinence, he does not want to "pay for some- one else's lack of discipline." Well, as a matter of fact, Morrow and all of us will be paying much more if Medicaid funding for abor- tions is cut off. We will be paying for the births of those unwanted ba- bies as well as for their care for 18 years if they need welfare. So by voting "yes" for Proposal A, Mor- incest be forced to miss school to have a baby when she herself is still a child? Why should a mother of three, whose husband has left her, be forced to endure a fourth pregnancy while working full time to support her children? None of these women should have to suffer like this. Medicaid funding for abortion should not be cut off. I urge everyone, in the name of fair- ness, to VOTE NO ON PRO- POSAL A on November 8. -Jyotsna Sreenivasan October 18 Chang views of rape To the Daily: October 24-28 is Assault Aware- ness Week. Why be aware? According to the FBI, one out of three women will be raped sometime in her life. Conse- quently, something needs to be done - someone's perceptions about rape need to be changed. Logically, since the man commits the crime, the man's perceptions are what need changing. Mainly, society needs to teach men that rape is a crime of vi- olence and that it will not be toler- ated. On the contrary, though, society has been calling for a change in the woman's attitudes. How often does society dictate to women: "Don't walk alone at night - you will be vulnerable for an attack." Or, "Don't wear high heels or long, slim skirts - they are too difficult to run away in." As a woman, I am angered that I have to limit my freedoms to avoid being a victim of rape. But, until society effectively pun- ishes men's "aggressive" behavior toward women and rape as a barbaric thing of the past, women should be- come aware of the existing dangers surrounding rape. In summary, be aware that: - rapes can occur day or night, in- doors or outdoors, by someone known or by a stranger. - reacting to a potentially danger- ous situation early, like crossing the street or turning back can increase your safety. - SAFEWALK, organized by the University of Michigan, is an alter- native to walking alone at night. - if an attack should occur, there are effective ways to thwart it. " learning self-defense is an op- tion. " rape is not the woman's fault. " there are places to consult for information, guidance, and support, such as the Sexual Assault Preven- tion and Awareness Center or the Assault Crisis Center. " by being aware, women do not have to be afraid. It would be nice to think that so- ciety has created a world that makes it safe for a woman to walk alone at night. BE AWARE that this world does not exist... yet. -Sheila D. Turek October 19 Israel creates refugees To the Daily: This letter is in response to that of John Blow. I suggest that he take his own advice and think more care- fully. In his letter he cites examples in which his beloved Israel has rescued refugees from all over the world. He must realize that there would be no Israeli state were it not for these Jewish refugees. Israel has been self-preserving, not self-sacrificing, as Blow would like to believe. A truly charitable country would not discriminate against refugees of dif- ferent persuasions, much less vic- timize others. Blow fails to mention the hundreds of thousands of refugees which Israel has created. Yes, contrary to popular opinion Palestinians are people too. They do not deserve the torment be- stowed upon them in their own homeland. I would like to ask John Blow to remove his blinders and see the world as it really is. -Deyar Jamil October 19 Puerto Rico bail hearing or bail for 16 months is wrong. The issues surrounding the fate of the "Puerto Rico-Hartford 15," however, are not necessarily those which describe the reality of the historical presence of the United States in Puerto Rico. It is a moot point to argue the morality of how the Europeans col- onized the Americas. No nation or race has ever cornered the market on morality. Whatever happened in the past is simply in the past, and we must strive to make the present an improvement upon the past. It is a gross exaggeration - if not outright deception - for the edito- rial to suggest that the United States has merely occupied Puerto Rico and turned it- into an impoverished vassal state. Under the Spanish, Puerto Rico was an impoverished, feudal island fortress. It was economically and socially no better off than any other nation or island in the Caribbean basin. As of 1917, all Puerto Ricans are Americans, free to migrate anywhere in the United States and seek a better future. The pro-independence move- ment has never been more than a small yet loud minority. At the very least, a sizable plurality of Puerto Ricans are happy to be Americans. Of the three main political parties on the island, the pro-statehood and the pro-commonwealth parties account for the majority of voters. The loud minority should not speak on behalf of the silent major- ity. If the 40 percent of Puerto Ri- cans who live on the mainland were really pro-independence, then most of these two million Puerto Ricans would not live on the mainland. -L.A. Valzquez-Rivera October 5 0 1S America To the Daily: In response to your editorial on the political status of Puerto Rico (10/4), I find myself amused and of- fended. As a Puerto Rican, I find the tone of the editorial to be propagan- distic and consistent with the self- admiration that many Ann Arbor armchair liberals display on Saturday mornings at the Farmer's Market. Whatever one's political ideology concerning the status of Puerto Rico, I doubt anyone who believes in the intrinsic value and importance of the Bill of Rights would contest that holding any individual without a U.