By: Daniel Nardini
A lady named Terri Bennet enrolled in a class to learn nursing at Pima Community College in Arizona. At this point we only have her side of events. According to Ms. Bennet, many students in her classes either translated lectures into Spanish for the benefit of other students, or they spoke entirely in Spanish. During study sessions, the instructor broke up the attending student body into group study sessions. Ms. Bennet found herself in a study group where only Spanish was used. As a result, according to Ms. Bennet, she was not getting any benefit from her classes in nursing. She had complained to the school administration about this, and asked that in accordance with the Arizona state constitution and for the benefit of all other students, that all students conduct themselves in English.
According to Ms. Bennet, the director for the nursing program of the college accused her of being a “bigot and a bitch,” and “discriminating against Mexican-Americans.” For this the college suspended Bennet and will not allow her back onto campus. Since then, Ms. Bennet has brought a lawsuit against the Pima Community College, and is suing them for not only violating her civil rights but also allowing classes to use Spanish when, according to the Arizona state constitution, all classes and public places “must be conducted in English” since English is the official language of Arizona. I am not sure what Pima Community College’s view of this story is since it is not mentioned on their website, but it has been mentioned in the Arizona news media that the college is under a two year probation for accreditation problems. To add further fuel to the fire, the organization ProEnglish, the leading advocate to make English the official language of the United States, has taken up Bennet’s case.
I see four things in this whole story. First, there is most probably a serious divide between English speaking students and Spanish speaking students in a couple of the campus branches of Pima Community College. The Desert Vista campus where Bennet was attending is 62 percent Latino. I am sure that there is some tension between these student groups. Second, it tells me that there is a great deal of resentment between Latinos and non-Latinos in that state. This should come as no surprise since Latinos, and especially Mexican Americans, have been under attack from the Arizona state legislature with laws that are clearly discriminatory against them. And sadly, it is turning many Latinos against individual non-Latinos. Third, this lawsuit will be used as a litmus test for trying to make English the official language of not only every state but also the official language of the whole United States. Finally, what is happening in Arizona may become a blueprint for the segregation and discriminatory division of the entire country where ethnic and racial groups will be atomized into communities and neighborhoods completely separated from the rest of mainstream society. One thing seems to be for sure, and that this case is a microcosm for what Arizona is today.
The Pima Community College Incident
By: Daniel Nardini
According to Ms. Bennet, the director for the nursing program of the college accused her of being a “bigot and a bitch,” and “discriminating against Mexican-Americans.” For this the college suspended Bennet and will not allow her back onto campus. Since then, Ms. Bennet has brought a lawsuit against the Pima Community College, and is suing them for not only violating her civil rights but also allowing classes to use Spanish when, according to the Arizona state constitution, all classes and public places “must be conducted in English” since English is the official language of Arizona. I am not sure what Pima Community College’s view of this story is since it is not mentioned on their website, but it has been mentioned in the Arizona news media that the college is under a two year probation for accreditation problems. To add further fuel to the fire, the organization ProEnglish, the leading advocate to make English the official language of the United States, has taken up Bennet’s case.
I see four things in this whole story. First, there is most probably a serious divide between English speaking students and Spanish speaking students in a couple of the campus branches of Pima Community College. The Desert Vista campus where Bennet was attending is 62 percent Latino. I am sure that there is some tension between these student groups. Second, it tells me that there is a great deal of resentment between Latinos and non-Latinos in that state. This should come as no surprise since Latinos, and especially Mexican Americans, have been under attack from the Arizona state legislature with laws that are clearly discriminatory against them. And sadly, it is turning many Latinos against individual non-Latinos. Third, this lawsuit will be used as a litmus test for trying to make English the official language of not only every state but also the official language of the whole United States. Finally, what is happening in Arizona may become a blueprint for the segregation and discriminatory division of the entire country where ethnic and racial groups will be atomized into communities and neighborhoods completely separated from the rest of mainstream society. One thing seems to be for sure, and that this case is a microcosm for what Arizona is today.