Ethnic Studies disappears

By Claire Cudahy

Arizona, the 48th state in America, known for it's arid climate, the Grand Canyon and... intolerance?

In the last year, Arizona has become the Lindsay Lohan of states, frequenting the top news stories in a very unflattering light.

The state's new immigration law — known as SB1070 — which enables police to demand documentation of suspected illegal immigrants, kicked off Arizona's stint in the spotlight.

Most recently, the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords and the new law banning ethnic studies in Arizona schools have become sources of debate and discussion across the United States.

House Bill 2281, which took effect December 31, bans schools in Arizona from offering courses that "promote resentment toward a race or class of people" or "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."

According to Tom Horne, state superintendent of public instruction and author of HB 2281, the bill was written to target the Mexican American studies programs in the Tucson school system.

Districts that refuse to abide by this new law stand to lose as much as ten percent of their state funding each month.

Proponents of the new law claim that a Mexican American ethnic studies program creates division among students by presenting them with texts that criticize the United States' historical treatment of Latinos. Horne, who has been trying to end the program for years, says it divides students by race, fostering resentment.

Though it is difficult to protest the segments of the law that discourage the overthrow of the government, I believe it is wrong to keep students from learning about a part of history, and in the case of many students, their own ethnic heritage.

Moreover, unity and peace are not born from restrictions of education or information, but through enlightenment, tolerance and empathy.

Just as book burnings were not an effective or moral way to stop people from reading controversial literature, this law will be equally ineffective and immoral.  

All the law does is put up unnecessary road blocks to learning and progress. It restricts what students can learn to what the state feels is acceptable, not what really happened and what is most historically accurate.

In light of the recent holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words resonate more clearly than ever, "We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers."

The Arizona school system is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they resist the law, state funding is at risk. On the other hand, if they comply with the law, intolerance is upheld and their students are denied their rightful education.

Some have chosen to fight for the program. Judy Burns, president of the Tucson Unified School District's governing board, has no intention of ending the program, which offers classes with an emphasis on Latino authors and history.  Eleven teachers have sued to obstruct the law.

As a former student of Latin American Literature, I can vouch that an education in other cultures broadened my perspective and allowed me to empathize more easily with a race outside of my own.

In the 1980s and early 90s, Arizona refused to join the nation in proclaiming MLK Jr.'s birthday a paid state holiday and was justifiably criticized.

In 1992, the state finally complied and the nation moved forward in its journey toward racial unity.

Arizona's recent political activity does not promote this harmony. HB 2281 represents a regression of freedom and all the ideals America stands for.

If this law remains in effect, we have taken a giant step away from our goal of national unity and equality.

Claire Cudahy is a junior english major.