By Tom Prezelski
Re-blogged from Rum, Romanism and Rebellion
The Tucson Sentinel reports that a former Pima Community College
student is suing the school for allegedly having kicked her out when
she complained about her classmates using Spanish when speaking about
each other in the classroom.
Pima officials, doubtless on the advice of attorneys,
are circumspect regarding the specifics of the case. However, the gist
of Pima’s side of the story is that she complained constantly about
Spanish being spoken on campus, was argumentative and “displayed
intimidating behavior toward students, staff, and faculty.” Given the
criticism that Pima took after the press looked into Jared Loughner’s academic record,
it seems understandable that officials there followed a strict policy
regarding disruptive behavior on campus, and what exactly preceded her
expulsion will certainly become clearer if this matter goes too much
further.
The student’s sentiments are familiar to most of us in this bilingual
town. We all know folks who are remarkably thin skinned about Spanish
being spoken in their presence, and this is not the first lawsuit or
official complaint from someone objecting to something other than
English being used in the workplace, even in private conversations among
co-workers. There are even those who regard Spanish billboards and
Spanish conversations in the grocery store
as a sign that General Santa Anna’s army is assembling to re-take the
province. Unfortunately, we trust some of these people to make public
policy.
In the press conference announcing the suit, the student brought a
Spanish-surnamed relative, doubtless to show folks that she meant no
malice against Mexican-Americans and that she is not a racist. Perhaps
she is quite sincere about this, but this message is undermined by the
other friends she has chosen to associate with.
