Salomón Baldenegro writes Star op ed condemning Hicks’ “Penn State” statement

by David Safier

Salomón Baldenegro has an excellent op ed in today's Star where he discusses at length the dangerous statement — Baldenegro uses the term "slander" — made by TUSD Board member Michael Hicks on Garrett Lewis' Morning Ritual Interviews on KNST February 2. Hicks, in his effort to dirty up UA students and faculty members who support TUSD's suspended MAS courses, implies they may have been guilty of sexual assault against TUSD students.

For those of you who haven't been following this: When some suspended Wakefield Middle School students went to a Teach-In at UA, then attended a university-level Mexican-American Studies course without the media in tow, Hicks used a "Penn State" reference to imply the TUSD students might have been sexually abused behind closed doors.

"For me, I'm like, you know what? You know, Penn State? You know, what's going on behind these closed doors with our children? Children! I mean these are, these are not adults yet, these were Wakefield children . . . I'm like going, this is not [confusing: indicative?] of a university, the University of Arizona statute to bring these people in, these young children in."

The comment is at about the 7:30 minute mark of the interview.

According to Baldenegro,

To mention UA faculty in the same sentence as someone charged with numerous counts linked to child rape and sodomy – which is the image that "Penn State" in this context conjures up – is a slander of the highest order.

[snip]

The potential ramifications of Hicks' utterances are not trivial. A UA MAS faculty member has already received death threats due to his public support of the TUSD MAS program. Having unbalanced individuals believe, based on Hicks' assertion, that MAS faculty are engaging in child rape and such abominations can provoke not only threats but attacks on MAS faculty members.

[snip]

Hicks cannot unring the bell he rung, but he can and should muster the integrity to render a public apology to the UA MAS faculty for the erroneous and odious comments he made about them in that radio interview as well as to the students whom he maligned.