All About Our Meeting -- by Eliza

On our January 25th meeting we discussed real issues surrounding Arizona, USA. One issue we discussed was the hatred portrayed by two young ladies in a video, in which they disrespected Mexicans in various ways. These young ladies made many racist comments which heavily impacted us, referring to them as illegals, dirty, and poor people. As a group we discussed what this does to people, how it spreads hatred and causes hateful acts towards people of different races. This is the kind of hatred that we want to stop.

Another topic we discussed was the ban on all Ethnic Studies courses in the Tucson Unified School District. The Board of Education in Arizona enforced the ban, which has cost many of the students an integral part of their education. Superintendent Huppenthal did not seem to care about what teachers and students had to say about the issue. All of the schools in the district were even threatened with budget cuts if the courses were not removed (the schools had no choice). The students engaged in these courses had access to more knowledge; they were allowed to express themselves in various ways; and they were given a chance to know their own history and culture. But the Board of Education saw this class as a threat to the nation, and said that it encouraged the overthrow of the US government. Which is ridiculous!

During our meeting we talked about current issues in Arizona that we will definitely be confronting on our trip in February.