1992_03 The Daily Collegian March 1992

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By Lawrence Tovar
Through hard work and an edu¬
cation,, my Hispanic friend became a
corporate CEO last year. He fol¬
lowed the creed many racists es¬
pouse: no affirmative action—no
handouts—just fair competition.
Problems arose, however, when
his cultural feelings were revealed.
Many people who elected him to the
position thought he was a nice
minority. They didn't plan on
having someone who called himself a
politically conscious Chicano.
Things got worse when this
Chicano began appointing some non-
traditional members to the board of
directors and other levels of leader¬
ship. Intolerability was reached
when he introduced an education
program dealing with racism.
Keep in mind that he never took ■
power away from any other group—
unlike the last white CEO. This did
noi matter: As" we all know, political
controversy provides the ingredients
to sell newspapers and the soil to
grow power-hungry opponents; both
understand that a large segment of
people want to hear juice and not
reality.
For the first few months, this
CEO initiated every major proposal
without taking much credit; in
contrast, many board members took
his initiatives and made it appear as
though they were all responsible for
initiating the plans: fee deferments
for late financial aid recipients,
money for more library hours,
upgrading the quality of food,
fighting proposed fee increases, etc.
But Andres Montoya always
allowed them to feed on his initfar-"'
tives. Every politician (wh|ch
includes the press) has gorged on his
tasty initiatives and blamed him for
making the mess at the dinner table.
It troubles me to hear white people
speak about recalling Andres and
taking care of those minorities.
White people should ask themsleves
two questions: "What have Andres
Montoya and the people of color
done to hurt us?"ind "What have
they done to beiwit us?"
Columns reflect the opinions of the
writers, not necessarily ofCSUFstaff or
students. Contributing columns from
students are welcome.
Late again??? What's your excuse today?
Well it looks like the campus's
most urgent and pressing busi¬
ness, the recall election of Andres
Montoya, is going to occur May
17 and 18.
What is the point?
If the election is not delayed
again, and if Montoya is recalled,
the action will come about one
month before the regular election
for next year's ASI president.
Nicole Kasabian, who will
replace Montoya in the event of a
recall, will not have the time or
opportunity to do much with her
new authority.
If Montoya is not recalled then
he will have just ope month
before the words lame duck begin
to have new significance in his
life:
Although the official term of
the ASI president doesn't end until
August, there is not a lot of work
to be done once the spring semes¬
ter has ended and the ASI, much
like Congress, has evolved from
the "spewing hot air" stage to the
"crappy summer job" stage.
The efforts of the students who
organized the recall should not be
belittled. They went to consider-
abre effort to remain true to their
political beliefs about student
government.
The unfortunate result of these
efforts has been, again similar to
Congress, that the bureaucracy
has kept intact its well-deserved
reputation for inaction and inef¬
fectiveness.
So the League of Women
Voters gave our campus the   ,
runaround for awhile. That did not
have to be a major setback. That
kind of lazy excuse wouldn't get
you very far, say, with a professor
who was expecting a term paper,
now would it?
Students advocating Montoya's
recall wish to deal with what they
see as a problem in our student
government
ASI has a lot of problems.
Identity reflects
heritage pride
Dear Editor,
This is in response to Bruce Brenna's
opinion article Extra names come xvith extra
baggage on Feb. 25.
The "melting pot" ideal in Brenna's
article is one that has not, and should not
be applied in tlu>countrjf. The process
people have to go through for this great
"pot" of Americans is basically to rid
themselves of their former identity, and
take on a,new one.
To say you are a Japanese American,
African American, Jewish American,
Portugese American, or any other
American is to say you are proud of
where you came from and proud of who
you are. The American part of the iden¬
tity name shows that hopefully in this
country we are able to keep our identity,
and at the same time function as well as a
whole. We do not have to give up our
heritage and fuse to some bigger mass of
people who do not know who they are
suppose to be.
If all the Japanese Americans have to
do is drop their first identity to help stop
the backlash, what is next? Many people
have already changed their names gjven
at birth to fit in. Is plastic surgery art
option for any non American-looking
people? By the way what does an
American look like anyway?
This country has a history of trying
to strip masses of people's identity, cul¬
ture, traditions and language to form this
"new American." Where has that led to?
It has led to a cultureless, identitiless
mass of integrated people that are trying
to find out who they are. It is the basis of
the removal of self-esteem on a huge
scale. *
I was not allowed the privilege of r
growing up with the traditions of my
Swedish and Danish backgrounds
because my great grandparents got
sucked into the melting pot ideology.       "
Newcomers back then were extremely    -
discouraged from hanging on to the past,
and now their nationality is labeled as
white, black, or other names that have no    '
tie with a particular place or feeling.
What is \yrong with claiming you are
different from anyone else? The key
'  word is different; not better. Individual¬
ity is still more important to me, and I
know it has not died for many others.
This country is not meant to be gray. It is.
meant to be a beautiful array of co mpli-
mentary colors.
Marlaine Jensen
Unsigned editorials reflect the
opinion of Collegian editorial staff
and not necessarily of CSUF
faculty or students. Letters to the
•ditor are welcome, wil! be edited
tor length only, and may be
dropped off at the Collegian office
in the Keats Campus building.