Judge Says Chicano Studies Program Violates Arizona Law

Article from the Latin American Herald Tribune [Click header to go to original article.]
Cartoon by Lalo Alcaraz

Less than a week before classes are set to resume after the Christmas break, the future of Tucson’s Mexican-American studies program has been cast into doubt by a judge’s finding that it violates Arizona law.

The Tucson Unified School District could lose up to $15 million in state funding annually unless it drops or substantially modifies the program.

“This decision was not a surprise for us; in a way, we expected it,” school board member Adelita Grijalva told Efe Wednesday.

The board – itself divided on the issue of Chicano studies – must now decide how to respond to Tuesday’s finding by state administrative law Judge Lewis D. Kowal.

Tucson’s program violates a new Arizona law barring ethnic studies courses that promote “the overthrow of the United States government” or “resentment toward a race or class of people,” Kowal concluded.

That law likewise excludes curricula “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or that seek to “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

The judge rendered his opinion in the form of a non-binding recommendation to the Arizona education department, which has 30 days to decide whether to pursue legal action against the TUSD if it refuses to bring its program into compliance.

State education superintendent John Huppenthal, who launched the initial challenge to the Chicano studies program, welcomed Kowal’s finding.

“I made a decision based on the totality of the information and facts gathered during my investigation – a decision that I felt was best for all students in the Tucson Unified School District. The judge’s decision confirms that it was the right decision,” Huppenthal said in a statement.

Eleven TUSD teachers filed suit in federal court to challenge the Arizona law as unconstitutional, but the case is still pending.

The attorney representing those plaintiffs, Richard M. Martinez, told Efe he was surprised that Kowal did not even address the constitutional aspect of the law.

The federal lawsuit contends the Arizona measure is discriminatory toward the Hispanic community and that it violates the right to freedom of expression.

Defenders of the Tucson program say it informs students about the history and contributions of Latinos in Arizona and the United States.

The program is more than 40 years old.

Hispanics (Chicanos) make up 61.4 percent of the TUSD’s 51,866 students.

Critics of the new say it was specifically crafted to end the TUSD’s ethnic studies programs, long a target of former Arizona education superintendent Tom Horne, now the state’s attorney general. EFE

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Houston Chicano Mural Will Be Saved, But Where?

Article by Pat Hernandez for KUHF FM
Photo by Johnny Hanson of the Houston Chronicle

Maria Jimenez is a University of Houston alum. She remembers the mural when it was being painted, in the part of the center where Mexican Americans often congregated. She says at the time they numbered 400 out of a total enrollment of 29,000 students.

"The Mexican-American Youth Organization was an active organization at the time, and its members wanted to preserve the history of the Chicano movement, but also wanted to be able to designate what had become home for us. The section had become our home, given that we were probably 99-percent of us, first generation college-goers."

Gloria Rubac is a retired educator and had already graduated from college. But she was very much involved in student activism and had helped paint part of the mural.

"It was extremely important at that time, because the Chicano movement was developing, and people were learning who Chicanos were. And now we have this gorgeous piece of history that talks about the struggle, the fight, the racism that was fought."

But the mural has become the center of attention with a planned renovation of the University Center.

This is graduate Hector Chavana:

"We want to send a clear message: Number one, we don't want the mural destroyed, we want it preserved. Number two, we really don't want it moved at all, because we fell that there's a possibility it could be damaged. And number three, we want it to take a more prominent role here at the University Center and in student life in general."

University spokesman Richard Bonnin says part of a comprehensive renovation and expansion of the University Center, which was approved in a student referendum, includes preserving existing artworks, like the Chicano mural.

"Absolutely, that's one of the reasons why we hired the art conservator. We are dedicated and committed to preserving not just this piece of artwork, but all of the artwork at the University that we consider to be a significant part of our history."

He says the conservator found the mural to be painted on canvas. That will allow it to be removed, cleaned, restored and mounted. Whether it remains at its current location...

"That is still being reviewed. We want to put it in a very prominent area. This particular location as of now, is badly in disrepair."

He says the mural could find a new home in another part of the campus, or it could remain in its present location once the renovation is done.

A renowned piece of Chicano art painted on a wall at the University of Houston will be preserved. But whether it remains at the present location is not known.
The mural created in 1973 by the Mexican-American Youth Organization is located on a wall in the basement of the University Center.