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diggLP Journal - January 2006
News from around the state
CATCHING IT ON VIDEO
The Minuteman Project is taking its intimidation tactics from the Mexican border to the front door of a Valley business. On Dec. 3, group members videotaped traffic in the parking lot of The Home Depot store at Thomas Road and 36th Street in Phoenix. The group videotaped day workers as well as those looking to hire them. A Minuteman spokesman said the effort was to show that some employers unlawfully hire illegal immigrants. Minuteman critics, including President George Bush, are concerned that members of the Minuteman Project are vigilantes and that some of their supporters are more about being anti-Hispanic and anti-Mexican than sustaining tougher border controls.
ANOTHER MINUTEMAN MOMENT
A member of the Minuteman Project has filed to run for the Mesa City Council District 4 seat. J.R. Ready, one of the founding members of the Arizona Minuteman Project, will run against incumbent Councilman Kyle Jones and challenger Pat Esparza.
ACLU IN IMMIGRATION DEBATE
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona is getting into the immigration melee. Civil liberties also apply to non-citizens, they say. The group held an informational session for media early in December. Roxanna Bacon, an immigration attorney, was the featured speaker. Mariana Bustamante, education coordinator for the ACLU Immigrations Rights Project also presented. The constitutionality - or lack of it - of many of the new immigration bills was discussed. "Our Constitution affords protections for all person in this country, including immigrants," says Stan Furman, ACLU-AZ president. For information, call the ACLU at (602) 650-1854.
GETTING A KICK OUT OF CAMP
Chandler resident Noel Guevara attended the Mexico Womens National Under-20 soccer camp for most of December in Mexico City. The camp is in preparation for the FIFA Under World Cup qualifiers, which will take place in Veracruz, Mexico in January. If the Mexico
team qualifies, it will advance to the next round in August in Russia. Guevara is a sophomore at Corona Del Sol High School in Tempe. "All my life I have dreamed of playing soccer, and especially on the Mexican womenÕs National Team," she says.
TRIBUTE TO TUCSON ARTS LEGEND
Family, friends and colleagues gathered last month to pay tribute to Alberto Soto, an avid advocate for the arts and energetic administrator of the Tucson Pima Arts Council. Soto recently was the director of ArtWORKS! Academy, an alternative education program, and was overseeing the school's move to the downtown warehouse arts district. Soto joined the council in 1991 to develop and manage programs and services that supported artists, youth and neighborhoods. He also worked to protect children's rights in the Tucson Unified School District, as well as for women's rights. According to an Arizona Daily Star article, Soto, 51, was known for his gleeful portrayal of El Diablo in Borderland Theatre's annual A Tucson Pastorela. Soto had suffered a massive stroke on Thanksgiving Day, and later died.
FORMER UDALL AIDE DIES
John Gabusi, the chief architect of Morris K. Udall's presidential campaign and the vice chancellor for economic development at Pima Community College, died last month after a two-year battle with cancer. Gabusi was 64 years old.
In 1964, Gabusi and Earl de Berge created Survey Research Associates, a Tucson-based marketing and political research firm. De Berge, now head of the Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center, said "John was the son of an immigrant. He had a very strong spirit of community service, and when he went into public life, he never lost that sense of need to work for the community."
Gabusi met Udall while polling for the CongressmanÕs re-election campaign in 1968. Udall tapped him for service in Washington, D.C., the following year.
He orchestrated four of Udall's re-election campaigns.He began serving as Pima Community College vice chancellor in 1991.
UA LATINO CONVOCATION SET
Socorro Carrizosa, director of the UA Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs office, announced that the 22nd annual CHSA Graduation Convocation is scheduled for May 10, at Centennial Hall. She asks that the Latino community financially support the event through sponsorships and congratulatory messages. The annual graduation offers Latino studentsÕ parents and friends a chance to celebrate new UA grads. For information, call Carrizosa at (520) 621-5627.
AWARDS GIVEN
In 1987, the UA Graduate College and the Division of Campus Life established the Centennial Achievement Awards to recognize outstanding achievement and contributions of graduate students. The recipients of the masterÕs level Centennial Awards are Colin Ben, Jessica Clark, Otakuye Conroy and Angela Valencia. Valencia, a masterÕs in public health candidate, has concentrated her efforts in the area of health disparities. She has worked as a research assistant in the areas of tuberculosis and diabetes. A Mexican native recently relocated to Arizona, Valencia has excelled and overcome a language barrier while juggling full-time work with the responsibilities of being a mother and wife. Centennial Achievement Undergraduate Awards were awarded to Olga Ayon and Daniel Camacho. Ayon will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and Spanish, and Camacho will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular and cellular biology. While at UA, Ayon has earned the reputation as a steadfast researcher who understands theoretical issues and enjoys data analysis work. She has served as a peer adviser and a student assistant with the University's Mathematics, Engineering, Science and Achievement Program. She is interested in diversity and has performed research in the area of social
stereotype threats in female populations. Camacho, a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, also has focused on research, having worked as an undergraduate researcher at the Arizona Cancer Center and the Arizona Health Sciences Center. According to Camacho, his goal is to help win the battle against cancer at the lowest cost possible for the public. He plans to continue his education at the doctoral level.
METROPOLIS HARDBOUND
Last month the Maricopa Partnership for Arts and Culture (MPAC) and Booth-Clibborn Editions announced a call for artists, designers and architects to be showcased in the book Phoenix: 21st Century City. This is the fourth book in a series published by Booth-Clibborn Editions on metropolises that are emerging creatively. Phoenix was chosen because its seemingly endless growth has attracted large numbers of creative individuals, as well as inspiring homegrown talent. Presumably, there will be Hispanic artists, designers and architects included in the book, as editors expect to see cultural influences in the paintings, sculptures, buildings, design (urban, fashion,
product and graphic) and public art. Entries will be chosen by May 1st, 2006. For information about the publishers, visit www.mpacarts.org.
NABE CONFERENCE:
The 35th Annual International Bilingual/Multicultural Education Conference runs Jan. 18-21 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza. Billed as the worldÕs largest conference on the education of linguistically and culturally diverse students, last yearÕs NABE 2004 event in San Antonio, Texas, drew more than 7,000 educators, policy makers, community members and business and government representatives. Topics participants will explore include using and developing a studentÕs native language, recruiting and developing bilingual education personnel, and best practices on curriculum and instruction. For information, visit http://www.nabe.org/conference.html.
LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!
The Arizona Board of Regents green lighted (that's Hollywood talk) Herberger College of Fine Arts' new School of Theatre and Film at Arizona State University. The new school covers two fronts. The first, Film and Media Production is provided by the Herberger College. The second, Film and Media Studies is provided by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. According to Linda Essig, director of the School of Theatre and Film, "The school will add new faculty and facilities over the next three years to teach an expanded range of production-oriented film courses." F. Miguel Valenti, Lincoln Professor of Ethics and the Arts and coordinator of the new Film and Media Production concentration, said this combination of film production and ethical decision-making is in sync with ASU's status as the New American University. "I look forward to helping draw film to Arizona, to making ASU a nexus of quality production talent in the state and to providing ASU students with quality education." To learn more about the School of Theatre and Film, visit http://theatre.asu.edu; for information about the Bachelor of Arts degree in Film, go to http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/news/newsreleases/2005/dot_filmdegree_092205.htm
LONG TIME COMING
It took a two-year journey for Tucson Democrat Rep. Raul Grijalva to return 15,375 acres of land to the people of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. The land had been taken by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. After the bill was signed late last summer, Grijalva was invited to celebrate with the tribes, an event he describes as "probably one of the most emotional things Iove seen in a long time." Great payoff for due diligence.
