FIST fights campus racism
By
Ruth Vela
San Diego, Calif.
Published Feb 13, 2005 7:32 PM
The San Diego chapter
of Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST) was created and operates out of
Southwestern College, the southernmost school in California. A majority of its
students are of Mexican descent. Some live in Tijuana, Mexico, and must commute
into the United States to attend school every day.
Many students are not
"legal" U.S. citizens. As such, they often pay higher fees, do not qualify for
financial aid and cannot apply for scholarships. On top of homework and tests,
they have to worry about incarceration and deportation.
Recently the
Southwestern College school newspaper, The Sun, ran an editorial by one of its
staff writers entitled, "Illegal Immigrants Are Taxing on American Citizens."
The piece was a blatant attack on immigrants. It stated, "It is time to burn the
leeches off of our society and crack down on the people who flagrantly take
advantage of America's wealth and prosperity."
Some students believe the
article also included fictitious quotes, like this one from Marjorie De La Cruz:
"The government needs to tighten if not close its southern borders to protect
its citizens and legal immigrants from the inevitable poverty and diseases these
people bring."
In response to this racist attack, members of FIST, MEChA
and other campus organizations have formed the ERACISM coalition. The coalition
launched a campaign that has collected over 700 signatures from students who
feel attacked, harassed and let down by Southwestern College, The Sun newspaper
and the school administration.
The administration has responded by sending
campus police to harass students in an effort to prevent the distribution of
flyers and collection of signatures. It has been trying to sweep the movement
under the rug.
Emails mentioning FIST members by name and referring to
the group as "just one or two upset students" have circulated among
administrators who seem to value their positions more than their
students.
On Jan. 27, representatives of the student organizations and
their advisors met with the editors and professor in charge of the newspaper in
an effort to put the issue to rest.
The following demands were presented
to the staff of The Sun: 1) A printed apology from The Sun to the students of
Southwestern College; 2) a retraction of the line that begins, "It's time to
burn the leeches off of our society ..."; 3) that limitations be set on what the
school newspaper can print; 4) that the student coalition's rebuttal be printed
without censorship; and 5) that the school newspaper remain free of racist
propaganda.
Unfortunately, the meeting ended with Nathaniel Pownell, the
writer of the piece, screaming, "I am not a racist. ... I will not apologize for
the article, I will never apologize for the article!"
On Jan. 31, The Sun
sent a letter to the ERACISM coalition that failed to address any of its
demands. Instead it offered free advertising for future events. ERACISM
responded with a promise that the struggle is not over.
A campus rally is
planned for Feb. 10. ERACISM has received strong support from students and
members of the local labor and anti-war community.
FIST stated: "The
school administration, the newspaper and the entire city need to understand that
this will not be tolerated! Hopefully this action will remind those who need
reminding, and teach those who have not learned, that this country was built on
the backs of African slave labor and immigrants, that the land was stolen from
Indigenous people who inhabited it before the immigrants arrived, and above all
that THERE ARE NO BORDERS IN THE WORKERS' STRUGGLE!"
Letters supporting
ERACISM's demands to The Sun newspaper and the administration will help in this
struggle. Send them to [email protected] by Feb. 17.
Vela is an
organizer of the San Diego FIST chapter.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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