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opinion:
our view
Prejudice
corrupts education
The aftermath of Sept.11 is still being felt in Southern California.
California senators have sponsored a bill that would ban international
students from countries suspected of terrorism from attending
U.S. colleges.
This is inherently unfair because every country in the world
has some kind of terrorist organization within its borders.
Just because a student comes from Iran, Iraq Afghanistan or
Korea does not mean he or she is a terrorist. If we allow
Congress to decide who may and may not be educated we will
set a disturbing precedent.
It is the responsibility of our colleges and universities
to educate the smartest people, regardless of nationality,
so that mankind can continue its path of progress.
Besides, how can we say an Afghani is not allowed to study
in America just because Al Queda terrorists lived there? What’s
next? Are we going to ban students from Montana from entering
college because they live in the same state as the Freemen,
a group that wants to secede from the United States and has
planned domestic acts of terrorism?
Cal State Long Beach has a long-standing anti-discrimination
policy that prevents discrimination based on ethnicity, race
or national origin. But some of our trusted political leaders
have decided that national security is more important than
educating and enlightening people regardless of the color
of skin or what country a person is born.
Since the Sept.11 attacks, people who look like they are from
the Middle East are being discriminated against in housing,
jobs and possibly even in education because of the way they
look.
What ever happened to the old cliché never judge a
book by its cover? It is time for Americans to take a second
and realize that not all South Asians (Indians, Pakistanis,
Afghanis and Sri Lankans) are terrorists.
We are supposed to be better than that. Not all Germans are
Nazis. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Yes, we have to be
aware of those who are surrounding us, but that does not mean
we have the right to discriminate against people we do not
know.
If a person acts suspicious, we have a right to be concerned.
We all heard how many of the suspected highjackers were acting
strangely in the days before the treacherous attack. But the
color of a person’s skin does not mean that person should
be the focus of scrutiny.
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