Latinos
are missing opportunities
Off
the hook
Daniel Frias
The
Latino community has been called the sleeping
giant for more than half a century. This
giant, however, continues to be dormant
even as its people struggle every day.
The
sleeping giant, as it is referred to by
many people outside the Latino community
due to the large population of Latinos in
the United States, has been unable to awake
because its people are unprepared and undereducated.
Latinos may be the biggest minority in the
United States, but that doesn't necessarily
mean they have the means to uplift themselves.
Education
remains the biggest obstacle for Latinos.
They seem unable to take advantage of this
opportunity for which so many immigrants
risk their lives. Whether it's the language,
the environment or the lack of resources
Latinos have one of the highest high school
dropout rates in the country especially
in California.
Of
the few Latinos that do attend college less
than 10 percent complete their education
with a degree. Of course they have no one
to blame but themselves. Yes, the deck is
stacked against them. They may not live
in the safest neighborhoods or be able to
attend the best schools, but that doesn't
mean they can't struggle and make it like
other Latinos.
It's
a disgrace that Latinos don't take advantage
of the educational system in this country.
It's even worse that once these same Latinos
become educated they forget about their
people.
This
is a reason why Oscar De La Hoya is important
to the Latino community -- not because of
his accomplishments in the boxing world,
but for the simple fact that he has not
forgotten about his community and his people.
He constantly gives back to the places in
East Los Angeles, where he grew up.
The
Latino community needs leaders and role
models of this kind, not the so-called leaders
the Latino Fraternities claim to be. These
Latino Greeks are a big disappointment.
If they are the future leaders then the
Latino community is in big trouble. They
would like one to think that they do things
for the Latino community but they don't.
Instead of working together like all Latinos
should, they try to outdo one another and
show which Latino fraternity is better by
seeing who throws better parties or who
has the most members. They need to get past
the fact that one is the first Latino fraternity
in America and the other the largest --
maybe then they can actually do something
to help their community.
It
is up to the few privileged Latinos in higher
education to give back to their community
whether it is by getting involved in mentoring
programs or trying to find ways to help
Latinos get an education.
The
Latino community needs to adopt the methods
of other countries when it comes to education.
One Caribbean country makes its school children
work in the fields during the summer when
school lets out. In the United States when
students fail a course they are sent to
summer school where they only need to wake
up early, show up to class and do some class
work.
Latinos
who fail a class should not be sent to summer
school, but instead should be made to work
in the fields so they can appreciate education.
When
a Latino graduates from high school the
senior trip should not be to Disneyland
where everything is a fairy tale and fantasy
is substituted for reality. These Latinos
should take a senior trip to Chiapas, Mexico,
El Salvador, Bolivia, Ecuador and other
Latin American countries so they can see
real poverty and strife.
Young
adults in these countries have no options.
They can't get an education because they
have to work or otherwise starve.
Maybe
this would allow Latinos to appreciate and
take advantage of the education in this
country. Then maybe the sleeping giant will
finally wake up.
Daniel
Frias is a journalism major at Cal State
Long Beach.
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