Letters to the Editor

A ruined recipe of immigration

One of the things that makes America great is its cultural and ethnic diversity. Diversity, however, can only exist when there is a balance of people groups in America.

I like to think of the issues of immigration like making a soup, you combine many ingredients together each precisely measured to form something where the whole is better than the sum of the parts.

Currently the United States regulates the number of legal immigrants allowed to enter the country either via citizenship, work visas, or green cards.

When Latin American residents illegally enter the country it throws off the delicate balance the immigration officials have set in place. This is like adding too much salt to the soup. While salt is needed it must be the right amount. It is the exclusive right of the U.S. government to decide the appropriate mix of immigrants. The Pew Charitable Trust estimates that since 1980 the number of Hispanics has increased 142 percent, far faster than any other minority and mainly because of illegal immigration. Rather than respect our laws and our borders, Latin American residents, the majority of which are Mexican enter this country illegally and shatter any “goodwill” before it can even be established.

Can we blame them for their actions? Probably not, but what do we say to the hundreds of thousands of other prospective immigrants who are legally pursuing residency and do not have the luxury of a land border which they can sneak across?

— Oren Schmidt
Psychology junior

Lecture interest not driven by class credit

In regards to a story covered at a university lecture held Thursday,?April 20 in the Alice Peters Auditorium, I was offended to read about an attendee Lou Hall, who was upset at the auditorium being overcrowded, blaming Fresno State students going just for extra credit in a class or people coming to the lecture without knowing what the topic included.

If I am not mistaken, don’t we go somewhere with prior knowledge knowing what the topic is about?

Hall may believe people go places for “going’s sake” but I believe we review events prior to attending. I don’t recall hearing someone say, “Oh I am going to an event, I don’t know what the name is or what it’s about but I am going to an event.”

I am a Fresno State student, I was at the lecture. I didn’t go for extra credit, I went because I was reading James Sandos’ book. Unlike the stereotype Hall displays, I knew what the lecture would cover and it interested me. To say such an event was not good public relations between the historical society and the history department, is absurd.

If the Fresno Historical Society wants to remain ignorant to the fact that history did not begin when Fresno was founded then they are at a crucial loss for academics sake, which was a large part of Sandos’ argument.

Fresno State’s chair of the history department and staff need to bring in this type of lecturer if they wish to be a prestigious part of the academic world.

— Hector Cerda
Liberal Studies junior

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