XX2005-XX
THE NATION’S NEWSPAPER
Multicultural
Related
Articles
www.usatodaycollege.com
Courts asked to consider
culture
By Richard Willing
1-2
Attitudes shift over 50
years
By Janet Kornblum
3-4
Effort to ban head scarves
in France sets off culture
clash
By Noelle Knox
4-6
Immigration causes age,
race splits
By Haya El Nasser and Lorrie Grant
Multicultural (or intercultural) education focuses on endeavors which
deal with the rich diversity of cultures within the United States.
According to the American Council on International Intercultural
Education, we tend to approach multicultural education with a set of
predispositions. There is an aspect of our nature that keeps diverse
peoples from living in harmony. Some attribute this to the limits of our
comfort zone, our attraction toward the familiar, our fear of the
unknown, family pressures, our lack of knowledge of others and limited
opportunities to interact.
The intensified desire for peace and international understanding in this
post-9/11 world has validated efforts to incorporate multicultural
education in academia. Yet multicultural issues can be intensely
personal, challenging and, in many ways, threatening to us as individuals
and institutions. This topic clearly deserves attention and deliberation.
Through this case study, students and educators will look critically at
these issues and possible solutions.
6-7
Keep admissions rule
TODAY's debate
Multiculturalism
7
Cover Story
Courts asked to
consider culture
By Richard Willing
USA TODAY
Santeria priest Ernesto Pichardo
thought it was a good thing when
fellow members of the Church of the
Lukumi Babalu Aye began to leave
the bodies of sacrificed chickens near
the trees and bushes of Hialeah, Fla.,
the congregation's hometown, during
the 1980s.
Others did not. The City Council in
the city of 240,000 people, 11 miles
northwest of Miami, rejected the
church's contention that the ritual
scatterings were a vital part of the
Santeria religion and of the AfroCuban culture on which it is based.
The city prosecuted the church under
a law banning animal sacrifices that
stood until 1993, when the U.S.
Supreme Court struck it down as
religious discrimination.
The sacrifices continue, although
Pichardo says church members still
are occasionally hassled by
authorities.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2004 PAGE 3A
"I learned one thing," says Pichardo, who as an orite, or
special priest, is empowered to conduct the sacrifices.
"When you bring something forward that is outside the
Judeo-Christian tradition, the dominant culture is going to
cause you problems."
Immigrants with roots in Africa, Asia and other nonWestern cultures are winding up in America's courts after
being charged with crimes for acts that would not be
offenses in their home countries. In recent years, U.S. courts
have been asked to decide the fates of defendants involved
in animal sacrifices, ritual mutilations and other customs of
foreign cultures.
Some legal analysts and academics say the phenomenon
should lead U.S. courts to allow defendants from nonWestern backgrounds to raise a "cultural defense" when
they are charged with certain crimes. Legal traditionalists
blanch at the idea, and courts here traditionally have been
reluctant to allow such defenses.
"We say that as a society we welcome diversity, and in
fact that we embrace it," says Alison Dundes Renteln, a
political science professor at the University of Southern
California and author of The Cultural Defense, a book that
examines the influence of such cases on U.S. courts. "In
practice, it's not that easy."
Recent cases bear that out:
* In Fresno in 1995, Thai Chia Moua, a Hmong shaman
originally from Laos, ordered a German shepherd puppy
beaten to death on his front porch while he chanted over its
body. Moua later explained that he wanted the puppy's
soul to hunt down an evil spirit that was tormenting his
wife. He pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. He was sentenced
to probation and community service.
* In San Mateo, Calif., in 2000, Taufui Piutau was arrested
for driving under the influence of kava tea, a mild euphoric
popular in his native Tonga. A hung jury led to a mistrial.
* Chewers of khat, a leaf grown in East Africa and Yemen
that produces a caffeine-like stimulant buzz, have been
prosecuted in Michigan, New York, Georgia, Connecticut
and Minnesota since the mid-1990s. Khat is legal in Great
Britain, but the U.S. government classifies it as a controlled
substance in the same category as LSD and Ecstasy.
agricultural workers who had settled in the town had
begun killing goats for backyard barbecues and nailing their
heads to nearby trees.
* In Lawrenceville, Ga., in March, Ethiopian immigrant
Khalid Adem was charged with child cruelty after his 4year-old daughter was found to have undergone female
circumcision. The practice, in which portions of the female
genitals are removed, is condemned by the United Nations
and is banned under a 1995 U.S. law, but it is common in
some African cultures.
Civil lawsuits
Culture clashes also are producing civil lawsuits that run
in the other direction: Recently arrived immigrants have
filed claims against airlines and fast-food restaurants over
conduct that was offensive in the immigrants' cultures.
In 1988, the parents of Jasbir Singh, a Sikh, won $400,000
in court from Air Illinois after Singh, 26, was killed in a
plane crash. An Illinois court ruled that the family was
entitled to a larger-than-usual amount because Sikh
custom would have required Singh to care for them in their
old age.
Cultural claims have worked on occasion. In 1999,
Mukesh Rai, a Carpenteria, Calif., pharmacist who is a
vegetarian, accepted an undisclosed sum from Taco Bell
after he mistakenly was served a beef burrito. Rai, a Hindu
who had sued for $144,000, claimed that he was offended
on cultural and religious grounds. He said the incident led
him to consult a psychiatrist and to journey to India for a
purifying bath in the Ganges River. Similar lawsuits by nonreligious vegetarians usually fail, legal analysts say.
U.S. courts have dealt with similar pressures before.
In the early 20th century, Renteln says, Orthodox Jewish
immigrants from Eastern Europe and Catholics from Italy
brought religious and cultural practices that clashed with
U.S. customs. Practices such as contracted or underage
marriages, she says, were not protected under U.S. law and
largely were eliminated.
Renteln wants courts to recognize what she calls
America's "evolving definition of diversity." She says
cultural defenses should be considered when determining
guilt. But she does not say that those who commit culturebased crimes should always be found not guilty.
* In Sanford, N.C., in 2003, city officials banned the
slaughter of goats and other farm animals. Mexican
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
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"Courts can judge on a case-by-case basis," Renteln says.
"For instance, they could rule that it's OK for a Sikh man to
wear a kirpan (a ceremonial dagger worn on or under the
clothes) without endorsing female genital mutilation."
practices. Tea brewed from the root produces a dreamlike
state that is essential to their religion, the adherents say.
The group won in federal trial court; the U.S. government
has appealed.
Legal traditionalists reject that notion. Michael Rushford,
president of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a
conservative group, says that permitting cultural defenses
would lead to a "legal relativism" in which "what's a crime
for one person isn't for his neighbor. . . . The system we have
is the best we can do to allow cultural differences without
beating down basic human rights."
Occasionally, lawyers have persuaded judges to go easy
on defendants from other cultures.
In Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1989, Chinese-born Dong Lu Chen
received probation for beating his wife to death with a claw
hammer after she confessed to adultery. Chen's attorney,
Stewart Orden, argued that the shame Chen felt was the
result of his Chinese upbringing, and that it fed his frenzy.
Religious aspect important
Courts have long been reluctant to accept cultural
defenses. Exceptions have come when groups have been
able to argue that their religious as well as cultural rights
have been violated.
In a case now before a U.S. appeals court, Albuquerquebased adherents of Uniao de Vegetal, a Brazilian religion,
are claiming that restricting their access to the ayahuasca
root violates a 1993 U.S. law that protects exotic religious
"It was as much of a cultural explanation as cultural
defense," says Orden, who says he has not used the strategy
since the Chen case.
"Culture may not excuse (a crime), but it can certainly
shed light on things we may have difficulty understanding.
Why shouldn't a court listen?"
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, TUESDAY APRIL 6, 2004 PAGE 7D
Attitudes shift over 50 years
Integration makes gains, but
perceptions slower to change
disapproved of marriages between whites and blacks. And
44% of whites said they would "definitely move or might
move" if blacks came to live next door.
By Janet Kornblum
USA TODAY
The vast majority of blacks, whites and Hispanics want to
live in racially integrated neighborhoods and feel fine about
their children and grandchildren marrying outside their
races, according to a study to be published Thursday.
But the Gallup poll co-commissioned by the AARP and the
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights also shows a vast gulf
remains between the way whites and blacks perceive the
way minorities are treated.
The survey, done to commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the Supreme Court case that led to school integration,
Brown vs. Board of Education, reveals that a lot has changed
since that landmark ruling.
In 1958, a Gallup Poll showed that 94% of whites
The latest study shows that on one hand Americans have
a "very positive overall perception" of race, but on the other
"a lot of bias and discrimination still exists," says Steve Slon,
editor of AARP The Magazine, which is publishing the
study's results.
A mixed scorecard on race
Do you believe black Americans are
treated fairly or somewhat fairly?
Answered yes:
76%
38%
White
respondents
Black
respondents
Do you believe black Americans
have equal job opportunities?
Answered yes:
61%
12%
White
respondents
Black
respondents
Source: AARP/Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, “Civil Rights and Race Relations” Gallup poll,
to be published in AARP The Magazine Thursday
By Julie Snider, USA TODAY
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
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Three-quarters of white Americans say blacks are treated
fairly, but only 38% of blacks agree with that assessment
(53% of Hispanics say blacks are treated fairly). And
although a majority - 56% - of whites say that all or most of
the goals of Martin Luther King Jr. have been achieved, only
21% of blacks and 38% of Hispanics feel the same way.
"Americans very much want to see themselves as
(respecting) the rights of all people," says Wade Henderson,
executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights. "That is something that is deeply ingrained in the
American national character."
But, he adds, "it's not surprising that African-Americans
would see the world differently. After all, that community
has taken the brunt of discrimination on a day-to-day
basis."
The results of the study are based on telephone surveys of
2,002 adults from Nov. 11 to Dec. 14 and are consistent
with similar studies that show attitudes have dramatically
shifted in the past 50 years, but America still remains
divided by race.
relations between blacks and whites are "very good." Only
5% of blacks say the same.
Still, that every group says it wants to live in a more
integrated world is "good news," says Julian Bond, longtime
civil rights activist and chairman of the NAACP. Saying they
prefer to live in mostly mixed neighborhoods were 78% of
blacks, 61% of Hispanics and 57% of whites. The results
"show that people at least hope for the best."
The poll also shows that 86% of blacks, 79% of Hispanics
and 66% of whites say they approve of a child or grandchild
marrying someone of a different race.
However, Bond says, "whites tend to not want to admit to
politically incorrect ideas. People don't like to admit that
they harbor racist feelings."So their ideals about integration
may be overstated.
The bad news is that whites and blacks see the world
differently. "People seem to want to deny reality or are
ignorant about reality," Bond says.
No one - whites, Hispanics or blacks - says relationships
between different races are particularly good. But whites
were more optimistic overall. For instance, 12% say race
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2004 PAGE 7A
Effort to ban head scarves in France set off
culture clash
By Noelle Knox
USATODAY
multiplying in our schools. They are taking on a political
meaning," he said. "Some want to know how far they can
go. We are giving them a response today."
PARIS - The small number of Muslim girls in France who
wear religious scarves have uncovered deep tensions across
the country.
The French government introduced a bill Tuesday in the
National Assembly that would ban religious symbols in
public schools. The bill, backed by President Jacques Chirac,
would also forbid large crosses, skullcaps and Sikh turbans.
But the measure is aimed mainly at head scarves worn by
some Muslim girls.
On the surface, the new law is aimed at protecting
France's secular culture and the strict division between
church and state. But the public debate has spread to much
broader issues including immigration, women's rights,
education and concerns about Islamic fundamentalism.
"This issue over the veil has become a flash point for so
many tensions," said Sharon Gracen, head of the Office of
the Congregation at the American Cathedral of the Holy
Trinity in Paris.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin opened four days of
debate on the bill by laying out the reason for the ban.
"Certain religious signs, among them the Islamic veil, are
The bill is expected to pass the 577-seat assembly in a
vote next Tuesday. The Senate will debate the proposal in
March. If passed, it would become law before school begins
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
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AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2004 PAGE 7A
in September. "I would hope they wouldn't rush the
legislation through," Gracen said. She said there could be
"unintended consequences."
The secular tradition
Of France's 250,000 Muslim pupils, 1,256 schoolgirls have
insisted on wearing head scarves. Four have been expelled
for disobedience, according to The Tablet, a London-based
Catholic weekly newspaper.
The French protect their secular tradition so fiercely
because their ancestors suffered through religious conflicts,
mainly between Protestants and Catholics. French
revolutionaries separated church and state in the 18th
century. The constitution signed in 1946 declared France
"an indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic."
The French also have battled to maintain their cultural
uniqueness. The Italians were the first to come to France en
masse at the end of the 19th century. Eastern European
Jews arrived after World War I. "Each wave was
accompanied by a backlash," said Jeremy Popkin, a French
history professor at the University of Kentucky. "There
were fears that the French culture would be diluted or the
country would lose its identity."
The migration of Muslims from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco
and Senegal that began in the 1950s is larger than any other
influx France has experienced. The new immigrants are
young and have a higher birth rate than the French. The
Muslim population in France could grow from 8% - 5
million of France's 60 million people - to a majority in 25
years, according to demographic experts.
The debate over religious symbols in public schools isn't
confined to France, which hosts the largest population of
Muslims in Western Europe. Belgium has introduced a bill
that not only would ban students from wearing religious
symbols in public schools, but also would include
government employees. Some German states are
considering similar laws.
There also is a growing controversy within the 15member European Union over whether God should be
mentioned in a new constitution.
In December, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to
reconsider a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
that said reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools
in nine states was unconstitutional because the words
"under God" were a government endorsement of religion.
A matter of faith or force?
The head scarf, or hijab, is part of the Koran's teachings.
The scarf was designed to ensure women would not
"inflame the passions" of any men except their husbands.
Today, some women say it is a mark of oppression. Others
say it is a matter of choice.
Polls show more than 70% of French people support the
ban on religious symbols in schools. But the debate has
opened rifts in the Arab community and among educators,
families and friends.
Many first-generation Muslim women stopped wearing
the head scarf as they adapted to French culture and
freedoms. But some of their daughters started donning veils
because their brothers or fathers made them, or because
the girls wanted to make a political statement or reclaim
their ethnic identity.
"The girls are trapped in the middle. The father says they
have to wear it, and the school says they can't. The girls pay
the price," said Vida, 20, an Iranian who didn't want to give
her last name. She said she recently began wearing a head
scarf as a political statement of her Muslim identity.
Sikhs also would be affected. Sikh boys wouldn't be able
to wear turbans in school to cover their long hair, required
by the 500-year-old Indian religion. A few hundred
protested the proposed law on Saturday.
"This is our culture. We are very proud of it," said Inderjit
Dhandon, who traveled from Cologne, Germany, for the
rally. "We won't give up."
Two weeks earlier, thousands of Muslims held rallies
throughout France and in other countries to protest the
proposed ban on head scarves.
Chirac's Cabinet passed a draft of the legislation last
week, saying the law would help protect France's secular
culture. "The decision to ban conspicuous signs (of religion)
in school is a decision that respects our history, our
customs and our values," a Chirac spokesman said last
Wednesday. "To do nothing would be irresponsible. It
would be wrong."
Others say the law itself is wrong. "It's very bad to make a
law," said Caroline Fontaine, a journalist for the magazine
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
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AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2004 PAGE 7A
Paris Match. Although she disapproves of head scarves, she
said, "The Muslim population in France is young, and we are
a little afraid of them. And instead of trying to understand
their culture and their needs and about the fact they are not
very accepted in France, we make a law against them."
Fontaine's mother, Laurence, a university professor at the
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales in Paris, says
eliminating religious symbols in schools will help
immigrants integrate into society. "It's a diverse country,
but we are all very much French," she said. "This is one of
the reasons we have to merge."
the Triumph of Women's Rights, the first women's rights
movement in Algeria, is adamantly in favor of the law.
Lesbet fled to Paris after receiving death threats in her home
country for her political and religious stands. Now she sells
cars. "The veil is fascist" because it is used by men to
dominate women, she said.
But a friend of Lesbet's, who asked that her name not be
used because she fears for her family's safety in Algeria, said
the French law misses the point. She said the debate should
not focus on the veil. Instead, it should center on problems
such as poverty and unemployment that may be the root of
the growing Islamic fundamentalist movement.
Debate among Muslims
There also are disagreements within France's Muslim
community.
"It is not essential to have a law (for head scarves)," she
said. "But it is essential to make political decisions to stop
the fundamentalist movement."
Farida Lesbet, who in 1982 founded the Association for
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY NEWS SECTION, THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2005 PAGE 1A
Immigration causes age, race split
U.S sees influx of younger
minorities
The generation gap puts pressure on communities that
must juggle rising elderly populations and swelling school
enrollments.
By Haya El Nasser and Lorrie Grant
USA TODAY
"The white-dominated society that we had back in the
1950s is being faded out," Frey says.
"Both red and blue parties are going to have to appeal to
young and old."
Immigration is creating a generational
divide between old, white America and a
young America of many races, annual
Census population figures out today show.
The influx of newcomers, driven
largely by Hispanics, is taking the
country far beyond the traditional redstate/blue-state
split
between
Republicans and Democrats that has
preoccupied the nation in recent years.
Median ages for:
Hispanics1
The July 1, 2004, estimates by age,
race and ethnicity show that Hispanics
and Asians are growing more than 10
times the pace of whites who are not
Hispanic.
26.9
Native Hawaiians
28.9
American Indians
29.2
30.8
Blacks
34.1
Asians
Non-Hispanic whites
40
Hispanics, totaling 41.3 million, are
the largest minority group.
1 Ñ Can be of any race
Median age: Half the population is older
and half younger.
Source: Analysis of Census Bureau data by
William Frey, Brookings Institution
It is forming sharp age and race divisions:
The old are mostly white, and the young
are increasingly Hispanic, Asian and other minorities.
Because immigrants are younger and
generally have more children, they're
By Suzy Parker, USA TODAY becoming a larger part of the nation's
younger population.
At the same time, the white population is aging.
"(Age) 40 is a monumental dividing line," says William
Frey, demographer at the Brookings Institution in
Washington.
"The younger the age group, the more Hispanic it is," says
Jeffrey Passel, demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center in
Washington. "It's likely to continue for awhile."
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Page 6
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Three of five Americans under 40 are white, but four of
five above 40 are white.
Marketers recognize the shift.
"Beer ads, for example, are targeted at younger people
and are more ethnic," says Paul Kelly, president of
Silvermine Consulting Group in Westport, Conn., which
works with consumer products companies. "Ads with party
scenes are very diverse."
the 1990s and make up one in 15 marriages in the USA, up
from one in 23 in 1990, Frey says.
"Everyone realizes that we're a nation of diversity now,
and they want to celebrate it," says Allison Cohen, president
of PeopleTalk, a market research company in Wenham,
Mass. "Americans have come to see diversity in their
workplace, in who their friends are."
Retailers also are dealing with another demographic shift:
A growing multicultural population.
Marriages across racial and ethnic lines jumped 65% in
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY MONEY SECTION, WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2004, PAGE 10A
Keep the admissions rule
Our View
USA TODAY
Eighteen-year-old Jesselyn Allen couldn't be more
excited about heading to the University of Texas this fall.
The African-American student graduated from an innercity school in Houston that traditionally doesn't place
many graduates into the state's most elite public
university.
In fact, if not for the state's 1997 law guaranteeing
admission for all seniors graduating in the top 10% of
their class, Allen probably wouldn't have made the
admissions cut. She boasts a straight-A average, but like
many in similar circumstances, she earned subpar scores
on her college admissions tests.
The 10% rule that saved her was once hailed as a
creative, economically based alternative to traditional
affirmative action from a Republican governor, George
W. Bush. It was widely imitated. But the rule is now
under attack in Texas and elsewhere, and race again is
an undercurrent.
Given the finite number of seats at the University of
Texas, offering a freshman spot to Allen means another
Texas student -- probably one with higher test scores -won't win acceptance there. Odds are that student
would come from one of the 28 schools in the middleclass suburbs of Texas dubbed "feeder" schools because
prior to that law they supplied up to a third of the
freshman class at the Austin campus.
Spurred in part by complaints from students and
parents from those feeder schools, Texas last month
began reconsidering the 10% rule. Those calling for
change include Gov. Rick Perry, who warns that some of
the brightest academic stars in Texas arefleeing to other
states.
Without doubt, the 10% law creates some problems.
But instead of worrying about the B-plus students in top
high schools in Dallas and Austin, the governor should
be worrying about whether the state meets its goal of
offering education opportunity to all Texans.
The rule flips the disadvantage of attending a lowperforming school into an advantage, and that's not a
bad thing. Fewer than 20% of Texas Hispanics over age
25 are college graduates, compared with a third of
whites and half of Asians.
Complaints about the rule, meanwhile, are largely
suburban legend:
* The best research suggests students aren't fleeing.
Princeton University demographer Marta Tienda, who
tracks the impact of the law, concludes that most Texas
students leaving for out-of-state colleges list those
colleges as their first choice. Texas' public universities
are their backups.
* The rule does not burden the university with
unqualified students, according to the records the
University of Texas keep. In fact, the 10% students earn
higher-than-average grades. Those low admissions-test
scores in high school don't mean as much as the
determination to succeed.
During the next decade, a unique demographic bubble
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will emerge. Not only will the college-age population swell,
but a growing number of that group will be minorities who
come from modest means. In short, students such as
Jesselyn Allen.
With raced-based-admissions plans facing legal hurdles,
Texas-style percentage plans can play an increasingly
important role in guaranteeing equity in college degrees. If
the politicians allow them to survive.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Page 8
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Courts Asked to Consider Culture
1. How would we define "culture" for a cultural defense in
our judicial system? Consider the following: Should a
racist attack be open to a cultural defense if the attacker
claims he was raised in a culture that valued white
supremacy?
2. Is our current judicial system "culture neutral?" If not,
which cultural values are given primacy, and which are
not?
Attitudes Shift Over 50 Years
1. If 86% of blacks, 79% of Hispanics and 66% of whites say
they approve of interracial marriage, why are there so few
media representations of interracial marriage in our
society?
2. Why the disparity between blacks and whites over
how equitably black Americans are treated? Are issues of
race a daily reality for many people of color, but only a
distant reality for most whites? Explain.
3. What accounts for the misperceptions of whites
regarding the problems facing black Americans today?
How can we reduce these misperceptions?
Head Scarves in France
1. Does the French ban on headscarves for women grant
freedom to women from culturally oppressive gender
practices, or is it an abridgment of freedom of religion?
2. In what ways do French attitudes about national
cohesion and French identity compare to the American
idea of the melting pot?
Immigration Causes Age, Race Split
1. Design a culturally diverse television ad that seeks to
bridge the gap described in the article. What would such
a message look like? Consider subject, time, participants
and other relevant variables.
2. What is the difference between assimilation and
acculturation?
Keep the Admissions Rule
1. If affirmative action plans face increasing legal hurdles,
and the 10% admissions rule is rescinded, what other
options would help us address issues of diversity as a
noble national goal and educational value?
2. What is the connection between class rank and
diversity in admissions?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Teaching Tolerance.org
www.tolerance.org
University of Maryland, Diversity Database
www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity
Diversity Web
www.diversityweb.org
CREDE: Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and
Excellence
www.crede.org
Multicultural Pavilion - Multicultural Education
www.edchange.org/multicultural/index.html
National Association for Multicultural Education
www.nameorg.org
Education World - Multicultural Education
www.educationworld.com/preservice/learning/multicultural.html
NCLR: National Council of La Raza:
www.nclr.org
Teaching for Change
www.teachingforchange.org
National Multicultural Institute
www.nmci.org
The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University
www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu
For more information, log on to www.usatodaycollege.com
Page 9
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
1. Should we as a society move away from the understanding of culture and multiculturalism as implying "foreign" and
"other," thus requiring integration and assimilation? Or, instead should our culture move toward an understanding that
values acculturation and pluralism?
2. With the increasingly diverse population in the U.S., will we be able to develop good-faith efforts that enhance diversity in
schools and support multiculturalism without taking into consideration race, ethnicity, gender or other preferences in
admissions?
3. What are some pressures the public education system will face from a growing immigrant population and increasing
challenges to diversity-conscious admissions practices? How important is diversity as a goal in higher education in an
increasingly multi-ethnic global community?
4. What values, commitments and attitudes need to be established as central to a judicial system in an increasingly diverse
society that affirms multiculturalism as a desired national goal?
5. If you had responsibility for developing and implementing a multicultural education class for your school, what would
the class look like? What would you include? What activities would be required of students? How would you handle
conflicts between individuals from different groups?
6. In which areas will we face increasing tension in the next few years? Race? Religion? Immigration? Gender roles?
7. With the continued development of a globalized world economy, will arguments for protecting a national identity
disappear or become more entrenched?
ABOUT THE EXPERT: Nathaniel "Nacho" Córdova
Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies, Rhetoric and
Media Studies, Willamette University
Nathaniel "Nacho" Córdova is assistant professor of Latin American Studies
and Rhetoric and Media Studies at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
His teaching revolves around issues of multiculturalism, intercultural
communication, race, ethnicity and participatory democracy, especially as it
relates to traditionally under-represented communities. Córdova received his
doctorate at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Córdova was engaged in outreach efforts to multicultural communities for 15
years. He served as a Hispanic community advocate for 11 years with the
Adult Health and Development Program at the University of Maryland;
project manager for the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C.;
outreach coordinator in Fairfax County, Virginia; and planner and outreach
specialist in Fairfax and Prince Georges County, Maryland. He also served on a
Hispanic speakers bureau for the Arthritis Foundation.
Córdova is ordained in the Zen Buddhist Order of Interbeing, a lay and
monastic order in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.
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