By Justin Ferris
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 16, 1997

Columnist should join the human race

Editor:

This letter is in response to Maria del Sagrario Ramirez's October 10 commentary. Once again, she writes another tirade about her role as the world's most victimized person. Once again, she completely misses the point.

The University experience is not about majoring in "My-own-culture" Studies and then finding a forum to tell everyone how perfectly wonderful your own race is and would be if not for the evil white man. The University experience is supposed to be composed of two important objectives.

First, to acquire skills and knowledge that make you employable (A key ingredient in that whole "American Dream" thing). Second, to experience the diversity and culture of people NOT LIKE YOURSELF.

It is only when you interact with people of many other races and cultures that you have a lot more in common with them than you have differences. Everyone seems so concerned about racial categories, but that only serves to divide and polarize people. The only race that any of us are truly part of is the Human race.

Ms. Ramirez has consistently shown that the only thing she cares about is a persons race. When she turns on the television, attends class, or writes a commentary she is only concerned with her own race. She should stop wallowing in her own culture and move forward with the rest of us (Black, White, Asian, Chicano, and all the other shallow categories of human beings) to a racially blind society where people are judged on the basis of who they are, not "what" they are.

It is her responsibility, as an educated person, to move beyond the trappings of the ignorant. I welcome her with open arms, and offer some advice: If you start looking beyond your own race and culture you may find what I did a few year ago. The differences in our skin color and cultures are far outweighed by our common humanity.

Justin Ferris
Hydrology graduate student