UA student fights alleged discrimination

Arizona Summer Wildcat Rolando Cardenas

The UA college advised education senior Rolando Cardenas in a January letter that he should seek another major, saying he was enrolled in courses that "do not require admission into the College of Education."

The 45-year-old Hispanic student believes he is being discriminated against by the UA College of Education and the Tucson elementary school system because of his age and national origin.

Cardenas filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education in March after he was denied admission into the College of Education for the spring 1998 semester. His complaint also alleges discriminatory treatment while serving as a tutor at Kellond Elementary School within the Tucson Unified School District.

"I had to go so far as getting the U.S. government involved because nothing was being done," he said. "Everybody covers themselves with the same blanket out there (at the university)."

The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights responded to Cardenas' letter in May, stating that it would launch a investigation.

Linda Howard-Kurent, a spokeswoman for the civil rights office, said she could not comment on the investigation's progress before a decision is made Sept. 7 about how to proceed. She said that his complaints met the criteria to warrant an investigation.

Howard-Kurent said because the UA receives federal money, Cardenas' complaint falls in her office's jurisdiction.

College of Education Dean John Taylor would not comment on the Cardenas case.

"Owing to the legal circumstances his case is undergoing at this time I am unable to have a discussion with you about him," he wrote in an e-mail interview.

Kurent-Howard said that after a decision is reached, the Department of Education will try to resolve the case by either mediating between the two parties or investigating further and imposing penalties if a violation is found.

Cardenas received a letter Oct. 8, 1997, from Carol Evans, a coordinator with the Bilingual Education Initial Teacher Preparation Program at the College of Education. The letter stated, "pending your satisfactory completion of this semester's classes, you will be admitted to our program for the Spring 1998 semester."

The letter did specify that his admission would be probationary, based on "several issues of concern," referring to Cardenas' performance at several local elementary schools.

Cardenas said those "issues of concern" began when he was volunteering as a tutor at Los Ni–#241;os Elementary School in 1997.

Cardenas said a teacher he had worked with told Evans that he would "watch her" and make her feel uncomfortable.

In a letter regarding Cardenas' volunteer work, the teacher, Emily M. Potts, stated, "I think that if he is accepted into the Bilingual Education Program at the University of Arizona that he should do his observations ... in the class of a male or older, married female teacher's classroom."

When Cardenas later took reference letters - including the one from Potts - to Evans, she called Potts, a UA alumna, because Evans knew her when she was a student.

Potts, who no longer works at Los Ni–#241;os Elementary School, said she told Evans that Cardenas made her uncomfortable because he once asked her if she was single.

Potts complained that Cardenas would "observe" her as she taught her students but said she never accused him of any illegal activity.

"I have nothing against the guy," Potts said.

Cardenas also alleges that Arizona Sen. Ruth Solomon, who has volunteered at Kellond Elementary School for 27 years as a resource teacher, told Evans he "caused a disruption" in Kellond classrooms that he tutored in.

Cardenas said that on different occasions, Solomon told him he was "a waste of taxpayers' money," and that he did not "fit the image of a teacher." He said Solomon threatened to tell Taylor that he "should not be a teacher."

But Solomon said she "never spoke to anybody at the College of Education about Mr. Cardenas."

"I'd never tell anybody that they were a waste of taxpayers' money. His allegations are exactly that -Êallegations," Solomon said. "They are fabricated and untrue."

But Solomon did say there were "a couple of complaints" against Cardenas by other teachers about the "appropriateness of his reaction to students' behavior" in regard to allowing his students to misbehave.

Joy Ochoa, a teacher that Cardenas said was present during at least one of the alleged exchanges between him and Solomon, refused to comment on anything related to Cardenas because of the ongoing investigation.

The Arizona Daily Wildcat was unable to reach Evans for comment, and she did not reply to questions posted on her e-mail account.

A Tucson Unified School District spokeswoman refused to comment on the case, citing a district policy against speaking about personnel matters.

Cardenas said he also plans to file a lawsuit against the UA.