Editor:

I'll begin this letter by saying that I am a white female who is pleased to be a student here at the UA; but the other day, I witnessed an incident that made me wonder about my standing and position.

As I said, I am Caucasian and have not been unfortunate enough to have been faced with racial tensions this year here in Tucson. (I dare say that as a blonde there isn't a lot anyone would say to me.) But my roommate is a Hispanic American and she has not been as lucky. While it is not the students who have said anything to her (as far as I am aware it hasn't been an issue with any of our "friends"), the other day, during a personal conference with one of her teachers, the question arose: "Is English the first language you learned to speak?"

My roommate, who was stunned by the question, stuttered "yes," and the conference continued. While my roommate is definitely Hispanic and is proud of her heritage, the shock of having a teacher assume that she was not a native English speaker took her aback. What her "so-called" native language had to do with her grade in this class I do not know. The question appeared to be out of context and stereotypical at best. I'm assuming that no one is going to ask me (with my light hair and complexion) the same question.

I fully realize that there are students here at the UA who do speak English as a second language. I only wish that I was fluent in two languages and intelligent enough to attend college in my "second" language. But the point remains that not every Hispanic American student speaks Spanish as a first language. My roommate is as "American" as the rest of us, has no accent and has given no indications, that I'm aware of, that she is any different from every other student here. (No matter what their nationality is.)

It is not just the large obvious incidents that contribute to racism. It is also the details and small forms of stereotyping and discrimination. If this teacher looks at her Hispanic students as "non-English" speakers from the beginning, then there is not a whole lot that any of us can do about it. I'm sure she didn't mean it in a stereotypical way and possibly was just curious. Yet that does not excuse the fact that no one would think to ask me the same question.

Andrea Hunt
undecided freshman