http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4906
By Sylvia Montoya
Guest Columnist
mdjonline.com
Two weekends ago I was excited about attending my nephew’s high school graduation in my hometown of http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4918.
Things have changed a lot.
On my way to my sister’s house from the airport, my nephew and I talked about his years at Cathedral High School. Isaac had an impressive athletic record, winning several cross-country awards in local, regional and state competitions. However, during his senior year he had lost interest in track and in his academic career. He cited the school’s increased leniency in accepting students from across the border. Standards had eroded, the student body was penalized due to discipline issues and it was no longer the educational haven he had entered as a freshman. The decision to allow students from Juarez had changed the standards and academic pride of the school, explained my nephew sadly.
But he would graduate and would no longer have to face the daily issues of http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4818 and entitlement exhibited by students from Mexico.Preparing for the graduation ceremony and dinner, my sister and I had to do some shopping. Our first stop was the new outlet mall recently built on the west side of El Paso. In our shopping, it was clear that the customer sales reps preferred to provide assistance in Spanish. From Sam’s Club to Dillards to IHOP, Spanish signage was prominent and Spanish was spoken by workers and customers. I was in another country.
English is no longer the primary spoken or preferred language in El Paso, Texas.
At the graduation ceremony for the class of 2008, one of the opening announcements was that specific parts of the ceremony would be in Spanish only.
The Boy Scouts paraded in with the flag. Guests were asked to stand. My family and I placed our hands over our heart to recite the Pledge to the Flag, as we had done so many times during our school years. However, many people in front and all around us refused to stand and continued to talk and conducted themselves with complete disrespect for the flag and the Pledge that only American citizens understand and appreciate.
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