La Voz de Seguin June, 2011 internet.pmd - La Voz Newspapers

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Page 2 La Voz de Guadalupe County - June, 2011CONGRESSMAN HENRYCUELLAR: COLLEGE ISFOR EVERYONEPeople in the NewsUtilize financial aid opportunitiesfor higher education aspirationsCongratulationsAs the school year comes to aclose, I’d like to congratulate thegraduating Class of 2011 for theirperseverance and determinationthrough their academic tenure.This is a turning point in your life– a time to make a decision. Youmay plan to enter in the workforceor join the military to fight for ourcountry. For others, you may findyourself in technical schoolpursing a specialized study, acommunity college, or a four yearuniversity this coming fall.Regardless of the path youchoose, remain dedicated andfocused.Upon completing my high schooldegree, I attended LaredoCommunity College and went onto earn a bachelor’s degree inForeign Service fromGeorgetown University inWashington, D.C. I continuedfurthering my education bycompleting a master’s degree atTexas A&M InternationalUniversity and earned a lawdegree and a Ph.D. inGovernment from the University ofTexas at Austin. I attribute myeducational accomplishments tofederal government assistanceprovided by financial aid. Here isvital information to consider inreducing education costs.Getting startedTo receive financial aid, you’llneed to fill out a “Free Applicationfor Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)”form. Make sure you have yourSocial Security Number, driver’slicense, income tax returns, bankstatements, and investment recordsavailable since you will need thatinformation to apply.It is important to recognize thedifference between a loan andgrant. Loans are a form of financialaid that must be repaid with interest,while grants are federally fundedassistance that you do not have torepay.GrantsThe College Cost Reduction andAccess Act, now law, provides grantopportunities for students. TheTEACH grant provides tuitionassistance to students who committo teach in public schools in highpovertycommunities and high-needsubject areas. Undergraduates mayreceive $4,000 a year and amaximum of $16,000 over fouryears.Pell grants are awarded on a needbasis for undergraduate students.For the 2010-2011 school year, theamount will be $5,550 – $200 abovelast year’s award. At this level, thePell Grant will be able to cover ayear of tuition at most publicuniversities and community collegesin the state.LoansThe College Cost Reduction andAccess Act ensured the commonStafford Loans, offered on a needbasis, now have a fixed interest rateof 4.5 percent. These federal loaninterest rates provide greatersavings over more expensiveprivate loans to make it easier forstudents to attend college. Iencourage you to explore all optionsbefore securing a loan - consider afederal loan before a private loan.Other optionsStudents can receive aid from thefederal government if they workwhile completing their studies. TheAmerican Recovery andReinvestment Act invested $200million so that an additional 133,000students would be paid to work in afield related to their major or incommunity service.For those interested in entering acareer in public service, completeloan forgiveness will be offered toworkers after ten consecutive yearsand loan payments. Public servicecareers include: teachers, publicdefenders, prosecutors, firefighters,nurses, non-profit workers, amongothers.Your financial situation should notstop you short from receiving acollege degree. There are viableoptions to ease higher educationcosts and assist you in earning yourdegree. For more information,please visit my website atcuellar.house.gov or feel free tocontact any of my offices throughoutthe 28th District of Texas or inWashington, D.C.I wish you the best of luck in yourfuture endeavors.Michael ZunigaHeading to BaylorUniversityMichael Zuniga, son of ReginaZuniga and Chris Applewhitegraduated from Seguin HighSchool with the Class of 2011. Hewill enroll at Baylor University in thefall and has his sights set on becominga lawyer.Michael was active in a numberof clubs and sporting activities includingcross country, football andtrack. As a member of the HonorSociety, he also served this year asits president.Michael stated that his educationhero was his English teacher, M’lissHaas because of her “unorthodox”teaching style. “She not only taughtme the important skill of rhetoricalanalysis, but she inspired within mea passion for learning.” said Michaelin the Celebration of Excellence RecognitionBanquet booklet that wasdistributed on May 19th during theevent.Michael’s community involvementincluded spending time workingwith Seguin Youth Services, theAnimal Sanctuary, and the SeguinOutdoor Learning Center. He alsofound time to volunteer at a nursinghome and at the Seguin Senior Center.Solis Earns MastersDegree in MexicanAmerican StudiesGabriel Daniel Solis was bornand raised in Seguin, Texas, wherehis family has lived for severalgenerations. He graduated fromSeguin High School in 2004 andattended the University of Texasat Austin where he earned a degreein Philosophy in 2008.After college, Gabriel conductedresearch on the effects of violence,especially the death penalty, onindividuals and communities withthe Texas After Violence Project,a small human rights organizationin Austin.In 2009, Gabriel entered theMasters Program at the Center forMexican American Studies at theUniversity of Texas at Austin.During this time, he was StaffCoordinator for Refugio Center forCommunity Organizing andGraduate Research Assistant atthe University of TexasCommunity Engagement Center,part of the Division for Diversityand Community Engagement.In May 2011, Gabriel’s MastersThesis, “The Trial of Ricardo AldapeGuerra,” received the “L. TufflyEllis Best Thesis Prize forExcellence in the Study of TexasHistory” from the Department ofHistory at the University of Texasat Austin. Dr. Emilio Zamora,Professor of History at TheUniversity of Texas at Austin,served as Gabriels’ committeechair.
PRODUCTIONEditor & PublisherAlfredo Santos c/sManaging EditorsYleana SantosKaitlyn TheissGraphicsJuan GalloDistributionEl TeamContributing WritersYvonne de la RosaFranco MartinezPUBLISHER’SSTATEMENTLa Voz de GuadalupeCounty is a monthly publication.The editorial and businessaddress is P.O. Box19457 Austin, Texas 78760.The telephone number is(512) 944-4123. The use, reproductionor distribution ofany or part of this publicationis strongly encouraged. But docall and let us know what youare using. Letters to the editorare most welcome.Para cualquierpreguntallámenos291-9060944-4123On June 4th, 2011, I went to arally at the Texas State Capitolto help call attention to the factthat public education is under attackin Texas.As I stood in the rotunda of theCapitol shouting slogans andsinging a modified version of theEyes of Texas Are Upon You, Inotice a little girl with her motherwho was also singing. When thecrowd broke into chants andpunctuated the air with their fistsfor emphasis, this little girl, in heruncoordinated manner, did thesame. She really seemed to beenjoying herself. I scanned thecrowd and saw other young protesterswith their parents whowere also shouting and singing.Allen Weeks, the organizer ofthe Save Texas Schools movementand the rally inside the capitol,called people forward to sharetheir concerns about education.After a couple of adults spoke, thelittle girl that had been chantingraised her hand. Allen called herto the center and in the words ofan innocent 10 year old child, sheshared, in a calm voice, her concernsfor school, as well as whyshe wanted her teachers to comeback.This little girl did not understandthe complexities of what politiciansdo, nor she did not try toexplain processes or connect thedots. Instead, she told everyonehow she felt. She simply sharedher feelings about her school andher teachers.This little girl spoke from the heartand spokevolumesto why agood publicschoolis essentialfor herdevelopmentandhopes ofwhat tomorrowmightbring.La Voz de Guadalupe County - June, 2011Whose View of the FutureAre We Talking About?As I absorbed the moment alongwith all the other adults present, Irealized that the debate aboutpublic education is not reallyabout money. It’s not about fundingformulas and equity issues. Ibelieve the current debate regardingpublic schools has to dowith how one sees the future.There are those elected officialswho have read the latest Censusfigures, studied the bar graphsand charts and then slowly closedthe report. These same electedofficials have taken a look aroundthe state and noticed there sureare a lot of students in school withlast names like, Avalos, Cotera,Hernandez, Pulido, and Zuniga.The question that drives some ofthese elected officials who like toinvoke a Tea Party allegience tofiscal austerity, is whether or notthey want to help educate peoplewho don’t look like them. It’s notthat complicated. As the stateturns increasingly Brown, thereare those who are becoming increasinglyworried about what thefuture will look like.Add to this, the sensationalismfrom the folks at FOX televisionwho showcase the many ingeniousways desperate people findto get around, over or under amulti-million dollar fence on theborder, and the politicians areswamped with telephone callsfrom constitutes who feel they arebeing invaded(Pass theguacamole, please).There was a time in Texas whenMexican kids went to Mexicanschools, Black kids went to blackschools and Anglo kids went tothe “regular schools.”When you step back and take alook at how Texas has changedor been forced to change over theyears? The school house has oftentimes served as the battlegroundfor these issues. In the1960s and 70s, students and parentswho wanted improvementsin the public schools staged massivewalkouts. Some lasted twodays and some lasted two weeks.Some, like the 1969 Crystal CityISD walkout, lasted fourweeks.Where as, the 1970Uvalde CISD walkout lasted sixweeks.But it was the walkout/boycott inSan Angelo, Texas, done byMexican American parents whowanted their kids to go to schoolwith the Anglo kids, that lasted thelongest. The school board told theparents that they would buildthem their own brand newschools. The parents said no,because they wanted their kidsto go to school with the kids whohad last names like, Taylor,Moore, Smith and Jones.The local school board deniedtheir demand and as a result, theparents kept their kids out ofschool for four years! For fouryears the parents held firm. Whatyear did this take place? 1910.For more than 100 years, thestruggle to get a good educationhas been an on going battle inTexas. Yes, there have evenbeen lawsuits. In 1930, MexicanAmerican parents in Del Rio,Texas went to court over the tworooms that were to be the “Mexicanschool.” In 1948, in Bastrop,Texas, parents went to court oversegregated campuses with minimalfacilities and a curriculumthat was limited to vocationaltraining.Alfredo R. Santos c/sEditor & PublisherPage 3Time and time again, parentshave had to stand up to defendtheir children from those who understandthat once you allow achild to become educated, youcannot take away that knowledge,or the wisdom that comesalong with it. You cannotuneducate a person who haslearned how to read, who haslearned how to think for themselvesand who has learned howto question authority.Today, much like the way the parentsin San Angelo, Texas believedthat the doctrine of “separatebut equal” was not right, parentsare finding out that a majorityof Texas law makers are notonly trying to change the essenceof the public schools, but that theywant to do it without even a publicdebate. These politicians havea very different view about the futureand who should be a part ofit.Back to the rotunda: the otherthing I heard people discussingat the rally was how, for many ofthem, it was the first time theyhad ever come to Austin to singand shout and protest. A few saidthey never knew they could carryout this kind of activity. But whatthe politicians should really beworried about, are those peoplewho said they actually liked thefeeling of being in the TexasState Capitol and having theirvoices heard.
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