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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1989)
< mgAMl, e without passing in l out the oining to charge of drove to- span eye ove sepa- rents tel] her and ependent tickets, oy own. 1 t a ticket tig A&M n a few ' Porsche She said itted her :pset (for g to let it lism ma- car) and ona and ny office nd look, per. I’m ... un- journa- ittalion. e, ked out ian dis- anxiety negati- yers ar- Iness in million mother ;s from telping r don’t if the will be ed the ying it rs that rneone t sure, re in- ey can trans- ainted much aarka- dead. en the ey has ictims han a giant Hand, > i his to be 1 arly /nc. sd V// The Battalion STATE & LOCAL Friday, March 3,1989 Committee head decries system of long-term refugee detention WASHINGTON (AP) — Large-scale, long-term de tention of Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States will not solve the refugee crisis confront ing South Texas, the chairman of the House immigra tion committee said Thursday. Rep. Bruce A. Morrison, D-Conn., said he will search for solutions to the thorny problems posed by the re cent flood of Central American refugees crossing into Texas at Brownsville when he spends two days in the Rio Grande Valley next week. The new chairman of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and International Law, Morri son said he has no “preconceived notions” on the eve of his “fact-finding” trip to South Texas. He is, however, concerned whether it is humane to detain Central American refugees pending adjudica tion of their petitions for political asylum. He also wants to determine how long and how many will be held, and whether w.ord that refugee seekers are being detained is prompting many to go underground as they attempt to reach final destinations such as Miami or Houston. The number of refugees slowed to a trickle last week after the Immigration and Naturalization Service an nounced that amnesty-seekers would be detained while their applications are processed. “Large-scale detention for any significant period of time is never going to be a very good answer for people whose only crime is to cross the border illegally in search of sanctuary from either political persecution or economic deprivation,” Morrison said. “These people are doing what has been done for a long time in this country — people coming looking for opportunity. We cannot be a refuge for every person in Central America who would like a better life . . . but putting those people in detention for significant peri ods of time is not going to solve the problem either.” Morrison said he also wants to assess the impact the refugees have had on local communities, the cause of the influx, and what can be done about illegal traffick ing in aliens — the smuggling of asylum-seekers along the long route from Central America to their final U.S. destination. “The profit-making system of delivering people to our doorstep and beyond is a serious concern and has to be part of the equation,” Morrison said. “We’re talk ing about a bunch of criminals that violate the laws of countries all the way through (the region).” Ford official: Statistics need critical thinking By Melissa Naumann REPORTER Numbers don’t mean anything. That is, they don’t unless critical thinking is correctly applied to them, Dr. Stephen Zayac from Ford Motor Co. said Thursday at the Texas Fo- Correction A story in Thursday's Battalion erroneously reported that schol arship money used for tuition, fees, books, supplies and equip ment is taxable. The text should have indicated that money used for these education-related ex penses is NOT taxable and can be excluded from taxable income as "qualified expenses.” The Battal ion regrets the error. rum on Quantitative Literacy. Because quantitative literacy in volves understanding what statistics actually mean, critical thinking is es sential for sorting through numbers and finding the pertinent informa tion, he saicl. Zayac outlined four steps to teach valuable statistics: ask questions, ex amine data, turn that data into infor mation, and take action. “The whole purpose of doing analysis and doing statistics is to an swer a question,” he said. “Mathe matics can’t exist as a solitary func tion.” Quantitative literacy, or being able to communicate what the statis tics mean, is useless if the wrong is sue is addressed. Zayac said another problem crops up when data is misunderstood. “One myth is that the more data there is, the better,” he said. “The real question is, ‘How can you reduce that pile of numbers to something you can make some sense out of?’ We can’t just focus on one number. We need lo know' its meanine.” Zayac, who works with manufac turing operations and design engi neering, told the group of high- school statistics teachers and math ematical science experts that a strong link between the schools and industry is vital for teaching the kind of statistical methodology industries actually use. The statistical concepts used in in dustry are virtually the same as those taught in kindergarten through 12th grade, he said. “The only difference between Ford operations and K-12 work is the sophistication of the material,” Zayac said. “We train the same con cepts but not the same data.” The future is at stake if the indus try-school link is ignored, he said. “We underestimate children,” he said. “We’re not doing a good job of giving them concepts and the tools to work with those concepts. Will we be the first generation of Americans to leave our children more limited horizons than those opened by our parents?” Years later, student still pursues dream of college 44-year-old sophomore doesn’t regret the wait By Sherri Roberts STAFF WRITER College isjust another piece of the all-American dream for many stu dents. For Margarita Ramirez, a 44- year-old sophomore elementary ed ucation major, the dream was post poned, but never forgotten. When her son enrolled at Texas A&M in the fall, Ramirez decided to come with him, joining him and his sister as students at A&M. “Once my kids were born, I knew what my priorities were — to focus in and make sure they were going to get to college someday,” Ramirez said. “Somewhere along the line, I kept saying, T’m on the backburner, but somehow I’m going to get in there myself.’ ” At the age of 18, Ramirez had priorities other than college in mind — she wanted to marry, settle down and have a family. “There was a trend taking place in the ’60s,” she said. “Women’s roles were changing. I was going through a transitional time.” While living in Chicago in the early 1970s, Ramirez’s interest in el ementary education was sparked when she began volunteering as a teacher’s aide at the nursery school her two children attended. The di rector of the school, impressed with Ramirez’s natural talent in working with children, offered to have the school pay her way through college to pursue a degree in the field. Ram irez declined the offer, a decision she now regrets, because she wanted to focus on raising her children. However, lack of a teaching certif icate did not prevent Ramirez from being behind the teacher’s desk in a classroom. After moving back to her home town of San Antonio in 1977, she be gan working at Saint Leo’s School as a student teacher, taking on a junior high science class that had been through three teachers that year. “When 1 went in there, I think my class must have been a group similar to the Sweathogs (delinquent group of students on the television show “Welcome Back Kotter”),” she said. “I got the classes that no other tea cher wanted.” With her freckled face and a stat ure of less than 5-foot-3, Ramirez does not convey a threatening ap pearance. However, her firm man ner of dealing with students, which caused some of them to question whether she had been in the mili tary, and her willingness to listen to them, earned their respect. “That’s the bottom line — to listen them,” she said. “No matter the age, as long as you are willing to listen and meet them halfway, you can communicate. ” She went on to teach third grade at the school, turning what could have been average school days into a cultural experience. Students would hear recordings of classical music as they did their math lessons in her class, and would take part in various projects throughout the year, such as coordinating talent shows and a St. Patrick’s Day buffet titled “A Taste of Green.” Ramirez’s love for creative ex pression was apparent early in her life at the age of eight, w hen she be gan designing and selling costume jewelry. Inspired by a woman living in her neighborhood who owned her own business, Ramirez constructed the jewelry out of her father’s fish ing wire and remnants of her sisters’ old jewelry. “A lot of the initiative was rooted there from my parents,” she said. “It was always instilled in us to go as high as we can. My dad would always say ‘Hey you can do it, but you’re going to have to work hard for it.’ ” As a student at A&M, Rarfiirez has brought one of her innovative ideas to campus. This spring, she started the group “Aggies Over 25” to serve as a support group to,meet the needs of older-than-average students. Ramirez said that despite the age difference between her and many of her classmates, she is not treated dif ferently. “I don’t want to come in with a motherly image,” she said. “I try to keep a low profile as much as possi ble. I want to relate to that age group because it gives me a better under standing of my own two kids.” Ramirez speaks often and ado ringly of her children, Laurajane, a senior animal science major, and Doug, a freshman business adminis tration major. Their support, along with a lot of praying, help her to balance her schedule of attending classes and substituting in schools throughout Bryan, Ramirez said. Her daughter said, “I think it’s great that she’s returning to school. Her perception of things is changing as she’s learning more.” Doug said his mother’s experience of attending A&M has not only made her more independent, but has helped her to better understand the pressures of being a student. Margarita said she hopes to cross the stage of G. Rollie White Col iseum to receive her diploma with her son in 1992, the year he is sched uled to graduate. After receiving her certification to teach, she hopes to teach in various regions throught the country and possibly overseas. “I would love to teach on an In dian reservation in the United States,” she said. Wherever she teaches, Ramirez plans to bring her style of blending academia and culture into the class room. “I really believe, as far as Shake speare is concerned, you introduce it in third and second grade — that’s where you start rooting it,” she said. “By the time they get to high school, they understand and appreciate it.” An Invitation to Luxury* ♦. The Jewelry Express Card The Jewelry Express Card... Sheer Brilliance! Join an exclusive membership with benefits you richly deserve... 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