Glenn
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 22:05:19 -0700 (PDT)
Here's the text of a letter printed in the Stanford Daily of 5/3/94.
Please distribute as widely as possible. Thanks, John
Contacts on campus:
Nicole Sanchez: (415) 497-2153
Yvette Espinoza: (415) 497-2702
Forwarded message:
> From: Nicole Marie Sanchez <twinkles@leland.Stanford.EDU>
> Subject: LETTER (fwd)
> Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 21:53:52 -0700 (PDT)
>
> We are repulsed and appalled by the racist reaction of our fellow
> students on Sunday evening when, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, we
> showed the United Farm Workers' video, "No Grapes" at the 10:00 pm
> Flicks. We did this in order inform ourselves and the rest of the
> Stanford community about the situation with this country's
> agricutltural workers, many of our friends and family included. For
> years, we have asked Food Service, fellow students, and the admin-
> istration to support the natiod-wide grape boycott, all to no avail.
> It pains us that Stanford is one of the only universities in
> California to still serve grapes on campus. We had hoped that this
> was merely a misunderstanding, and that if our peers could be
> informed about the situation, they would support us and our community
> in this endeavor.
>
> Sunday evening, we understood better than ever the racist attitudes
> of our peers toward our struggles and concerns--attitudes that carry
> further than a Sunday night movie. Though some in attendance
> supported what they saw, the 10-minute video short shown before "Mrs.
> Doubtfire" brough out the worst in many of the people in the audience.
> While we were hoping for open minds, what we witnessed were callous
> creatures acting out of brazen hate and racism, quite a hypocrisy
> on a campus that claims to be so tolerant and accepting. Such a
> display is seemingly quite eady in the dark, being that ignorance
> moves in droves. For those who were trying to listen, the video was
> inaudible over shourts of "Fast Forward!" and "Go home, beaners!"
> Whenever an image of a helicopter spraying farm workers was shown,
> many students applauded, yelling "Yes, pesticides!"
>
> We never thought that we would have to explain to hundreds of our
> fellow students that the situation within our farm working communities
> is no laughing matter. Many of those at Stanford are from areas
> like those portrayed in the video. High levels of cancer, miscarriage,
> and birth defects in our very own families is not cause for singing
> or clapping. While we understand that Flicks is a time for fun, many
> of us feel that we have no other forum for informing students of the
> situation. Our petitions go unnoticed, programs are unattended, and
> administrative ears turn deaf to this grave matter. Ten minutes was
> all we asked for on a Sunday night. What we were subjected to was
> ten minutes of intolerance and hate. We never thought, at this
> institution, that an image of a boy born with no arms and no legs
> projected on the Memorial Auditorium video screen would be welcomed
> with shouts of vicious laughter.
>
> Most firghteningly, these beasts sitting in the balcony, who were tamed
> only when a cartoon came on, are the future leaders of this nation.
>
> (signed)
>
> 34 Stanford Students
Como triste! Pero siempre hay gente que tiene un corazon obscuro
y ojos cerrados. Simplemente necesitamos trabajar mas duro que ellos.
La lucha sigue!
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