february 25, 2011
page 6
NEWS
Republicans push for English as official language of Minnesota by Becca Freeman
photo by Becca Freeman
Author James A. Levine and Professor Lynette Reini-Grandell, NCC instructor
Festival shows ways to use writing daily by Becca Freeman Last week, the 2nd annual NCC Winter Writing Festival was held. It featured sessions for people who want to write, or are pursuing an English degree. It had people come in from all different parts of the working world. According to the faculty who headed up this year’s Writing Festival, it was done to show how writing could be used in every area of one’s life. As for why it was picked to be set in February, faculty said it was a way to shake up the ‘winter blues’ and have something that could bring the entire community of NCC together and have fun doing it. There were many sessions, and many people were brought in to share their opinions on what writing is for them. Also, there was a very special guest speaker, James Levine, who came in to talk about his book, “The Blue Notebook”, and share how it affected his life and others’. James Levine’s book was the common book voted upon by students in last year’s Writing Festival, and at the end of the day, they had another session to vote on the 2011-2012 Common Book for NCC. There were many different sessions, including ones on how to improve your writing skills in school. Some focused on how to avoid B.S. in Exam Essays, how to create paragraphs that capture attention, and how to avoid using plagiarism at all in anything you write. Others, like Writing in the Fine Arts, and Why Writing Matters in the Business World, showed how to take the writing skills you have and apply them to real life outside of school. All the sessions were there to show that writing is a big part of our lives, no matter how irrelevant it may seem. One of the sessions called “Why Writing Matters in the Business World” was a very informative session that showed how writing is not only used in a school setting, but in every day life. It featured three business experts who in their field noted that they hardly go a day without writing! Each one of the experts noted that in their line of work, they use writing for everything. They use it to draw up proposals, conduct research, and keep in contact with their clients. Not only were there sessions on using writing in different careers, there were some that showed how to hone writing skills so they could be used to get you a career. If you’re somebody whose dream it is to be published, they had a session titled “Pathways to Publication” available. This session discussed the different types of writing and the different ways to have them published. They offered tips on sending out your work, such as finding a match to the type of places that actually publish work like the one you have written,
and how to spice it up so they don’t pass it over. It was refreshing for students to be talked to by people who have had multiple works of theirs published, and that it can be a successful career if it’s what you want to do. Another session that showed how to use writing as a career was the “Writing for a Living: Working Journalists in the Twin cities Scene”. It featured a panel of various journalists who work for all sorts of different types of news publications. The four panelists each had similar tips on making journalism a career. One common tip was to be flexible, and to be quick at writing. News media are looking for people who can do multiple things, such as Tweet, update their blog, write pieces for the newspaper, etc. The keynote address by James A. Levine was an eye-opening look into what he’s doing for countries where sex trafficking, especially high with children, is very common. Though Mr. Levine was visiting India to collect research on the effects of children labor on children’s nutrition and education, when he saw Batuk (the main character in his book), he was more than intrigued. This particular young girl was writing in a blue notebook, and this notebook became the inspiration for the entire novel. Though Mr. Levine was not an author, but rather a scientist, he wanted to tell this young girl’s story to the world. There has been a lot of impact from this novel, and it has been the reason for many schools to allow children in that lifestyle to have a place to go and do something with their lives. James A. Levine, if nothing else, proved that anyone, even those without English degrees, can be an author. Finally, there was a session to decide upon the common book for next year at NCC. The three choices were: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggars, and “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Each book had a faculty member to argue why it should be considered for next year’s common book. Each book had a convincing argument as to why they should have been chosen, and each caused much debate. However, it is ultimately the responsibility of students at NCC to decide which book should win, and there is a simple way to do so. By the Writing Center, there will be a ballot box where you can cast your vote for which book should win. The deadline is March 2nd, so hurry and place your vote! Ultimately, the NCC Winter Writing Festival can be considered a success. It did exactly what it was supposed to bring students together and show them how to use writing in every aspect of their lives.
Republican members of the government have been trying to pass a bill that will make English the official language of Minnesota. The bill states, “No law, ordinance, order, program, or policy of this state or any of its political subdivisions, shall require the use of any language other than English for any documents, regulations, orders, transactions, proceedings, meetings, programs, or publications, excepted as provided in subdivision 3.” What it means is that all documents pertaining to government business must be done in English. This would affect business transactions such as forms that are included in Spanish as well as English. There are, of course, exceptions to this new bill. Exceptions would include in educational places where languages other than English are taught to students, and issues that comply with the Native American Languages Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, criminal hearings, and public safety. Some companies, such as the Department of Revenue, are seeking to claim an exception to this law, saying their business has Spanish forms on its website, and receives thousands of calls from Latino residents asking about tax information. Whether they will be exempted from this new law remains to be determined. With the example of the tax services asking that the law not apply to them, it brings to light many issues with the law that critics have only just begun to point out. They also say it is prejudiced against immigrants and is harsh against their traditions and native languages. Even more so, critics claim it does not list a specific set of documents to be affected by this new law, and it needs to do so. According to Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, “There are plenty of people here legally whose dominant language is still [Spanish]. That’s historically been true of many immigrants.” Indiana also is pushing to have this legislation passed. Problems with this bill could even be more shocking, such as in other states that this legislation has been passed. Students have been suspended for speaking Spanish in the school hallways. If that isn’t ridiculous enough, imagine how much more it would affect the one thing this country has strived for—a democratic way to government. If this bill were passed, it would create issues for people who then couldn’t view voting documents in their native language. Although they are legally citizens of the United States, they would be unable to vote. Drazkowski, one of the main writers and pursuers of the bill, and one of Minnesota’s representatives, says, “It’s about reducing costs to the government.” He also says that by allowing Minnesotans to print state services in other languages besides English, we’re encouraging people who are here illegally or those who refuse to learn the English language to continue what they’re doing. He says as a country, we’re spending millions a year on these programs that don’t further our country’s ambitions.