Our view B-2 My view B-3, B-4, B-5
SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2014 THE NEW MEXICAN
OPINIONS
B
Faulty logistics of BuRRT’s Amnesty Day. Page B-3
Dropout solution? Curmudgeon doesn’t think so
W
contributes about $6,700 for every enrolled stuhy is New Mexico rated at the bottom of the nation’s educational barrel? Why dent. Does that mean Engage Santa Fe could cost is the Santa Fe school system ranked in roughly $670,000 a year? Moreover, it appears to the bottom 10 of New Mexico’s public school dis- have few, if any, requirements for each student. Can a 15-year-old dropout enroll and tricts? If the newest program in Santa take as little as one course per semester, Fe to improve high school graduation working at his own pace, for the entire rates is what passes for educational $6,700? We trust the taxpayers’ share reform in our city, the real question is: will be prorated, since the dropout can How low can we go? stay in school until 21. Engage Santa Fe, as the new program Gee whiz! A degree, or maybe not, at is titled, will hunt down/locate 75 to a cost of thousands. But wait! There’s 100 recent high school dropouts and more! Each student who enrolls will encourage them to re-enlist. If they join receive a free Amazon Kindle! this program, they are promised a genDorothy uine diploma instead of a mere GED In a last pitch to our gullibility, taxKlopf degree. This newspaper described one payers are told that only an out-of-state Commentary potential student: He first left school private company, Atlantic Education at age 15 and, returning two years later, Partners, is qualified to run this prodropped out a second time “because, by his own gram. After one member of our school board, admission, he did not apply himself and was Glenn Wikle, questioned the program, it appears smoking too much marijuana.” he is being viewed as a “bully” for his efforts. Why is there so much concern for 100 students Fortunately for taxpayers, Reps. Luciano “Lucky” Varela and Jim Trujillo are questioning the conout of a few thousand? Progressives in the city stitutionality of sending public money to a priare raising a collective hand with the answer — vate business. because Santa Fe cares for the underachieving student! A more cynical person (yeah, well, me) There is a more pertinent question: Are we wonders whether the new superintendent of to believe there is no one among licensed New schools wants to polish his résumé by showing Mexico teachers qualified to organize and supera shiny new statistical improvement, no matter vise an extra-help and intervention project? how meager, in graduation rates. Really? Has anyone asked the teachers of Santa Fe what would help their students stay engaged? According to Superintendent Joel Boyd, the school budget won’t be strained because the pro- Has anyone consulted the principal at Capitol High, where there has been a steady improvegram will be a “neutral” item. What that exactly ment in graduation rates? means is that the superintendent gets his shiny improved statistic and the taxpayer picks up the Wait, wait! There’s still more! Superintendent Boyd previously worked with the founder of tab from state funds. In New Mexico, the state
Atlantic Education Partners, Joseph Wise, in Florida and asked Mr. Wise to work on his transition team when he moved to Santa Fe. Insisting there is no conflict of interest in this deal with the Florida firm, Boyd asserts he kept his distance throughout the selection process. It takes a cynical mind to suspect that personal advantage and next-job preparedness might underpin this program. Oh, no! The sales pitch “Only the best for our children” explains why our struggling dropouts must be served by the expertise of Joseph Wise and Atlantic Education Partners. According to Mr. Wise, “When [dropouts] come back and educators say, ‘Here’s seven courses, here’s all the books, get going,’ a lot of students can’t chew that.” Imagine, if you will, our future graduate, age 21, having spent five or six years in Mr. Wise’s program, as he faces his first interview for a job: Employer: “I need my new hire to begin tomorrow.” Graduate: “Tomorrow? So soon?” Employer: “See those seven flats of goods. I need invoices checked; goods, organized and shelved; and current prices, posted.” Graduate: “Chill, man. I am not sure I can chew that.” Employer: “Well, could you come in Saturday to help me catch up on my inventory?” Graduate: “Whoa. Saturday is just not your day. And Monday’s not looking too good either.” What was Santa Fe smoking when it was sold this bill of goods? Dorothy Klopf, a curmudgeonly conservative, is back writing her column after taking some time off.
MY VIEW: STEPHEN FOX
Cruising the Plaza isn’t ‘vital’
I
n 2002, after speaking with Native vendors under the portal, I recognized classic symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as headaches, occurring with them. I wrote a petition to the governor and the mayor asking that the north side of the Plaza be blocked off, so that these people wouldn’t be afflicted so badly. Two-hundredthirty-two out of 244 Plaza vendors signed the petition, but the request was ignored. One response to this effort was former City Councilor Frank Montaño’s maintaining that “cruising the Plaza” was part of his teenage memories and was thus a vital part of Northern New Mexico Hispanic culture. Not long after, a driver smashed into a woman who stepped off the corner by the Palace of the Governors. Dr. Jane Sewell was English and a professor at Johns Hopkins University, and was on vacation with her husband, Hopkins history professor Louis Galambos. She died at 42. Her husband later was quoted in the Baltimore Sun: “That still breaks me up … I had to help my daughters right away. You don’t sit around and grieve, you get busy. You have one day, maybe two days [to grieve], you have got a new life to deal with.” Dr. Galambos is still a professor at Johns Hopkins at 83. Had the authorities listened to the petition I had presented earlier to them, instead of listening to such idiotic malarkey as “cruising the Plaza is a vital part of Hispanic culture,” Dr. Sewell might still be alive. This reminds me of Sen. Phil Griego’s maintaining that cockfighting was a vital part of New Mexico Hispanic culture when he was chairman of the Conservation Committee, thus killing the chance that the vote would come to the Senate floor, thus keeping cockfighting legal 18 years after Sen. Mary Jane Garcia first sponsored a bill making it illegal. Finally, Griego turned around on his opposition, but only after the archbishop came down against cockfighting. Then, and only then, was it made illegal! I encourage Mayor Javier Gonzales in his efforts to close the Plaza. I am a downtown merchant, and I’m sure all of the other merchants could make do with a limited access delivery schedule opening the Plaza to trucks between 6 and 10 a.m. Stephen Fox is the founder of New Millennium Fine Art in Santa Fe.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Chaining off bandstand won’t solve Plaza problems I nstead of chaining off the gazebo on the Plaza and wondering about whether and which streets should be closed, why doesn’t the city tackle the real problem on and around our wonderful Plaza? That would be, namely, dirty, drunken, aggressive panhandlers; buskers who are pushing more than their own product/entertainment; the pungent smell of pot; high school kids hassling visitors; beggars using their poor dogs to try to gain donations; and other totally tourist-unfriendly activities. The Plaza is our most important tourist attraction and is terribly important to to those of us who live in this wonderful place. There are times when my husband and I have felt forced to leave because it feels threatening. Somewhat worse is Cathedral Park, where there is open drinking and selling and consuming of drugs. Beggars and homeless people bring in dogs even though they are not permitted, according to the signage. The real issue here is the need for a police presence. We don’t need chains around our Plaza — we need police — and not just during the few summer months. The police must be permanent fixtures there and must be given the authority to protect our important meeting places.
Maureen McCarthy
Santa Fe
Fond memories
Reading of Bell Mondragon’s death brings back fond memories of a special meal among the many I enjoyed at Maria Isabel’s on Agua Fría (“In recipe for life, restaurateur turned to conversation, cuisine,” April 17). It was the summer of 1983, and I had come down from Ghost Ranch to join my friend, Josiah Beeman, who had flown out from Washington, D.C., to have lunch there. “Joe,” a native of California and politically connected from his teen years, was on a special mission. He was in charge of arrangements for the program at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco and wanted to talk with Bell’s husband, Roberto Mondragon, about singing the national anthem at the convention. We had a delicious lunch, of course, and Roberto joined us with his guitar and forthwith demonstrated why he would be an excellent choice for the assignment. Unfortunately, it never happened. Joe was later bounced from his assignment in favor of a wealthy woman from California who had better connections than he had! Too bad; Roberto would have been a smash hit. I don’t remember who sang the national anthem at the convention, but Jennifer Holliday did a memorable rendering of the Battle Hymn of the Republic to close it. Joe recovered and later became the longtime
ambassador to New Zealand.
Rev. Dean H. Lewis
Medanales
Open to all The Santa Fe City Council is considering the closing of the Plaza. This is the only real connection we have to the downtown area. Are you willing to give up the last thing we own downtown? The bicyclists have bicycle trails all over this town. People who like to walk have trails all over this town. Even the dogs have their own place to enjoy. People who like to cruise should be able to enjoy their Plaza. Disabled people should be able to park and go enjoy the Plaza. This Plaza is for everyone, even cruisers, not just for people who want a European flair. Stand up and say basta to change about the Plaza. At a recent meeting, I was mocked at the meeting by some young men. I was disrespected and my comments deleted on Facebook. I was told, “why should it matter to me?” that people my age are “dropping off like flies in the winter,” and the younger generation has the “power” now. Let’s show them that we have the right to oppose anything in a tactful, respectful way and that only those who can agree to disagree have the power.
Editorial page editor: Inez Russell Gomez, 986-3053, igomez@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Brian Barker, bbarker@sfnewmexican.com
Gloria Mendoza
Santa Fe
Ukraine’s crisis and its fateful decision T
here’s an old, unfortunate adage all too often repeated when it comes to the Middle East: It can always get worse. Sadly, Ukrainians are learning that phrase is quickly applying them. In the space of two months, they’ve seen Russia’s Vladimir Putin — acting like a bully shaking down a kid in a schoolyard for his lunch money — grab the Crimean Peninsula. Losing its warm-water port was bad enough, but now, Ukraine’s very existence is in doubt. Earlier this week, the mayor of an eastern Ukrainian city was shot in the back and, as of this writing, remains in critical condition as pro-Russian forces threaten to swallow large chunks of the country, if not the entire thing. Rob An old Cold War Nikolewski truth is merging with today’s cold, hard Commentary truth: A belligerent Russia may well succeed in annexing Ukraine. It’s clear that words won’t deter Putin, who is determined to take back territory that was lost after the Soviet Union collapsed 23 years ago. And what’s happening in Ukraine is putting leaders on edge in countries with large Russian-speaking minorities such as Georgia, Moldova and Estonia. Estonia is crucial, because it’s a member of NATO, and Article 5 of the NATO agreement stipulates an attack on one member is an attack on all of its members. Another cold truth? Don’t count on the U.S. and Western European nations going there. Now, nobody’s talking about NATO/ American boots on the ground in Eastern Europe, but the Obama White House has been slow on the uptake ever since this crisis began. It still has not even offered to share military intelligence with Ukraine and has repeatedly said it will not supply the Ukrainians light military weaponry in the face of a potential Russian assault. (The Russians have an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 troops lined up on Ukraine’s border.) Instead, the administration hopes that economic sanctions will do the trick. Yet President Barack Obama still has not countered Putin by hitting the Russian economy where it would hurt the most: in its energy sector. A threat of exporting liquefied natural gas to Europe could compel Putin to at least think twice about the economic wisdom of intrusion. Earlier this week, Secretary of State John Kerry called on Europe to end its dependence on Russian oil and gas but didn’t offer any specifics. But the Obama administration looks like zealots compared to European leaders. Fearful of Russia shutting off their oil and gas supplies, it took unmistakable signs of aggression — such as pro-Russian forces holding European monitors hostage — to get EU leaders to find some spine. Near the end of World War II, upon being asked about Catholics in Poland, Josef Stalin famously asked. “How many divisions does the pope have?” In 2014, Europe may have NATO divisions at its disposal, but if Putin reckons they’ll never be used, he has no reason not to take whatever he wants. In these existential times for Ukraine, one can only imagine the enormous regret its people must have looking back at 1994. That year, in the optimism of a postCold War world, Ukrainian leaders went to Budapest for an international meeting. Under the Soviet regime, nuclear missiles were still deployed in Ukraine. The U.S. and Western European urged Ukraine to allow those missiles to be dismantled. The Ukrainians agreed after getting assurances that their borders would never be violated and would be defended if they were. So much for that promise. But a sobering geopolitical lesson may extend beyond Ukraine. In a post-post-Cold War world, leaders in vulnerable countries may very well conclude — with logic that’s hard to argue with — that having their own nuclear arsenal equals protection. And that figures to make the world a much more combustible — and deadly — place. Contact Rob Nikolewski through the website he edits, www.newmexicowatchdog. org.
BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM