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Show couieloL (kicanos face problems' , apolitical awareness IS which the Chi-:3ty Chi-:3ty can be active fTta the Chicane ; assurance in the Urn ' Imitment to him are Mexican-American -udvisor. : dez outlined three .problems faced by the Student at the Un.ver- L the student must be . made aware that the University has made a genuine commitment to him," he said. The University has made this commitment, but it still harbors some misconceptions as to where the students' needs lie. "This situation will be corrected with time," remarked Mr. Melen-dez. Melen-dez. A second and most serious problem, according to the counselor, coun-selor, involves the student who V , ' - . ill . 3 ' comes from a Spanish-spcakin. fem'ly. "The bi-lingual student often Speaks poor English. As a esult, he suffers on the entrance exams," he noted. To correct this situation, the University now offers, and in some cases requires, special training courses in speaking and writing English for the Chicano student. The third problem, frequently the hardest to correct, lies in many Chicano families' misconception miscon-ception that education is for someone else's children, not for their own. "To halt this belief we must make the Chicano com-' munity aware that through education edu-cation we can change the system to be more sympathetic with our needs," said the counselor. Chicanos must be made aware of the available scholarships and grants. Chicano students with a 2.5 gpa or a 1.8 entrance score are eligible for federal grants, Utah educational fund grants and tuition wavers. One of Mr. Melendez's long-range long-range goals is initiating a political poli-tical awareness group for the Chicano community. "I want to make the State Legislature aware that the Chicano is concerned about his government and that he carries considerable political influence," said the counselor. -Chronicle staff photo by Jon Williclmsen Mike Melendez, Chicano counselor, says Chicano students face three major problems at the University which he would like to correct. |