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Show THE T HE CHRONICLE SUMMER ' S CHRONICLE UTAH VIEW Undocumented Find an Unlikely Friend in House April, University of Utah Bernie Machen for a change in residency requirements to allow undocumented immigrants to tuition. qualify for The U administration's continuing efforts to increase diversity seem to have found a friend la many students, not to mention children raised by undocumented immigrants. In Rep. Chris Cannon. country. - turn-aroua- immigration, flames. Though this legislation represents a step in. the right direction, it's a tentative one at best, Many of those who would benefit from a change in residency requirements were brought to the U.S. by their parents. tuition costs about three and a half times what tuition costs and presents a considerable obstacle for Out-of-sta- te in-sta- te Lawmakers in California and Texas have already taken steps towsrd allowing undocumented immigrants access to tuition. However, the likelihood of the Utah State Legislature enacting residency changes is not a strong one. tuition more reflects the cost of a accurately higher education, so the state subsidizes a student paying instate tu.'ticn. Asd while undocumented immigrants pay taxes, it is ques- -' tionable whether a legislature which places a premium on educating native Utahns will agree to subsidize the cost of educating students net officially tied 10 the state. in-sta- ' ; Out-of-sta- te entation will be edited or wiil not be published. A Partisan SEAMAN Chronicle Opinion Columnist good part of my undergraduate career has been spent studying political science. But recent evidence proves once again that politics and science do not go together. The notion that rational, objective thought exists in politics is not simply a misnomer it is a raging farce. Last Wednesday, Utah's grumpiest old man, Rep. Jim Hansen,' introduced what he called an "inspired" plan to redraw the state's congressional boundaries. Such reapportionment occurs every 10 years in accordance with new census data. A decade ago, the Utah State Legislature decided it would be a good idea to unite Salt Lake's west side Rose Park, Glendale and West Valley with Utah County and the rest of the typically conservative Third District. The Democratic-leanin- g voters of the west side were eventually swallowed by the mass of Barry Goldwater clones inhabiting the Third District, essentially making any vote irrelevant. Funny how that turned out. Of course, the Republican-dominate- d Legislature would never have purposefully concocted such a scheme for that would be I f I LETTER TO THE EDITOR 'Trash Can' Is No Place for Freedoms Editor: I read your May 30 editorial on the Christina Axson-Flyn- n case. To begin, let me admit that I don't know everything about this case, I only know what I have read in The Daily Utah Chronicle and The Salt Lake Tribune. But based on that, I personally believe that this case does not belong, as you put it, "in the trash can." This case is not about cramming her morality (Mormon values) down the throats of everyone around her. She has, to the best of my knowledge, never demanded that other people not say the offensive words that have been specified in this case (i.e., the Lord's name, the etc.). She has simply asked that she not be required to use them. This case is not about a student trying to force the U to change its curriculum. What this case is about is a contract. According to her complaint, when she entered the program, it was with the understanding that she would not be required to play any roles that required her to say these words. She claims that she discussed these issues with the department at the very beginning, and that she was assured that there would be no problem. WclL.aecording to her, there was a problem, and she was at first pressured to say the words, and then asked to leave the program if she would not submit. This is an important case, because it involves religious freedom not just for Mormons, but for all people of faith. It docs NOT belong "in the trash can." DON MACANGUS Senior, Communication Insult to Salt Lake County Voters 10 years and enter Mr. Hansen. His plan, also endorsed by Chris Cannon, seeks to divide Salt Lake County between the state's three congressional districts. The second district as we know it would be radically altered. Why would anyone encourage such measures? I'll give you a hint. The second district currently houses the only Democrat in Utah's congressional delegation, Jim Mathcson. Purging a large chunk of Salt Lake County from the second district and replacing it with rural voters from Rich to San Juan counties seems like a sly way of getting that nasty Democrat out of LTtah's congressional club. The problem is this plan isn't sly at all it's an extremely blatant example of partisanship. The voters of the second district spoke their minds in November, overwhelmingly asking to be represented by Jim Matheson. Doctoring the state's political map is simply the Republicans' way of trying to change the results of an election. If they can't keep Matheson out of office at the polls, they'll simply gerrymander him out. As if controlling both U.S. Senate seats, two of three House seats, the governor's mansion of the Legislature and more than wasn't enough, Utah's GOP is going for broke. Beyond being a gross display cf partisanship, this redistricting scheme makes no sense geographically. Currently, most of Salt Lake County is contained in the second district the only piece missing is the western chunk thrown to the wolves 10 years ago. Salt Lake County belongs in its own district. Residents of Salt Lake County have much more in common with each other than with rural Fast-forwa- JAMES in te Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Dally Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created en the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual ori- A before s Assessing the number would-b- e college students who could benefit is difficult. Officials cannot count these students in public schools because asking a student about his or her nationality is illegal. Even if the bill is successful, concrete change is years away. If it goes through Congress, the bill then passes the b2ton to state legislatures across the in-sta- te The bill recently proposed by the Third District congressman amends federal law, allowing states to alter residency requirements to the benefit of undocumented immigrants. Cannon's sponsorship of the d bill represents a in his relaticns with Utah's immigrant community. In tooS, Cannon sent our a survey asking for stories from victims of crimes committed by "illegal aliens." Latino groups blasted Cannon for fanning anti Isrid-r- CHRONICLE rd two-thir- OPINION EDITOR SCOTT LEWIS Utahns. So what sense does it make to stick half of Salt Lake with Grand County? According to Jim Hansen, it makes plenty of sense. "We're all the same state; we're all the same people," said Hansen in defending his reapportionment proposal. The truth is that we arc not all the same. I can think of very little I have in common with people in Vernal. This is not to say urban Utah is better or worse than rural Utah just different. People should be represented by someone who can serve their interests. This is impossible when large groups of people with completely different interests are thrown randomly into the same district. Carving up Salt Lake County like a Thanksgiving turkey wiil simply disenfranchise large sections of Utah voters. Already, those forced to share a district with Utah County arc essentially powerless if they choose to vote for a Democrat, for Congress. Most of Utah's Hispanics live on Salt Lake's west side. Chris Cannon has historically not been too much of a friend to them, realizing he doesn't need their votes to win an election. This type of disenfranchiscment will spread if Salt Lake County is divided and placed with various rural sections of the state. Salt Lake County is the only place in the Utah where ethnic minorities, and working women exist in more than minimal quantities. All of these groups will be rendered politically powerless and left without congressional representation if the second district is torn apart. west-sidc- non-Mormo- ns LETTERSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU rs And what about University of Utah students? The interests of the university are certainly not the same as the interests of southern Utah. Yet the U is among the entities in jeopardy of being displaced by artificial political realignment. Ultimately, this kind of wholesale reshuffling is completely unnecessary. Utah's population has changed since 1990, but not enough to explode the political map and build an entirely new one. The second district needs only an additional 42,000 voters in order to even its allotment with the other districts. This can be done by rejoining Salt Lake with Rose Park and Glendale. voters certainly have more These west-sid- e in common with Salt Lake residents than they do with the people of Payson. Achieving equilibrium among Utah's congressional districts does not call for drastic change. Jim Hansen has essentially proposed to kill a housefly with a hand grenade. The best thing you can do to preserve the second district and the sanity of our state's political system is to attend the public hearing on Thursday night, June 7. From 6 to 8 p.m., the Legislature's redistricting committee will convene in Room 129 of the Utah State Capitol. The meeting is open to public comment, giving you the opportunity to tell the redistricting committee why Salt Lake is different from Hurricane. Don't let the Legislature take away the relevance of a vote you may some day want to use. James welcomes feedback at: jseamanchron-icle.utah.ed- u or send a letter to the editor to: 581-704- 1 |