Immigration forum panel lacked education expert

TO THE EDITOR:

Immigration is one topic that this campus apparently cannot address comprehensively, much less in the specifics.

The forum held by the Parr Center for Ethics concerning access to higher education, “Undocumented Immigrants in America: Access to Higher Education,” proved that even when the audience stays civil, seemingly no one can get to the point, give straight-forward answers, and more importantly, back those answers with policy solutions.

The fundamental and outright absurd flaw in last Thursday’s forum was in the selection of the panelists.

I dare not insult the credibility of the professors, the lawyer, business leader and journalist who lead the discussion.

They were all clearly distinguished individuals, within their own spheres.

My grievance is in the fact that no one with a serious background in educational policy or ethics, the foundations of the discussion, was present.

This is not a question of representing conservative and liberal views fairly (although attention to that element was suspect).

Simply, if the main question proposed is that of educational access for illegal immigrants, focus on that element alone.

It is apparent to all that illegal immigration is a broad and trying debate, but that is precisely why we have to tackle the issues one at a time utilizing the expertise of the people who know those issues best.


Simon Peter Conrad
Senior
Spanish, Political Science