This is my first semester at CSUN and walking onto the campus for the first time, I realized how diverse this school really was. Walking from class to class I heard a variety of languages and also saw the acceptance of these varieties. I also enjoyed picking up the school paper before my first class of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

It was not until recently, however, that I found myself truly disgusted with the Daily Sundial. While flipping through the May 16, 2006 publication on a Tuesday morning, I realized that there had been an added couple of pages. I looked a little closer and realized that those pages were a Spanish publication aimed only at Spanish speakers. It is titled, “El Nuevo Sol.” From the few years of Spanish that I took in high school, I was able to figure out that it was “The New Sun.” I hope I am not offending any Spanish speakers; I think the language is great and I encourage all those who can speak the language to actually speak it.

My only problem was that this paper did not even offer a translation for the rest of the non-Spanish speaking students. How are we supposed to narrow the gap between our differences if certain groups completely alienate themselves?

Some might suggest that I learn Spanish so that I can read the paper, but if it is so easy to pick up a language in a second, then why don’t the Spanish speakers just pick up English? It’s not as easy as it looks, so a simple translation would have been appreciated.

I find it highly offensive and disturbing that those of you at the Daily Sundial would have the audacity to print four pages of our newspaper in Spanish. I find it to be extremely rude because it allows the Hispanic population to assume that they can have whatever they want. These four pages may not seem like much but it’s unfair. Either you print four pages in every language or only every page in one language. Either it is all OK or none of it is. I find it amazing that you think it’s acceptable to do this. You didn’t even print a translation of this section for other readers.

Nobody here is so unique or so much better than everyone else that they warrant this kind of privilege. Moreover, by dedicating these pages to a solely Hispanic population in a majority English speaking country, you only further isolate and segregate them from everybody else.

What happened to embracing diversity amongst everyone at our school? What happened to informing people of different cultures? How are we supposed to truly succeed in teaching diversity if your writers are just alienating themselves and sending the message that no one is allowed into their circle if they do not speak Spanish? As a CSUN student, I am truly disappointed in my school.

– Samantha Ghanem

Junior English major