http://media.www.thebrownandwhite.com/media/storage/paper1233/news/2010/03/05/News/Bilingual.Charter.School.Approved.By.Local.Board-3884578.shtml

Bilingual Charter School opening in Bethlehem which will have a tie in to Lehigh’s globalization program. Personally I think it’s a great idea, the best way to learn a language is to start young and practice continually. Both Spanish mother tongue and English mother tongue students can/will benefit from being taught in a bilingual environment. Unfortuantely attitudes like this aren’t unusual: ” one student who wished that his name be withheld said, “I wouldn’t send my kids there. My ancestors came to this country not knowing English; they had to learn English to get citizenship and make money. I think [they] would be rolling over in their graves if they knew that American tax dollars were teaching kids any other language but English.” ”

Sad.

President Obama is set to visit Texas A&M university this Friday. My friend, sorority sister, and all-around hero Jill Vogel is currently working there and she has given me permission to reprint one of her blog posts about this event:

“in light of president obama coming to speak at a&m this Friday, there has been plans of mass protest, over 15,000 unaffiliated individuals are coming to campus to fight this, the venue has been moved several times and it is now by invitation only through staff members to students. mass chaos. with this said, it seems that the image protectors of A&M are starting to get a little worried about their reputation. they brought in the big guns and emailed this out to everyone on campus:

To My Fellow Members of the Texas A&M Family:

Howdy! As you have probably heard, I have invited the 44th President of the United States of America to come visit the Bush Library and Texas A&M, and President Obama has graciously accepted.

Along with the administration, faculty, and so many of you, I am honored that The President, our President, is taking the time and making the effort to come to College Station on October 16th to talk about an issue that unites all Americans – namely, community service and its vast importance to our continued well-being as a Nation. Our country still faces many tough challenges, and the message that will come out of our Presidential Forum on Service, I hope, is that every American regardless of age has an important part to play in helping us overcome the obstacles to our common progress.

This is not about politics. This is about the importance of service to our communities and our country.

It would be hard to imagine a more deserving college campus to host a Presidential Forum on volunteerism and community service than Texas A&M – which is, after all, a school steeped in a rich tradition of service. That’s why I am so proud to have our Bush Library and Museum and Bush School of Government and Public Service here, and I cannot wait for President Obama to experience the open, decent and welcoming Aggie spirit for himself.

This will be an important national moment, and a moment for Texas A&M to shine in the global spotlight as it always does. I sincerely hope and believe it will serve as a point of Aggie pride for many years to come.

Gig ‘em!
George Bush (#41)”

I’ve also found the story on the Aggies newspaper online edition. As someone who studied student development, I found the back and forth on the comments section from the students very interesting.

http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2009/09/11/News/Obama.To.Speak.At.Texas.Am-3769611.shtml