I'm just here to read some news.

I'm not dead

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:57:00 -0700

I’m just on a post-graduation/pre-grad school alcohol and cultural driven trip to Oaxaca and Chiapas. Stay tuned for pictures of ruins, giant iguanas, and monkeys I will be smuggling back into the U.S. somehow.

I just graduated and I’m stuck in traffic, so I’m late to my own...

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:37:00 -0700

I just graduated and I’m stuck in traffic, so I’m late to my own graduation party. At least my shirt is awesome.

Feliz día de las madres to all the Latina moms who celebrate Mother's Day on the 10th

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:56:22 -0700

Also don’t forget to celebrate your immigrant mamá on the 10th and this upcoming Sunday. Immigrant mamás halt their own life for yours. To get you here. To make sure you have a better future and opportunities than they had. They deserve 365 Mother’s Days a year, but on these two make them feel extra special. Entonces, feliz día de la madres a todas aquellas mujeres que merecen el mundo por su valentía y esfuerzos como mamás inmigrantes. No estuvieramos aquí sin ustedes. Gracias, grandes señoras.

Here’s a giant picture of my face from earlier today when...

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:58:03 -0700

Here’s a giant picture of my face from earlier today when I was trying to look fancy for the Chicano/Hispanic graduate ceremony.

I voted in DFA's Netroots Nation Scholarship Competition

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:50:54 -0700

I voted in DFA's Netroots Nation Scholarship Competition:

reclaimingthelatinatag:

corazonciito:

PLEASE HELP EMILIO WIN A NETROOTS NATION SCHOLARSHIP!

Emilio is undocumented and unafraid, a student at UNC, and a grassroots activist for multiple things, mainly readily available information on sexual health and the DREAM Act. Please vote! It takes 30 seconds!

Followers, please help out your fellow Latin@. Emilio is trying to earn a scholarship to attend Netroots Nation, a conference that provides progressive bloggers, activists and candidates a forum to strengthen the online community and grow the progressive movement while inspiring action and inspiring new ideas to affect change [x].

Vote and learn more about Emilio here and learn more about the scholarship here. Voting ends May 7th at 11:59 PM PST, so please take 30 seconds out of your time to please help out.

reclaimingthelatinatag: Milka Duno (born April 22, 1972...

Mon, 06 May 2013 13:51:11 -0700

reclaimingthelatinatag:

Milka Duno (born April 22, 1972 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan race car driver and the first Latin American female driver to be classified “expert”. She is best known for holding the record of highest finish for a female driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona. In addition to being one of the most successful female sportscar racers in history, Milka is also a qualified Naval Engineer with four master’s degrees - in Organizational Development, Naval Architecture, Fishing and Aquaculture and Maritime Business – earning the last three degrees simultaneously. [x]

Duno began her racing career in 1996 and here are some of her achievements as a race car driver:

In 2000, Duno became the first woman to win a Ferrari Challenge race in the USA. In this same year she debuted in the American Le Mans Series in a Dodge Viper GTS, finishing in third place to become first woman in history to finish in the podium of this American Le Mans category.

In 2001 she participated again in the American Le Mans Series Championship, this time crowned Vice-Champion Driver in the LMP 675 Class. She scored four wins in this class and was the first woman to win the prestigious Petit Le Mans. In 2001 she also raced in Europe’s World Series Light by Nissan Championship, where she was the first woman in history to score points in this prestigious series.

In 2002 she was was the first woman to race the fastest cars in both the American Le Mans Series Championship and the Open Telefonica World Series.

In 2004 she raced in the Rolex Sports Car Series where she became the first woman to win twice in an overall major sports car race in North America and the first woman to drive the fastest cars in the Rolex Series – the Daytona Prototype. This same year Duno participated once more in the American Le Mans Series, to become first woman with two class wins at Petit Le Mans.

In 2006 she became the first woman in Rolex-era to score a top-ten finish overall in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January - Duno finished the 24-hour race 8th overall.

In 2007 Milka was the first Latina to qualify and race in the Indianapolis 500. This year she raced again in the Rolex Sports Car Series, where she scored a 2nd place finish in the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona, earning the highest finish ever by a female driver in the 45-year history of this famed race.

Milka also founded the “Milka Way Foundation” in 2004, a non-profit foundation dedicated to encourage youths to pursue higher education. In 2008, Duno became a movie actress and a published author. Milka played the role of Kellie “Gearbox”, a race car driver, in the live action animated Warner Brothers movie Speed Racer. Duno’s bilingual kids book, “Go, Milka, Go!”, depicted her as a cartoon character teaching the importance of education to children of all ages. [x]

what are you studying in grad school?

Sun, 05 May 2013 22:11:27 -0700

I just (like a few days back) received my acceptance letter to the Spanish Literature M.A. program at the University of Arizona. I’m going to be teaching Spanish 101 in the fall there too, so that’s cool. You can read a really sap post about when I received my acceptance letter here. I balled like a baby. So far I’m pretty excited, even tho I’m pretty sure I’m going to hate my life/be an alcoholic by September.

cheers!

I'm currently working on my last term paper (due tomorrow) and I kinda just want to write a single sentence saying "I already got into grad school so I don't actually give a fuck about this paper"

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:49:39 -0700

and then somehow add this GIF to it:

Which term best describes immigrants living in the U.S. illegally?

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:53:41 -0700

Which term best describes immigrants living in the U.S. illegally?:

This is a poll by the Public Insight Network in response to the Associated Press’ decision to drop the term “illegal immigrant”. The Public Insight Network basically wants to know the public’s opinion on what they think undocumented immigrants should be referred to as in journalism. I’ve personally have been using the term “undocumented immigrant” for quite some time now, but I’ve recently come to question it after reading this Atlantic Wire piece in where they quote the Los Angeles Times’reasoning about why they think this term is sometimes inaccurate. According to them:

‘Illegal immigrants’ is overly broad and does not accurately apply in every situation. The alternative suggested by the 1995 guidelines, ‘undocumented immigrants,’ similarly falls short of our goal of precision. It is also untrue in many cases, as with immigrants who possess passports or other documentation but lack valid visas.

To me this makes a lot of sense and this why I checked “undocumented immigrant” and also “other”. I explained my reasoning for choosing “other” in the box below, where I wrote that the term “immigrant without proper documentation” can also be an option when speaking of individuals that are residing within the country with a passport or other documentation, but who do not have a valid, for example, working or resident visa. Anyway, I highly recommend everyone mosey on over to the poll and share their opinion. It’s important to remember that the term “illegal” has been turned into a noun that dehumanizes people, so definitely consider that when you take the poll.

By the way, I received the Public Insight Network poll link from follower pag-asaharibon in response to this post I published yesterday. He runs a solid blog covering politics, environmental issues, Arizona news, and technology, among other interesting material. I definitely recommend following.

"A college student in California costs the state $8,667 per year; a prisoner costs it $45,006 a year."

Sun, 05 May 2013 09:44:30 -0700

“A college student in California costs the state $8,667 per year; a prisoner costs it $45,006 a year.”

- @MichaelSkolnik (via brooklynmutt)

I just decided I'm not leaving my house or logging onto tumblr tomorrow

Sat, 04 May 2013 22:43:00 -0700

I refuse to explain to anymore people that Cinco de mayo is not even on the radar for most Mexicans AND THAT IT’S NOT MEXICO’S INDEPENDENCE DAY. Going to jail for running over a gringo in a sarape and fake mustache probably won’t look too good on resumes, either.

"Students of color are allowed to enter the classroom but never on an equal footing. When they walk..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 22:03:09 -0700

“Students of color are allowed to enter the classroom but never on an equal footing. When they walk in, they are subject to the same racial stereotypes and expectations that exist in the larger society. Students of color do not have the advantage of walking into a classroom as individuals; they walk in as black, brown, or red persons with all the connotations such racialization raises in the classroom. They do not walk into a classroom where the curriculum embraces their histories. They walk into a classroom where their histories and cultures are distorted, where they feel confused about their own identities, vulnerabilities, and oppressions. There is no level of liberal reforms that can alter these experiences for students of color without directly challenging the larger systems in society.”

- Critical Race Theory Matters: Education and Ideology | Margaret Zamudio, Caskey Russell, Francisco Rios & Jacquelyn Bridgeman (via sinidentidades)

L.A. Times Ban on 'Illegal Immigrant' Puts Everybody Else on the Spot

Sat, 04 May 2013 20:54:00 -0700

L.A. Times Ban on 'Illegal Immigrant' Puts Everybody Else on the Spot:

In case you missed it, a few days back the Los Angeles Times joined the Associated Press in officially dropping the phrase “illegal immigrant” from any and all coverage. The L.A. Times is taking it a step further by also banning “undocumented immigrant”, since they feel it’s not factually accurate in all situations. This Atlantic Wire piece explains the Los Angeles Times‘ reasoning:

‘Illegal immigrants’ is overly broad and does not accurately apply in every situation. The alternative suggested by the 1995 guidelines, ‘undocumented immigrants,’ similarly falls short of our goal of precision. It is also untrue in many cases, as with immigrants who possess passports or other documentation but lack valid visas.

I gotta say. That makes a ton of sense. I applaud you, L.A. Times.

Now, if only the The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal could take a hint and quit using that racial slur. Oh, New York Times, I am looking at you too. You “discouraging” the use doesn’t quite count.

I finally got my letter from the Spanish Literature M.A....

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:30:49 -0700

I finally got my letter from the Spanish Literature M.A. program. I’m in and I got the Graduate Assistant Teaching position (which means waved tuition). I let my mom and dad open the letter and seeing their faces when they read I got in is probably the proudest moment of my life. So, in two weeks I’ll be the first person in my family to graduate from college, I’ll be a grad student in the fall, and I owe it all to my immigrant parents. My parents who literally walked through deserts, who worked odd jobs, who worked 70+ hour weeks, and who I still read their mail for because making sure my sister and I had a home, food, and an education was more important than learning English. I can’t even handle all the feels right now.

reclaimingthelatinatag: angryasiangirlsunited: Myself and the...

Wed, 01 May 2013 20:22:19 -0700

reclaimingthelatinatag:

angryasiangirlsunited:

Myself and the rest of the lovely contributing authors over at Reclaiming The Latina Tag. You can learn more about us as individuals in this post.

WoC solidarity!

AAGU asked us to submit our pictures in solidarity of their Asian Face Appreciation Day. WoC solidarity!

Btw, everyone should follow angryasiangirlsunited ASAP.

My beautiful bbs <3

"Migration is as old as humanity itself, with large-scale migrations typically produced by natural..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 20:14:00 -0700

“

Migration is as old as humanity itself, with large-scale migrations typically produced by natural disasters and the physical unsustainability of the existing community. Today, migration is caused less by natural inadequacies and more by countries’ integration into a global economy organized around the profit motive, and the deliberate underdevelopment of certain countries to the benefit of others.

For Latinos living in the United States, their violent displacement is the faded reflection of the violent political and economic intervention waged upon their home country.

”

- From the Liberation News piece Imperialism, immigration and Latin America: An analysis of why people migrate. This article is an excellent reminder that people don’t migrate for fun. Just in Central America and México, U.S.-backed dictatorships and NAFTA have produced horrendous civil wars, poverty, and displacement of millions of individuals. People migrate because the United States is a ruthless machine that only cares about its own profit.

"La mayoría de los hombres son una bola de pendejos."

Wed, 01 May 2013 17:58:39 -0700

“La mayoría de los hombres son una bola de pendejos.”

- my mamá

“The majority of men are a bunch of idiots” - my mom, the misandrist

"Being a fascist sympathizer is not the same as being a fascist"

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:29:53 -0700

“Why are you saying Dalí was a fascist?”

“Why are you dismissing Dalí as an artist because of his political beliefs?

All actual shit sitting in my inbox right now. FASCISM IS NOT OKAY, TUMBLR. I also swear I am not making shit up. DALÍ WAS A FASCIST. GOOGLE SHIT. It’s not that difficult.

why is Salvador Dalí on the Radar

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:30:00 -0700

good job promoting fascists, tumblr.

US school holds first integrated prom

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:43:00 -0700

US school holds first integrated prom:

One school in Georgia has until now had separate end-of-term dance parties for African Americans and whites.

It’s 2013 and almost 60 years after the US Supreme Court desegregated public school, but just now this Rochelle, Georgia high school is having an integrated prom. But we live in a post-racial society, right…