the idiotic english-only commencement proposal

Here's a good editorial by Minh Nguyen and Tony Tran protesteing the Terrebonne Parish School Board's proposal requiring all high school valedictorians to give their commencement speeches in English only: Speaking out against English-only rule. Yes, let us stamp out all traces of any language or culture other than Caucasian American English.

The proposal came in response to a recent graduation ceremony at Terrebonne Parish's Ellender High School, where the Vietnamese American co-valedictorians, Hue Vo and Cindy Vo, honored their parents by speaking a few words of their address in Vietnamese. It was a moment to acknowledge the sacrifices and hard work of their loved ones. Unfortunately, some cranky members of the school board turned it around and used it as an excuse to show just how intolerant and xenophobic they could be.

As I've said before, this proposal is a load of crap. Would anyone have given a damn if the language in question had been French, Italian or Latin rather than Vietnamese? No. You know this. Anyway, read the editorial here, and let's hope the Terrebonne Parish School Board members get their heads out of their asses.