Eighth-graders pen letter to the editor
Friday, Sep. 25, 2015
“Sticks and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt us.” Right?
Not according to the Saint Olaf School eighth-grade class. A few weeks ago, they discovered how untrue that statement is.
One afternoon, some of the eighth-grade girls were about to clean some desks in their classroom when Viviana, one of the students said, “I’ll do it. ... I’m Mexican. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do – clean?”
That comment was overheard by one of the middle-school teachers, who decided to address the class about it right away. When she asked Viviana why she had made that remark, the student tearfully explained that the news was full of negative comments about Hispanics, especially those made by Donald Trump. As the conversation continued, Viviana and others burst into tears because of the horrible feelings these comments generated.
After much discussion about how hurtful these types of comments are to everyone involved, the students were so angry that they first wanted to call Trump to voice their objections and their opinion about how negative comments affect groups of people. They wanted to let him know how inappropriate his words are, and how they can negatively affect everyone, especially children.
When assured that there was very little chance they would ever get to speak to Trump, they decided to write a letter that hopefully could be published so they could make as any people as possible aware how morally destructive negative rhetoric is to everyone. The letter was written completely by the eighth-grade class with no help or assistance from anyone else. (Editor’s note: The letter is printed below.)
The St. Olaf School community is proud of the students who, when they become aware of wrong behavior, realize that they need to stand up and voice their opinion, because change needs to start with each individual.
Courtesy of St. Olaf School
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor,
As you may know, Donald Trump is a 2016 presidential candidate of the United States. We are concerned about the comments that he is making in his presidential campaign. We are especially concerned about what he is saying about Hispanic people: “When Mexico sends their people, they’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with them, they’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists.”
The reality is that only 9 percent of documented assaults were committed by Latinos, compared to 71 percent by Caucasians.
He doesn’t really acknowledge how he hurts people. We have felt the impact of these comments on two of our 13-year-old classmates who are Latinas. When we saw our friends crying because of Donald Trump’s words, it hurt us too. One of our classmates even said, “When I hear these comments, I wonder if that’s a person’s first impression of me and my family.” Another classmate said, “He’s discriminating against them without even knowing them.”
We decided to write this letter because we want people to know that it does affect people as young as 13 years old. We would hope that a person running for president would recognize the dignity of all people.
In a statement about immigration, the former Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, Archbishop John Wester said, “Our strength as a nation is drawn from our diversity and the unique talents of persons from around the world.” He continues advocating to create a humane immigration system.
During this election cycle, people need to focus on what we can do as a nation to solve the problem of immigration.
8th Grade Class
Saint Olaf Catholic School
Bountiful, Utah
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