 |
| Gail Koch is a junior journalism major and writes 'And Another Thing' for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. |
Last week, a sharply divided Florida House Education Committee narrowly approved a bill that would ban state aid to university students from six of the seven countries on the State Department list of nations that sponsor terrorism -- Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya and North Korea.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Orange Park, who argued that the state of Florida should not spend money to educate students sent by governments that deny their citizens "free will." Kravitz also said he does not like the idea of educating people who will return to regimes that oppose America.
"It is naive to think that any of them are not well-to-do or connected to the regime in power," he said in a recent Associated Press article.
According to the Department of Education, Florida's state universities and community colleges used $308,717 to provide financial aid to 822 students from the seven targeted countries on the federal list in 2001 and 2002.
The bill still needs the OK of four other House committees, but so far has received only criticism from members of Florida's Muslim community who feel it unfairly targets them.
Kadia Mubarak, the president of the Muslim Student Association at Florida State University, said in the AP article that the bill is discriminatory because most countries on that list are Islamic.
"What he's saying is if you're born in Libya or Syria you're more likely to be a terrorist than anyone else," Mubarak said.
Mubarak is right, and it is discouraging to think such a discriminatory bill could one day penalize students based solely on their citizenship.
After all, where do we Americans get the right to assume that foreign students in our schools are any more likely to become terrorists than citizens here in the U.S.?
The last time I checked, John Walker Lindh was an American terrorist from California. But he wouldn't have been banned from receiving financial aid if he had wanted to study Islam in America instead of Pakistan.
No, Kravitz only wants to unfairly target a group of individuals that he feels are more prone to such violence -- pointedly those with Arabic accents and skin darker than his.
In a recent Arab American Institute online newsletter, Kravitz is again quoted making derogatory remarks against those from the listed Arabic nations.
He said, "These people are not innocent. These people come from countries run by dictators, thugs, thieves, tyrants and communist regimes. They are here to learn something to take back to their countries to use for terrorism."
How repulsive to know that such a bigot actually holds office here in the United States. But worse than that is the fact he does not view his actions or remarks as discriminatory.
He told the AP his bill was misunderstood, explaining that he spent two years with a Muslim family and had no racist feelings.
Ironically, he then followed that testament with the following remark, "I ate their food and lived with them. The only thing I regret is I didn't get to date one of their women."
Let us hope Kravitz's bill goes no further in the Florida Legislature than it already has, for its passage would certainly be a blow to the civil rights Americans have fought for so many years to obtain.
Write to Gail at glkoch@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
