El Independiente

              UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Department of Journalism
Tucson, Arizona 85721
l'or Christine l)onneIl
El Independiente Stall
Su método es la musica, pero su mensaje
es poli'tico.
Los seis membros que formaron El
Grupo Musicalli en 1985 admiten que
mientras preservan su herencia musical y
entretienen al público, esperan hacer una
exposición politica y promover su causa
Chicana.
El grupo, cuyas mices sots del Sur de
Tucson, esta especialmente interesado en el
Canto Nuevo, o "New Song", movimiento
Tammy Romero, 19, and Gary Caria, 18, use computers to learn the the three Rs at PCEdge.
Youths fill gaps in education
B Debbie Addis
El Independient Stall
Some of the students couldn't read very
well. Others couldn't add fractions or
calculate percentages. Some graduated
from high school, and others dropped out
and regret it.
Now these students are getting a secottd
chance to learn the skills they missed the
first time, with a new program called
PCEdge - an acronym for Pima County
Educational Group Effort. The program
began last November at Lindsey Adult
Learning Center, 1602 5. Third Ave., and
is designed to help youth age t7 to 2t
master the basic skills they need to
continue their education or enter the job
market.
"Basic skills are reading, writing and
arithmetic, and without them in Amenca
you can't function," said Candace L.
VanBrugglten, director of PCEdge, which
is a special program of Pima County
Adult Education. "Adult education is
becoming more and more important
because our kids are graduating without
the basic skills," she said, adding that this
problem is not limited to Tucson bui is
being faced throughout the country.
"Our program is designed for those
people who have either dropped out of
school and they want io get their G.E.D.
(General Education Development
certificate) or they've graduated from high
school, but their skills level isn't high
enough io compete on the job market."
Students lacking basic literacy and math
skills are not ready for the G.E.D. classes,
the armed forces or the Pima Community
College Skill Center, which provides job
training for direct entry into the labor
market, VanBrugghen said.
The skill center also has a remedial
learning center where students can catch
up on basic skills. But many of the youth
applying for the program were too far
behind even for Skill Center remediation,
said Mary Hammann, the center's
director.
This is where PCEdge comes in.
Funded by the Arizona Department of
Education, PCEdge was designed to fill a
gap in Tucson's adult education scheme,
said Hammann, who also is a supervisor
of PCEdge. "We're concentrating on the
17-21 age group, and our targeted
population are those with low academic
functioning," Hammami said.
Conlinned on Page 4
Canto Nuevo manifiesta el sentir Chicano
que creció en Latinoamerica durante los
sesentas como respuesta a los problemas
politicos y a la opresión existente ahi.
Existe un mensaje social y cultural por
obtetier a través de esta musica", comentó
Carmen Atilano, una estudiante de 29 años
de la carrera de leyes en la Universidad de
Arizona y miembro del grupo.
"Politica y legalmente debe existir uita
frontera (entre México y los Estados
Unidos), pero social y culturalmente somos
la misma gente," elia dijo.
Frecuentemente los Mexico-Americanos
niegan su cultura y herencia porque
consideran que el único camino de "hacerla"
en la sociedad americana es aceptar los
ideales de la coedente Anglo-Sajona, ella
indicó.
"Estamos demostrando que no
necesitarnos dejar a un lado nuestras viejas
tradiciones; un grupo que es culturalmente
fuerte será politicamente poderoso".
El Grapo Musicaffi significa "casa de
musica", y a pesar deque sus integrantes no
son musicos, organizan festivales y otras
"reuniones" para presentar la musica
latinoamericana a las multitudes.
Continua en la Página 7
Non-profit org.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Permit No. 190
Tucson, Arizona
South Tucson will be eligible for more
state aid if the Arizona Legislature approves
an emergency measure allowing the city to
use 1980 population figures rather than the
lower 1985 statistics.
The I 980 census of South Tucson showed
there were 6,554 people living itt the city. But
a special 1985 census said there were 5,969
South Tucsonans. The 585-person reduction
would mean the loss of $98,017 in state
revenue funds because the funds are
allocated according to population.
Gladys A. Alonzo, assistant to the city
manager, said the city's population count
was too low in the April 1 , 1985 census. City
officials protested the count so census
officials recanvassed the area isvice. But the
statistics were still too loss, Alonzo said.
South Tucson firemen then conducted
their own census and found an extra 109
housing units and 409 people. But esen after
those people isere added, city officials
disagreed with the federal figures.
"We're a mile square; sse knots who's out
there," Alonzo said. Arizona is a rapidl
growing state and "if somebody gets up and
leaves, someone else usually takes their place.
"lt's just really unlikely that we svould lose
so many people in five years," she added.
Alonzo said the census bureau has not
responded to the city's latest protests, but the
state Legislature has.
After hearing from Alonzo and other city
officials in February, state Democrats
represenung South Tucson - Reps. Jesus
"Chuy" Higuera and Curasen F, Cajero and
Sen. Luts A. Gonzales - and ciirht other
legislators sponsored an emergency measure
that would allow South Tucson to be
considered for funds based on the 1980
census. The House approved the bill 58-1
and the Senate is expected to approve it next
week.
"This bill could nican a lot of money to
South Tucson," Higuera said. "lt's obvious
there was an undercount. lt's very important
that this bill goes through."
Using the 1980 figures, South Tucson
would receive $352,268 frotu the sales tax,
$423,651 from income tax and $338,614
from highway user funds for a total of
$1,114,533. But if the lower 1985 figures
were used, the total would be reduced to
$1,016,516, for a $98,017 loss,
"That's u lot of money that could go
toward running the city," Alonzo said.
The census may have been low because it
was a special census and not well publicized,
it was conducted on a holiday, and because
some people, such as undocumented aliens,
don't want io be counted, Alonzo said.
According to 1980 figures, 76.5 percent of
tIne total population of South Tucson was
Hispanic, 10.7 percent was Native American
and 2 percent was black.
In this issue
Evenls Page 2
-Education Page 4. 5
Sports Page 8
Extra effort - schools are taking on Ihe responsibility
of tackling the special education problems laced by Hispanics
and "lathe Americans Pages 4 and 5.
Jumbo tortillas - Family-owned La Suprema enters
its 42nd ear of producing hand-stretched and machine-made
tortillas l'age 6.
El Independiente
Volume IO, Number 6 Serving South Tucson April 1986
City
appeals
census
By Christine Donnelly
EJ Independiente Staff