Archives

Life experiences, Obama’s win drives ASU diversity guru

TEMPE — More than 1 in 4 students at Arizona State University are minorities, an indication that the state’s leading university is becoming more diverse, an ASU official says.

That’s the word from Alonzo Jones, ASU’s associate dean of student affairs. He has melded his life path into a job overseeing ASU’s multicultural student services. His goal is to make the campus more of a melting pot.

Jones says he is motivated by the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, when segregated public facilities were the norm for whites and blacks.

Jones says he would think about how he would have gotten involved in that period, but then he realizes he could make a difference daily by increasing the minority student population on campus.

Jones, 40, grew up in a military family because his father served in the Air Force. Jones says family life was stable, but that once his father retired, he was exposed to the “larger citizen world.”

In this larger world growing up as a child, Jones lived in multicultural neighborhoods with mixed languages and people. This is where he first noticed clusters of people living in segregated neighborhoods.

Jones said that he struggled with “identity of politics” or the “who am I” question as a mixed race kid in the 60s with a French mother and a black father.

He noticed that in his interactions with whites criticism was based on biological traits, things that you could not control. In his interactions with blacks criticism was based on individual ability and he found a port of entry as he found it easier to form relationships in his interactions with blacks, Jones says.

His cultural journey through both these experiences – especially with blacks – has helped shape who Jones is today. He says he can relate to others as human beings, regardless of race, because his experiences allow him to get past cultural analysis and realize that other cultures have similar backgrounds.

“Education is a means to change one’s life, buy not (to) take an elitist attitude from the community where you are from,” Jones says. “Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between educational attainment and economic earnings.”

Today, Jones said he was involved with the creation of the ASU Advantage program. It is a guarantee from the university that all expenses will be paid for students who demonstrate that their annual family income is $25,000 or less. Jones says the program will encourage minority students to attend college by eliminating the economic barriers that are disproportionately affecting minority students.

Supporting culturally based student clubs also helps foster a diverse campus, Jones says. They are the driving force to increase awareness of the different cultures, he says, and their events allow students to interact with each other to gain a cultural understanding.

Justin Smith, a student leader of African American Men of ASU, said one the student club’s founding principles is the recruitment, retention and graduation rate of African American students – a principle Jones follows for all minorities.

“He does that everyday with his work in the multicultural student center by working on the retention of minority students on campus,” Smith says.

Smith said that Jones not only assist his organization with campus events, but also helps his organization get things that they are not able to attain such as bringing in a motivational speaker. “He is a beneficial person to my life and many others,” Smith says.

Jones said that he is also involved with early outreach programs that target high schools with a high number of ethnic minorities. Pushing the ASU brand and emphasizing access to the university are used to encourage these students to attend ASU, Jones says.

Jones said that there are two important reasons for having a diverse campus. “For a state institution supported by the constitution, [providing] a free education for residents all the people have to be included,” Jones adds.

The other reason why diversity on campus is important is that individuals exposed to different cultures early on will be able to relate to different viewpoints and cultures when in the decision making process in the future, Jones says.

Jones said the election of an Barack Obama, an African-American, has shaken the status quo and has introduced a “biracial image” to America.

“It has shown the big spotlight on diversity that is America,” he says.

= = =

>>Email the editor at aklaw@zoniereport.com.

AG goes after mobile home park

MESA — Operators for a mobile home park broke housing and civil rights laws when they booted an old couple without taking the wife’s mental disorder into consideration, according to a recent lawsuit.

The complaint from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office claims Mesa Village Mobile Home Park near Main Street and Lindsey Road and two of its previous tenants, Herb and Ella Loy Boyd. The state is suing the park on their behalf.

According to the complaint, the Boyds started renting a unit in the park in May 2001. Ella Boyd has a mental impairment that does not allow her to care for herself.

On March 23, she stopped taking her medication, according to the complaint. When the neighbors placed concrete dividers between their driveway and the Boyds’ driveway, she became angry and complained to the manager. The discussion ended in an argument, with Mesa Police removing Ella Boyd from the premises.

On march 25, the complaint says, she was admitted to a treatment facility for psychiatric evaluation. That day, the mobile home park terminated the couple’s lease because she had been “observd attempting to break into the home of another tenant…[and] threatened the manager with physical harm.”

Doctors determined that Ella Boyd was bipolar, and Herb Boyd used this in court to get the park to drop the case and let them move back in. Lawyers for the state claim negotiations with the park’s lawyers broke down, and that the park refused to make reasonable accomodations for the Boyds.

Thus the lawsuit. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard is suing under the Arizona Fair Housing Act and the Arizona Civil Rights Act. Tucson lawyers Rose A. Daly-Rooney and Cathleen Dooley are representing the state.

Major prison lands in court over discrimination claim

FLORENCE — A former prison guard for one of the largest private prisons in the Southwest is suing his employer for wrongful termination following a fight with an inmate.

Robert McDonald joins other recent plaintiffs who have filed workplace discrimination complaints against Corrections Corporation of America, a Maryland-based company that operates prison facilities in Eloy, Florence and elsewhere under contracts with local and federal agencies.

In his complaint, McDonald states that the company hired him in July 2006. At the time, he notified company officials that he had a disability. The complaint does not disclose any details about his condition.

In November 2006, McDonald claims his supervisor told him that he was a “security threat” because of his disability, the complaint says.

In June 2007, McDonald claims he filed a formal grievance with the company over discriminatory treatment he allegedly received due to absences.

On July 2, 2007, McDonald was assaulted by an inmate while he was on-duty, the complaint states. Two days later, the company terminated him without notice based on a policy violation that arose during the scuffle, according to the complaint.

But the real reason, McDonald claims, was because he was disabled. Other employees who faced similar circumstances and were not disabled were not fired, he claims.

As a result, McDonald filed charges against the company with the Arizona Civil Rights Division in September 2007. The office investigated the matter and found that he had the right to sue.

McDonald claims the company violated his Civil Rights and defamed him by giving two prospective employers, the Gila River Indian Community and the state Department of Corrections, negative information about him during the application process.

Tempe lawyer Tamra Facciola is representing McDonald in Pinal County Superior Court.

= = =

>>Email the editor at aklaw@zoniereport.com.