Editorial:
Badillo Must Go

Herman Badillo's recent statements about Dominicans and Mexicans sound like something from different era, perhaps that of George ("Segregation Forever") Wallace in 1950's Alabama, or English Colonialists discussing India.

Unfortunately, this is 1999 and Badillo is head of CUNY, the largest public university system in the country which is made up of immigrants from all over; many of whom have dark skin and are not native English speakers. Badillo shows that ignorance has not gone out of style.

The Giuliani Administration's silence on the issue and the anemic attempts of both Badillo and CUNY to explain away what he said show that these are not the rantings of
one backward bigot or a plot by a few hard-liners; it is an institutionalized position.
Badillo was the hand picked choice of Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki as CUNY Board Chairman. The silence of the Mayor and Governor on the issue says all we need to know about their position. Badillo is obviously still acting with their approval.

It confirms what some people have been saying for a long time: that the talk about "raising standards" is simply code for turning back the clock and dismantling a system that has been largely successful at educating a generation of working class students of color.

The biggest mistake would be to simply think that this is only a race issue or a Latino issue. The so-called "reforms" of CUNY will hurt working class students of all backgrounds for years to come by gutting programs and permanently cutting enrollment rates. This is not fantasy: it has already happened right here at City College. We've lost several departments and thousands of students since the last round of budget cuts.

Herman Badillo must resign or be removed from the CUNY board immediately, but this will not solve the problem. The fate of CUNY and its students is still in the hands of a government that sees fit to spend more money on jails, police, and the military than to educate, house, and heal its people.

Another problem is the Board of Trustees itself: it is made up largely of executives and career politicians appointed by the Governor and Mayor who have no accountability to students or the public. All students should demand the removal of Herman Badillo, but for real change the protests must not stop there.