This is an archive of a past election.
See http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/scl/ for current information.
Santa Clara County, CA March 5, 2002 Election
Smart Voter

Another published article reflecting a general philosophy

By Mark A. Zappa

Candidate for Republican Party County Central Committee; Supervisorial District 1

This information is provided by the candidate
This article published in the Gilroy Dispatch reflect my feeling regarding unfair race based school admissions policies.
Friday, May 18, 2001

Mark Zappa

Mark Derry, Editor The Dispatch

Dear Editor,

I am amazed it took so long for someone to sue the Gilroy Unified School District over its admissions policy. Unfortunately, this impending lawsuit completely misses the real injustice of the system which is in fact, racial profiling.
When we moved to Gilroy 12 years ago, my daughter was approaching Kindergarten age. I was glad we had moved within a few of blocks of Rod Kelley School. I had heard it was a great school with Gene Sakahara as its principal.
As fall approached, we learned that in Gilroy, living near a school did not necessarily mean your child would be admitted. I learned that race was the primary criteria for "balancing" student population. This really upset me as I object to racial profiling for any reason whether it is used for traffic stops, employment or school admissions.
I learned I would have to go to the multi-purpose room at Rod Kelley School and take a number. Wait, it gets even more bizarre. I then had to stay all night at the slumber party from hell. I noticed that almost all the interned parents were non-Hispanic. I inquired of district personnel as to why there were so few Hispanics at the sleepover. I was amazed at their candor. They said students of Hispanic decent were given priority because of their minority status. I then asked why there were two families of African-American decent sleeping over. I was informed that only Hispanics were a recognized minority in Gilroy. I took great exception to this notion as I observed far more Hispanic residents in Gilroy than I had African-Americans, Asians, Eskimos, Pacific Islanders or Native Americans. All district p ersonnel could do was shrug their collective shoulders.
After laying awake all night, morning mercifully came. I noticed a trickle of new faces appearing at the admissions desk. These faces included a friend of ours in which one of the parents is Hispanic. Our friend's daughter was immediately placed in front of all the poor slobs who slept over. Is this racist or what! Where was the ACLU! This was insanity. Anyway, the rolls quickly filled and most of those who slept over were expelled to attend other schools, which were not within walking distance of their homes, myself included.
I did learn something valuable from the district personnel, which will greatly assist parents in counteracting this great injustice without filing a lawsuit. When you fill out the admissions application, just list your child's ethnicity as Hispanic. I was told that the district is forbidden by law from disputing any persons claimed ethnicity. This means that if you were clearly Caucasian, you could walk up to the admissions desk and claim to be African-American and they couldn't do a thing about it. Therefore, if everyone claimed to be Hispanic, it would render moot the gross injustice that has been inflicted upon the citizens of Gilroy for far too long. Don't let the Gilroy Unified School District use your child as a pawn in their game of racial chess. It is time for the government to stop social engineering at all levels. Only then will we truly be treated equally as human beings.

Mark Zappa Gilroy

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
March 2002 Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter


ca/scl Created from information supplied by the candidate: February 17, 2002 23:50
Smart Voter 2000 <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © 2000 League of Women Voters of California Education Fund.
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.