Morning NewsTaco
Thursday August 23, 2012
The Myth Of The Latino Vote (The Atlantic): Bruce Merrill, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University who has worked as an Arizona pollster for four decades, is skeptical that the Latino “sleeping giant” will wake anytime soon. While Latinos make up about a third of Arizona’s population, they routinely cast little more than a tenth of the total votes in statewide elections.
Hispanic groups aim to be heard by party leaders (McClatchy /Brandenton Herald): A coalition of Hispanic advocacy groups on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious policy agenda, which it intends to deliver to party leaders in Tampa and Charlotte, N.C., during the national political conventions.
#VoiceYourVote: New Milestone as Latinos Become Largest Minority in College (Politics 365): A new report from the Pew Hispanic Center was released yesterday showing that Latinos are on an upward trajectory for college enrollment. 2011 was the first year that Latinos enrolled in college between the age of 18 and 24 was over 2 million and that the ethnic group constituted 16.5% of all college enrollments. This is the first time that the nation’s largest minority group is now the largest minority on American college campuses.
College-Bound Latino Students At New High (NPR): More Latino students are enrolling in college now than ever before, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center. But Latinos still lag behind other groups in preparing for and completing college. Guest host Viviana Hurtado discusses the report’s findings with Richard Fry of the Pew Hispanic Center and the College Board’s Jim Montoya.
ACT Finds Most Students Still Not Ready for College (Education Week): Student performance on the ACT essentially held steady this year, with slight improvement shown in the math and science parts of the college-entrance exam. Still, 60 percent of the class of 2012 that took the test failed to meet benchmarks in two of the four subjects tested, putting them in jeopardy of failing in their pursuit of a college degree and careers.
Two separate reports reveal the odds stacked against Latino students achieving academic success (Latina Lista): The 2012-2013 school year is barely underway and two separate and disturbing analyses of the nation’s public education system released today underscore that the continuing challenge facing students of color in their quest for academic success lies outside student control.
Large health gaps found among black, Latino, and white fifth-graders (Medical Express): Substantial racial and ethnic disparities were found for a broad set of harmful health-related issues in a new study of 5th graders from various regions of the U.S. conducted by Boston Children’s Hospital and a consortium of research institutions. Black and Latino children were more likely than white children to report everything from witnessing violence to engaging in less exercise to riding in cars without wearing seatbelts.
Claim: Latino discrimination in Jefferson schools (Education Week): Jefferson Parish public schools discriminate against Latino students by letting employees harass students about their citizenship and by failing to provide translators for parents who speak little English, the Southern Poverty Law Center says in a federal civil rights complaint.
Hispanics Claim: Latino discrimination in Jefferson schools (Associated Press/Fox8Live): The Southern Poverty Law Center says Jefferson Parish public schools discriminate against Latino students by letting employees harass students about their citizenship and by failing to provide translators for parents who speak little English.
Alabama Public Schools Can’t Check Immigration Status of Students, Court Rules (Fox News Latino): A part of Alabama’s immigration law that ordered public schools to check the citizenship status of new students was ruled unconstitutional Monday by a federal court, but the controversial “show me your papers” provision was upheld.
‘A Lot Is At Stake’: Voting Rights Advocates Gear Up For Huge 2012 Battle (TPM): Two blocks from the White House, in a conference room on the fourth floor of a nondescript office building, voting rights advocates are fighting on the front line of the voting wars. Welcome to the headquarters of Election Protection, a program run by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and a multitude of civil rights organizations that seeks to combat the wave of restrictive voting laws that have swept state legislatures in the past few years.
Connecticut Paper Uses Google Translate for Spanish Section (Fox News Latino): The growing Hispanic population in the U.S. has led many news organizations to recognize the increasing need for Spanish-language media in the country. Many media outlets – including this one – now have dedicated Spanish-language sections to appeal to the U.S.’s burgeoning Latino population. One newspaper in Connecticut took a bit of a shortcut when putting together their own “Español” section.
Republican target: 38 percent of Latinos, but new GOP immigration platform an issue, say experts (NBC Latino): Romney advisers have hit on a target goal of 38 percent of the Latino vote in order to win the White House this November, according to a report today in The Hill. José Fuentes, a former attorney general of Puerto Rico who is one of three co-chairmen of the Juntos Con Romney leadership team, said to The Hill their goal is to do better than 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who got 31 percent of the Latino vote. At the upcoming Republican National Convention in Tampa, the GOP is giving Latinos a visible role in the high-profile event, having Puerto Rico First Lady Luce Vela Fortuño introduce Ann Romney, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio introduce Governor Mitt Romney the last night of the convention, when he formally accepts the presidential nomination.
Poll: Obama Earns High Approval Ratings From Latinos (TPM): The poll shows Obama leading Romney among registered Latino voters nationwide, 63 percent to 28 percent. Obama earns high marks from Latino voters for his job handling the economy and foreign policy, with approval ratings of 59 percent and 58 percent on each respective issue. Sixty-two percent of Latino voters approve of Obama’s job performance overall, compared with only 32 percent who disapprove.
Obama leads big with Latinos, but enthusiasm still lags (NBC News): President Barack Obama continues to lead presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney by wide margins with Latinos, according to the latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal-Telemundo poll. Hispanics, the largest-growing segment of the U.S. population over the past decade, said they preferred Obama over Romney in the presidential race, 63 to 28 percent.
Paul Ryan’s ideas can resonate with Latinas (Voxxi): Paul Ryan’s reputation among women has incited contested statements on whether he’s heading a conservative “war on women,” but some question whether his stances on abortion are secondary to getting the economy on track.
