DENVER
In perhaps the first event of its kind, educators and
researchers from the University of Colorado-Denver’s Latino/a Research
and Policy Center held a symposium on legislation, research, and its
impact on the Latino community. The symposium was held in early January
at the State Capitol on the opening day of the 1998 state legislative
session.
The gathering was designed to give Latino legislators an
opportunity to update researchers on their legislative priorities. In
effect, it was intended to synchronize the center’s research with the
legislators’ political agenda in a state where at least 13 percent of
the population is Latino.
In explaining the rationale for the symposium, Mike Cortes,
co-director of both the event and the center (along with Estevan
Flores), recently wrote that the goal of academicians is the pursuit of
truth and applying their research to die complex political problems of
our times.
“Sometimes, [however), the truth-seeking business makes us look
politically irrelevant. Politicians and voters often ignore our work,
even when it has implications for public policy, especially if our
findings are politically inconvenient,” he said.
As an example, Cortes cited the abundance of research that shows
that bilingual programs — when properly run — improve student
achievement; that immigration is not the primary cause of Latinos’
rapid population growth; and that discrimination against people of
color is still rampant. Despite this, he argued, there is a growing
hostility toward bilingual education, immigration, and affirmative
action.
Researchers fail to influence public policy, according to Cortes,
because too often they fail to ask the right questions. Researchers
must use their intellectual freedom and autonomy more strategically.
