“Is this the District it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago?” I suppose one can make a case for both no and yes. The potato farms are gone. We have properly paved streets and sidewalks (except if you live in Jamaica Square), and the trolley no longer travels along Hempstead Turnpike. It seems while Elmont’s physical infrastructure has changed, its social fabric remains the same.
I reckon that Elmont is more like it was 20, 30 even 40 years ago than you care to recall. Elmont has been and continues to be a community of hopeful immigrants from around the world. Our geography dictates that - not much else. Elmont is a place where ethnic and ideological differences drive the public discussion (all-be-it in a hush-hush way). In Elmont World War II veterans and people of the Jewish faith are neighbors to German immigrants. Language differences - what’s new about that? English, German, Italian, Hebrew, Yiddish and several Slavic and other Western European languages have coexisted in Elmont for as long as one can remember.
I reckon that Elmont is more like it was 20, 30 even 40 years ago than you care to recall. Elmont has been and continues to be a community of hopeful immigrants from around the world. Our geography dictates that - not much else. Elmont is a place where ethnic and ideological differences drive the public discussion (all-be-it in a hush-hush way). In Elmont World War II veterans and people of the Jewish faith are neighbors to German immigrants. Language differences - what’s new about that? English, German, Italian, Hebrew, Yiddish and several Slavic and other Western European languages have coexisted in Elmont for as long as one can remember.
It appears that diversity is not new to Elmont and not as debilitating as Mrs. Ferrigno suggests in her December 6, 2002 letter to the Elmont Herald editor. She says “students [are] arriving from other countries, not speaking the language and sometimes with very little to no formal education.” Surely, she did not forget the diversity of the European immigrant population that fled war, famine, genocide and other atrocities during the first half of the 20th Century? Many such immigrants made Elmont their home.
What is new, and at issue, are the continents and countries of origin of the new immigrant - principally, the new immigrants’ “look and feel.” A Lott of today’s diversity babble is political correctness for the American “race and class” dilemma. Right here in Elmont, some 40 years after Civil Rights Legislation, I am often the only “One” in the room. Perhaps a meaningful “Bridge Program”is in order.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew he would die because of his beliefs. His “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” [full text] speech at Mason Temple in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968 clearly supports this theory. Respect for his work and real appreciation of his core values prevent me from accepting the mere appearance of what he willingly sacrificed his life to achieve.
Mrs. Ferrigno influences public opinion. For every “One” allowed in, public policy and letters to editors from influential citizens harm many more. Our High School District does not need another apologist. Our High School District needs to do right by our two schools. In 2002 almost 50% of Sewanhaka High School graduates and 34% of Elmont Memorial graduates did not achieve the standard required for a Regents diploma.
Let us band together and remedy these inequities. Let us raise our voices in unison to repair the Sewanhaka High School gymnasium, auditorium, roof and grounds. Elmont Memorial High School needs a modernized, larger Guidance Office Suite. Let’s put our heads together on these issues and apply the necessary pressure to see that they equitably service all of Elmonts’ children.
Elmonts’ junior / high school children and tax payers do not need excuses, and we do not need empty rhetoric about blue ribbons, purple hearts, green clovers and blah-blah-blah of excellence. We need honest results.
Aubrey Phillips
A Naturalized Citizen
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