22

The Computer

547

c. The authors offef many facts as evidence' d. The authors offer only their personal opinions'
Vocabulary Examine the following list of words and determine their meaninls based on the conlext clues in the selection. Then complete the crossword puzzle by filling in the numbered blanks with the words that Lest fit tie definitions in the numbered list that follows the word list. when you are finished, a word should be formed as you read down thl letters in the boxes. Find the onesentence d-efiniUon of that word in the selection and write it on the blank lines below the puzzle' (Xc)

L.

2. 3.

-tr n
f
5.

-n 6.n
tr

7. 8.

n_
automatic electronic logic
1.
Program store sYmbol predetermined two-state
systems of making conclusions or decisions based on start-

2. thE set of initmctions of allowable operations 3. a sign for something else, not a physical entity 4. set ahead of time 5. running without outside interference 6. existinfin only one of two possible conditions; binary

ing information

il8

George

|.

Brabb and Gerald W' McKean

7.

;:

using electrons within electrical devices or a Program into a computer's memory

tiu"Sinrormation

WRITING PRACTICE **'**-*,***'***!"

' ' 's' #n"*', ?#

l.DescribeinoneparagraphtheehiefcharacteristicsofacomPuter. comp-uters' you have 2. Even if you are not very fumiliar with perhaps with comprobably had some contact with them' records puterizJd checkouts in 1 store' with computerized i., yo,ri.ollege registration Process' ol'*'^l}-"ideo Sames' experiences with nescriue'i'i;;;#il;iely one page yotir Heip.o*prr,i*. r[^'* ,n"y beln interertiog o. confusing? ful or troublesome?

Language for ChimPs

L. Dodge Fernald
Peter FerruU ln this *lutian from a college psyclalogy textbook, the authors describe trup nqp{amois exryr;m"atts' with - chimpanzees, fu* expetiments ilpi i*rrtists uniterstand more about the danlwment of language,

wssage to disi;; *o"v quations still ranain unanswered. Resd this with humans.

/ooi iroio'ih;*ponn , haae lcareed to communicate

Prereading On a separate sheet of paper make a word maP on the subject chimpanzees. [3a(2)l

Previewing the followBefore reading the selection, preview it and answer ing questions: (3c) L. .On the basis of the title, do you think the article will-discuss the success or the failure of chi*punzees in learning language?

2.Thesubheadssuggestthatchimpanzees,exPerienceswith two forms of hnfrage witl be discussed. What are these two forms?

3.

What does the table show?

c4q

550

L. Dodge Fernald and Peter Fernald

4.Whatdoesthelastsectionoftheselectiondiscuss?

abstraet

mirnipulatip;t
mechanism

ven the lowest animals communicate with others of their kind. Many of these communicative acts are essentiall;r reflexive, as when a chirping cricket indylgs others to chirp, and the croaking of a frog initiates this activity in other frogs. These behaviors fbr the most part serve to siSnal dangers, interest in mating, and territorial claims' Xt u *r.h higher level, among primates, research has shown Some communicative acts which are similar to those employed by human beings- Chimpanzees communicate by Uowing, grinning, kissing, touching, and pattin& They also ha.,re alei vocaliignals, such as calls and grunts. The question has been posed, thlerefore, whether the chimpattze-e., orrr closest relative from the standpoint of evolution, biochemical makeup, and neurological development, has the capacity to
acquire language.
Learning a SPoken l,nnguage

some years ago, winthrop and Luella Kellogg decided to study this and othJr questions, rearing a chimpanze-e in a normal human environment. Gua, a seven-and-one-half-month-old fe-

29

Language for

ChimPs

551

their household to be male chimp atrzee, was adopted. into ten-month-old son Donald' treated in the same fashion ui thuit fed in the same way' and The two infants *"t"-J*t'"ed alike' going to ptay ofportunities' tn going t9 tl" q"'I' similar experi"l;;;J"q"al or being toilet tlai;"i, Uotf, had"essJntially bed, affection' them-equal to give ences, and the putu"it ttied hard slightly became th";*p"ti*""t u3{an' Gua inferiorbut Donald's. superior to Donaldi";;i recogniti'on, physical ability. rhe less of o" ir," baJis

"'-;;;it;fd

ilT#,i_;;#ffiiu respond more was *oiu agile and therefore could

chimpanzee the chair'" As time r""Jriy t" s,rch ,equesti as "Get up on on the chimp' and passed, however, lft" tttifa- gained- rapidlv he was significantlv

il f"ri"J "rl"vestigahon ffi'ffi'#; word recognition

airead in

throu'ghout In word ..rug","G'a remained nonverbal some gestures' experiment. Her communications included but nrr

the

t'"i iipq when she wanted apples' illiT;;s;ii"s vocalizitions were sudden barks or cri*s in

words. Her only f" or pain' Donald' on the oiher moments ', stltes "f ""atuimi: through tire normal cooing and babbling r :id ii;;; P;tsed l-lr: words h'is first and, by the end of tlie research' uttered for the dog' a:ir'i lre ;"ji' "Lowwow" ';J;;;;

#;;t"s

used a few not shown

tur,gu"gf^;stery eithei' ^A't'the Unfortunatt:lr" firis still had ,,ot ,rr"d"ioil; combination' researchhadtoU"aitn"U"uedafterninemonths'partl-riL:+and enormous agility o{ Gria cause of the irr.."-urir,g sire"gttr
around the house'

""aas his parents emphasized' he haot other;;;;t. But end of the sii::1", ir:

karning a Sign Language words' as.r'"*i[ es It is possible that Gua',s failure to develop wag due to her timited speech nr*c': ;;:rffiil;"";;-;Jfii.s, as tnutt a dJficit in mental ability' No pri**it' [il;;.i"i

farasweknow,t."'a"*o"stratedcoordinationofmr:luti.ia*rl displayed by a yctine throat mechanismi comparable-to-that the chimpanzee i; capa.iifa r" tp""l"r,g' to find out whether concluded' a iirflarent ble of learning t"*u" f""guage' it was
approach is required' named Wash*e' Foi this p"tpotl another chimpanzee' "r'*s 35 years laic;' Thr-* ,"ur-J""Utlfy'apart from human speechxP9s-ed onli i'r thc wild-born, t*"WI*"o"th-old female was in North Arnerica' gestural tanguage employea by the deaf

552

L. Dodge'Femald and Peter Fernald

called American Sign Language (ASL)''During t]r9 fgur years of this experiment, e3f gestures wele taught-toWashoe b.y any the best methods known to sciand all means availabl[, using -modeling,direct r.na.nipu-laOperant conditioning, 3-ttd. """u. tion of tihe hands *ere use-d, and thus Washoe's training differed markedly from that of Gua years earlier' For exampie, whenever Washoe imitated a sign that was modeled by ine of her experimenters, she wasjmmediately tickled, an' experience she obviously enloy9d.,-Furthermore, when she brought her hands together at the tickled region in a pattern crudely"resembling the ASL sign for-"more," she was hcHed again. ihrough thiJoperant conditioning, an acceptable ilrnore" was established. The sign for'ttree," however' sign for w"as taught to washoe by manipulatin-g her arm, bending it at the elbcil, and making h-er grasp the elbow with her free hand. In these ways, WashoE acquired a larger and Iarger vocabulary, learning at a more rapid rate as -the experiment progressed' Like a iormal child, rather than becoming more confused as more words were added, she seemed to leam them more easily and had a vocabulary of 160 signs at the end of the four-year

experiment. . Mo,u irnportant, Washoe made 294 dif'ferent two-sign cornbinations, ur,d .o*purative studies have shown that 78 percent of these combinations are similar to the earliest two-word combi"uti""r bf children. This finding suggests that four-year-old Washoe, who began training at age one year, !1 beel using ro"t".gl much fie a child approximately 16ta27 month.s old. the Or,"thir"busis, Washoe's attainment is noteworthy, despite ASL' fact that she lags behind a human child' She "speaks'" ;hi"h *uy hurJu slower developmental rate than English, and her teachers were not native signers, which also may have influenced her Progress' After any lingiage user begins using words in combina-

MONTHS OF TRAINING
7
14

OTAL SICNS USED

4
13

27

v
:

!$t

85

rca

23

Language for ChimPs

tions, the next task is that of word order. unfortunately, the for word order has not yet been made available for ""iJ"""" she uses many correct sequences, but she also makes washoe. mistakes, such as signing "Drink you" instead of "You drink"' Despite ih"i. i*poitur,cl, we simply do not know the exact fr"q'.."""i"s of dashoe's appropriite and inappropriate word orJlo orhow they comparL with those of human babies, esPecially deaf children using ASL as a first language' In summary, we cin s"y that Washoe- aPParently has achieved the early stages of human language development' but like her wilt progress remains.to be lrrit o* far she tr otiu.r tbserved. Educated human beings use language in highly ?b-,t-"t and complex ways, far in idvance of Washoe's level of communication, as illustrated in Franklin Roosevelt',s simple vr,artirrre slogan, "All we h-ave to fear is fear itself"' '
Intr aspe ci es Communicat
io

Today perhaps two dozen chirnpanzees similar to washoe are being rlf,ootla in one way or inother. One is acquiring language on a computer that keeps records of all the conversaf,or,I, After six months of training, this chimPanzee was able to "read" word symbols corresponding to those on her keyboard' Another, using ASL, has progressed to the point at which she called a radisi "food" untit it e experienced the bitter taste. with no sign for this flavor, she immediately called it "cry hurt food." Stilianother, acquiring language by-using plastic chips as word-symbols, apparently can resPond correctly to comevln those involving two different compound mands. Suppose that Washoe or one of these other chimpanzees progr"ri", to much further language development. B_etter yet, lrp"poru that two or three chimps do so. What then? Has the ct impanzee achieved our level of communication? Not necessarily. iur,g,rug" learning in chimpanzees will be most impressive not whJn one o, more animali can communicate with hurnan beings through cleverly arranged human -systems, but when they"use lan{uage to cooperate with and'instruct each other. Hence, some young male chimPanzees are being prepared for They are- being taughl -a speci{ied and such an "*p"ri*"rit. of ASL signs. Then, when they numLer intentionatty timitea

="r,t"r,""r,

554

L. Dodge Femald and Peter Femald

know the rudimentsof lhis language well and the time is right, they will be exposed to Washoe. With this start, will the more learned chimpanzee be capable of and interested in tutoring the youngsters in a fuller use of language? If so, only then can we iay that the species, through language, is perhaps headed that is, to a significantly higher towards a cultural evolution it now displays. tr than level of social organization

EXERCISES
Undetstanding What You Have Read L. , The main idea of this selection is that (5b) a. chimps can talk. b. chimpanzees have problems communicating among
themselves.

c. ASL, American Sign Language, is the main language

d. researchers take different approaehes to the question of

whether chimpanzees can learn language-

chimpanzees use to communicate.

2.

When many crickets c}irp together, they may be (6a) a. responding to the arrival of warm weathe.r. b. signaling the mating seasonc. imitating the croaking of frogs. d. searching for water.

3.

Winthrop and Luella Kellogg raiseci Donald and Gua (6a) a. by pay-lng more attention to Gua. b. by pa)nng more attention to Donald. c. by raising Donald as if he were a chimpa-nzee. d. so that tfieir experiences vsere basically alike.
Throughout their training in word recognition (6a) a. Gui was superior to Donald in everythingb. Gua was superior at first, but then Donald pulled ahead of her. c. Donald was superior at all times. d. Donald and Gua developed at iust about the same rate'

4.

5.

In regard to word usage, Gua (5a) a. finally uttered the word da.

Zg

Language for

Chimps

555

b, could not vocalize anything at all. d.

c. remained completely nonverbal.
showed mastery equal to Donald's.

6.

Washoe's training differed frorn Gua's in that Washoe (5a) a. was not'raised along with a human child. b. learned sign language, not words. c. was taught by means of the best-known scientific methods. d. all of the above

7.

An examp le of operant contditioning is (6a) a. manipulating Washoe's hands to make signs. b. modeling a sign for Washoe to copy. c. tickling Washoe after she made an appropriate sign. d. none of the above

8.

At the end of the experiment Washoe (6a) a. had a vocabulary of more than 1.50 words.

b. was becoming more confused

her vocabulary.

as signs were added to

d.

c. was taught speech sounds.

was more advanced than a typical human child of the
:

9.

Comparisons between the order of words Washoe used and the order of words used by human babies (6a) a. are unimportant. b. cannot yet be made. c. are the basis for current language theory. d. influence instruction for deaf children. '
used. to

10. "Cry hurt food" was the sign one chimpanzee

name (5a)

'

a. a plastic chip.

b. a keyboard symbol.
c. a radish

11.

Cultural eoolution means (1c) a. moving geographically into a diffErent culture. b. advancing to a higher social plane or level.

556

L. Dodge Fetnald and Peter Fernald

c. using language aPProPriatelY' d. learning tb communicate in any manner'

InterPreting and Evaluating surrounding pigeons 1. If the cooing of one pigeon induced would probably (8) to coo, tnis comil''iitltio" a. be a refleive act' to each other' b. prove th"t ;;;;; of birds talk sensibly c. te unimPortant' ;. ;; ; higf't form of language interaction' b.:l]:"u that Roosevelt's We may conclude that the authors itself" (10) fear slosan "All we have to fear is ;. ;;;" important political statement-' sign tliai iesearchers will try to teach in u. i, "^r,riJ*"nt to chimPs' language c. is a"coirPlicated remark" ;. it ; ;#;ote statement to understand'
3.

sornething very badlY' We maY infer that, if Gua wanted she might (8) , a. bark. b. cry. ,nolre her mouth' ". all of the above d.

4.

we maY safely conclude From the experiment with Gua' (10i a human chiid will that. after ninu *oiir";;;hi;P;"d a. cornmunicate reasonably well together' b. be cooing and babbling' c. not show command over language' d. be enormouslY agile' in this article that' if the 5. We can predict frorn the information experiment beyond nine Kelloggs nua to"ti"ued the have been (10) months, C'u **iJfrobably with Donald' ;:-;i;i" communicate-only life' b. too tung. u"J uctive for indoor family c. using iords in combination' d. utteing words like da andfuwwow'

6.

be related to her uncoorThat Gua's inability to spealc may

23 l.anguage for,ChimPs
(12b)

557

dinated voice organs rnore than to her mental abilities is

a. only an opinion of the authors'

b. a proven d.
7.

c.

fact. still being investigated. none of the above

has The generalization "No primate, as-Jar as we know' dem5nstrated coordinatibn of rnouth and throat mechar,itit "o^parable to that displayed by a young child in speaking" is (11, 12) ui. ,rpp"otted by evidence presented in this selection' b. hearsay .. p;"U"dfy based on the authors'knowledge of theit'field' Lven thbugh they offer no er'idence to support d. none of the above

8.

We may conclude that, compared with Washoe's' Gua's training (10) *"r"rrot so scientific. ". b. was performed entirely apart from human speech' c. was suPerior. d. was abnormal.
The authors conclude that four-year-old Washoe lags behind a human child of the same age because (10)

9.

b. she uses language like a two-year-old child. d.

10.

c. she combines words with great difficulty.

none of the above

We may conclude that22percent of the two-sign combinations Washoe makes (10) a. are similar to a child's early two-word combinations' b. are not like a child's early two-word combinations' c. have not been studied comparatively' ' d. are related to inferior instruction.

'. '

11.

From the table on Page 552, we may infer that the longer Washoe was trained, (4d, 8)

5s8

L. Dodge Femald and Peter Fernald

a. the less she learned.

b. the more
c.

d.
12.

she wanted to leam. the more two-word combinations she made. the more she learned.

The authors do not explain why Washoe gives the sign for "Drink you" instead of the sign for "You drink," because (8)

b. they expect readers to figure this out for themselves. d.

ment. none of the above

a. they do not know.

c. they are not interested in that aspect of her develop-

13. If chimps learned to communicate with humans, the authors of this selection (8,12, a. would be unimPressed. b. would be less impressed than if the chimps taught each other. c. would be more impressed than if the chimps taught each other. d. would speak to them in American Sign Language.

L4. In general, the most difficult thing to teach chimpanzees about language is probably the ability to (11) a. communicate among themselves' b. cc,mmunicate with h-umans. c. speak in sign language. d. tutor their young in eommunication skills.
Vocabulary Try to determine the meanings of the following wl1ds frorn the seiection. (Use a dictionary where necessary.) Then do the crossword puzzle, filling in the words that best suit the meanings given. You may have to add new endings to the words in orleito rnake them fit the sPaces in the puzzle. (1c,21

acquire agile capacity complex deficit

induce lag primate reflexive

species

23 Language for Chimps

559

Across
1.

5.

6.
8. 9.

related to an involuntary action able to move quickly and easily a category of classification an order of animals including monkeys, apes, and humans shortage

2.
3.

4.
5. 7.

Doun fall behind complicated pelsuaded gains possession of ability to receive, hold, or absorb

The following words from the selection all have smaller parts that you can recognize. From the word part clues, try to determine.the meanin-gs. write them on the blank lines. iheck your definitions in a dictionary. (1d)
10. biochemical

550

L. Dodge Fernald and Peter Fernald

11. nonverbal

12. vocalization

13. gestural

14. attainment

WRITING PRACTICI

1. In.a paragraph

2.

contrast Washoe's accomplishmgnls in lanand explain the reasons for the differences. guagl to Gua's Basea on the evidenee presented in this selection and any other inforrnation you may have read, do you think animals are capable of thinking the way humans do? Write a Para' graph-to explain your point of view.

Minority Student
Richard Rodriguez Duinghiscollegeyearsthewriterfounitthathisfamilybackground to see lnw meant"he would"reiiae special trentment. Read this selection
about receiuing that special treatment ume about and how the writer felt

it.

Prereading L:i'.* Before you read thiS selection, do freewriting on what it'r" to be a minority student in college' Use separate paper' [3;:"iii

Skimming Before reading the selection, skiryr it to answer the follor.,';,

questions: (3b)
school?

1. Where did Richard

Rodriguez 8o to college and grac:

: ,:

2.Whenwashefirstidentifiedasaminoritystudent?

3.

When was he invited to teach at a community collegr:?

562

Richaid Rodriguez

4.WhatwasthesubjectofthearticleshepublishedinT9TS?

contingent

ii;;,

in flct, is oPPosed to bY law

and seeking fav-or

grouP

flattering fanming "th",U,S-

Dipartment of-Heakh' Iducation' and ftw "H't frifrfd; *'dio *ut in charge 9f197Os {fmative action
1950s and fi,bg4*s during theplacement iuxtapositio; side-bv-side for people from the United

'tl"-hnoo, Mexican'term --o

prompt cause extremelY
los

pobrcs

Spanish term for poor people

:

States; white PeoPIe

' radicallY rhetoricallY for effect onlY surname last or familY narrre

tally

count

unfounded without

basis; wrong

in college inoriW student- that was the label I bore at Columbia school ;;;;J;;J, it "" in graduate and and Berkeley: a ,o,,ihit" reader of Spenser Milton and Austen. for access to In the late 1960s nonwhite Americans clamored beneficiary of the higher education, ,"a f becarne a principal action' My academy's ,"rpor,t", its pr-ograms of affirmative .fatiy the camPus Pre.:s,office in its Dresence was noted pro'' "utn of iirpu"ic-American students enrolled;'rtry

Ir""i'ilffy

24 "Minority

Student

563

Rewarded. Advanced for belonging to a racial grouP "underrepresented,, in American institutional life. when Isought admission to graduate schools, when I applied for fellowships ulra r,.,lr,rr,ei study grants, when I needed a teaching assistantspace indir"r; *y Spu"ith sirname or the dark rnark in the whatgot.mg tiy iu." - "check ens" - nearly always ""Aig urt"a for. When the time ame for me to look for a "r"r'i college teaching job (the end g! my years as a scholarship boy), poi"iU"t emplJyers came looking for me - a minority student. ' Fittingly, it iatts to me, as someone who so awkwardly carried the iibel, to question it now, its iuxtaposition of-terms minority, student.-For me there is no way !9 tly it with grace' I *y it ,lin". with irony sharpened by self-pity. I say it with u.g"t. tt is a term- that should never have been foisted on me. One I was wrong to accePtIn college o.,6 d"y a professor of English returned my term paper witli this commlnt -P-enciled'just under.the .grade: i,lriayb" the reason you feel Dickens's sense of alienation so a minority student." Minority stuacutely is because yo,, "re dent.I'twas the firsftime I had seen the expression; I remember .u"rir,n that it somehow referred to my race. Never before had u tu^.h"", suggested that my academic performance was linked io *y racial"i"dentity. Aftei class I reread the remark- several times. Around me other students were talking and leaving. The professor remained itT. front of the room, collecting his prp"it and books. I was about to go YP and question.his.note' b,it t aiar,'t. I let the comment pass; thus became implicated in the strange reform movement that followed' The y"ear was|967.,A,nd what I did not rea|ize was that my life wouid be radically changed by deceptively distant events. hn1967, their campaign against southern segregation laws successful at last, black civil rights leaders were turning their attention to the North, a No*hlhey no longer saw in contrast to the so"tn. what they realized was that althou8l "g official restriciions denied bhcks access to northern institutions of adand power, for most blacks this freedom was only "u"."*""t theoretical. (The'obstacle was "institutional racism.") Activists made their case against institutions of higher education. Schools like Wisconiin and Princeton long'had been open to blacks. But the tiny number of nonwhite.students and faculty *umbu.s at such ichools suggested that there was more than

ress was followed by HEWstatisticians. One of the lucky ones.

564

Richard Rodriguez

and secondary scho66ng blacks received was usually poor, few qualified for admission. Many were so culturally alienated that tihuy rrur". thought to apply; they couldn't imagine themselves going to college. I-think-is I thought in1967 - that the black civil rights, leaders were coEect: Higher education was not, nor is it yet, accessible to many blaci Americans. I think now, however, that the activists iragically limited the impact of their movement with the reforms they proposed. Seeing the problem solely in racial terms (as a case ol de facto segregation), they presiured,universities and colleges to admit more black students and hire more black faculty members. There were demands for financial aid Programs. And tutoring help' And more aggressive student ricmitment. But this was all. The aim was to-L-ntegtate higher education in the North. So no one seemed troubled by the fact that those who were in the best position to benefit from such reforms were those blacks least ilctimized by racism or anypther social oppression - those culturally, if not always economicalY, of the middle class' The iead established, other civil rights SrouPS followed' Soon Hispanic-American activists began to compllnthat there were too'few Hispanics in colleges. They concluded that this was the result of racisrn- The)'sffered racial solutions' They demanded that Hispanic-American professors be hired. And that students with Spanish surnames be admitted in greater numbers to colleges. Shortly after, I was "recogllized" on calrrpus: an Hispanic-American, a "Latiaa," a Mexican-American, a i'Chicano."^ No longer would people ask me, as I had been asked betore, if I were a foreign student. (From India? Peru?) AII of a sudden everyone seemed to know - as the professor of that I was a minority student' English had known - rewarded minority student' For campus li be"um" a highly officials came firit to students like me with their numerous offers of aid. .And why not? Administrators met their angriest critics, demandsbypromoting any plausible Hispanic on hand. They were able, moreover, to use the presense of conventionally-qualified nonwhite students like me to Prove that they were meeting the goals of their critics. In 1968, Ihe asiassination oJ Dr- Martin Luther King,Ir-" prompted many academic officials to commit themselves pub-

the issue of access to consider. Most blacks simply couldn't afford tuition for higher education. And, because the primary

24

Minority Student

555

liclytothegoalofintegratingtheirinstitutions'o-neaayl *"l"n"a theiationally tievisel fune_ral; a week later I received

There were oPPori."i[,i"* to teach ai comm,rr,ity colleges. contingents of with to travel to foreign countries ilil to, the financial aid

:,minority group scholars.i And I went officeoncamPusandwashandedspecialformsforminority I? thelady stoa"nt applicints. I was a minority student' wasn't I said',CareY9s' behind the counter asked me rhetoricall-'

[rd#4.

Lcompleted the application.

wT

later awarded.

a larlv used,'Jtid d"r.ribe me. In the sixties, minority-became was it but Amerilansfor socially disadvantaged ;;;r* nr*"ri.il designation. The word referred.to entire u ;'fi#il those nurnerically .underI;;;;;a ;ationalities of Americans, u'ithout contradiction, (Thus, life. ieoresented in institutional And who were they groups'") ;;'";;;iJ speat of "minority minorities. obviously_were u*u.tiyu Bh&s _ all blacks - most some And Indians' and Hispanic-Amqricans' And American elaborate sur;ih;.;.-ift was left to federal statisticians, using lr"1r, u.,a charts, to deterrhine which others precisely') I was a minoritY.

the first several years, I accepted the label' movement supI certainly supported the racial civil.rights tht soif of broadening access to higher education. But to a gov"".t"a if,"i" *"t a'problem: One day I listened approvinglyday I realtherngxt action; offiiciat defend affirmative the student minority the "r"*""a ir"a ini U"""fits of the program. I was Ag;tinst rallies' ;"lt,i".l u*i"irtr shouted ibout at noon-time Ktlo.wing: I was Ii;il;ta.rtc, I stood out in relief, unrelieved.

iULiI"Ji,.-fo'r

notreallymoresocially{isadvantagedthanthewhitegraduate not disadvantaged like ,i"a""iJi" my classei. Knwsing:-I waswho were entering colmanv of the new nonwhite stidents

early schooling' i"."1 f".Li"g good *" "ti*ty-t i.,". lg7o' l9TL Slowly' slowly' the term Ni;;;; me of minirity became . ,o,""" of unease' It would remind

years when I had felt myself alienated from oublic (maiority) society - los gringos' Minori$' Minorities' ln tttinoriti nroupt'. The terms sounded in public to remind me in a cultural sen99 a minorahe truth: I was not - rike los wb*: I "i""a"'"? from public life..(Not P1was "-ncounsumtruth tered during my recent laboring zuryme.r') The a called myself marized in ihe ierrse of irony I d feel at hearing

lhr;;;.yhood

it;;;"1i";

566

Richard Rodriguez

minority student: TXre reason I was no longer a minority was because I had become a student' Minority student! In conv"ersations with faculty members I began to worry the A dean issue, only to be told that my unease was unfounded' able to said ire #as certain thlt {t6r I graduated I would be work among "my people." A-seniot faculty member expressed in confidenie that, though I was unrePresentatlve ot lowermy ;il;Hirranics, I would i*" as a role model for others of be a would *.". a"tther faculty member was sure that I (He assumed valued counselor to incoming minority students. for comc?Pacity a thui,tbucuuse of my race,l retained .sf-ecfl aeademic heard also I *r"i.utirrg with nonwhite students.)

p.*"'r, we would
of our race.)

rorm a lead;lfit;[ ,u] tnut rninority students would somedaypositions of ' ;;;htt-d;s in Ameriia. (From our probable.beirefit others
be able to lobby for refortns to

ulro invitationls to address conferences of college administrators or government officials. My esiys served as rny "authority" !o spelf at the Marriott Something or the Shlraton Somewhere. To stand at a ballroom podirim and hear my surprised echo sound frorn a *io"pr,ri.,e. I spoke. I started getting angry letters from activists. One wrote to say that I waibecoming th_e gtingo{ fawning gut. wr,ut "thet'' want all Hispanics to.be. I remembered the iemark when I wur introduced to an all-white audienee and n rij ifr"ir applause so foud. I remernbered the rernark when I stood in a university auditorium and saw an audience of brown and black faces watching me. I publicly wondered whether a person like me should really be termed a minority. But some

in which I of my culture said that I had been educated away from the mother and father.lnl974I published an essay admitting unor", becoming the beneficiary of aflirmative action. There more "ur" was another article"against affirmative action in1977. One qonsistent alidgl; soon after. et UuresII proposed contrary disadsocially ;"y" *"r tfr" admission thit I was no longer_like ,"ritug"a Hispanic-Americans. But this admission, made in national"maguritus, only broughtme a gt:?tu.t d:gt:: o.f sttccess' A pubiishtd mincritlstudent, I ryon a kind of celebrity. l. tt y *uil *"r" admiring ietters from right-wing polilicians'- There

ln

1973

t wrote and had pubtrished two

essays

*"re

24

Minority

Student

%7

members of the audience thought I was denying racial pride, trying somehow to deny my racial identity. They rose- to prot"rt. bn" Mexican-American said I was a minority whether I wanted to be or not. And he said that the reason I was a beneficiary of affirmative action was simple: I was a Chicano. (Wasn't ti1 lt was only an issue of race. n

EXERCISES
Understanding What You Have Read 1. The main idea of this passage is that the author (5b) a. benefited greatly from the label minority student. b. feels alienated from most Hispanic-Americans' c. is unhappy with the label minority student. d. has had a successful and important life.

2.

This main idea is stated directly (5b) a. in the opening ParagraPh. b. in the second ParagraPh c. in the third ParagraPh. d. nowhere, but implied thioughout.
The label minority student helped Richard Rodriguez get (6a) a. into college. b. a good ea"rlY education. c. inio graduate school. d. a job-counseling tlispanic-Americans.

3.

.
4.

following events in time order by placing a 1 next to the earliest event, a 2 next to the event that happened second, and so on. (7a)
Place the

a. Richard Rodriguez was given scholarship and travel offers.

b. The writer Save sPeeches and gained some celebrity'

c. Dr. Martin Luther King, ]r., was assasiinated'

d. Black civil-rights

leaders won legal battles in the south.

368

Richard Rodriguez

e. Rodriguez became uneasy with the term minority student.

f.

Hispanic-American activists complained about the lack of HisPanics in college' tion.

g. Rodriguez wrote several articles attacking affirmative ac-

h. Civil-rights

leaders looked at

de facto

segregation in the

.
i.

north.
Rodriguez was attacked by activists'
'

5.

The author first became implicated in the reform movement of affirmative action when he (5a) a. accepted a scholarshiP. b. spolie out against the PolicY' c. entered college. d. quietly accepted a comment on an English PaPer'

6.

Put a checkmark next to the causes the author gives for the low black enrollment at legal$ integrated northern colleges. (7e)

a. Black students did not qualify because of poor education.

b. Black students left after meeting preiudice'

c. Black students preferred all-black colleges'

d. Black students could not afford college'

e. Black students never thought to apply'

f. white

admissions officers quietly discarded the applications of black students.

7.

(5a) Richard ltodriguez was highly rewarded because a. administrafors needed to answer critics'

24 Minority Student
tas.

569

b- government statisticians had estabrished minority quoc- he was a conventionaily quarified student but had
Spanish sumame. alt of the above in combination
a

d.

8-

Ff]ed *j!"li?,fo-$riguez was attacked by Hispanic activ_ ists for all of the following reasons,excepti6a) ' a. denying racial pride. b. being ungrateful for the benefits he received. c. becoming white people,s ideal Hispanic. d. lyr.g to himself.
Interpreting and Evaluating 1. From various clues scittered throughout the seiection we can infer that the writer grew up (5) poor and disadvantaged. _a. b. in d wealthy part of Mexico. 9. in a poor Mexican village. d. in a middle-class Mexicin-American home.

As a result of questioning whether he shourd have been

2- we can infer that the Engrish professor

who wrote the comment on the author,s term paper {g) a. considered Richard Rodriguez-the same as the other sfudents. b. placed Rodriguez in a special category. c. did not like Rodriguez. d. yur :o".r:i9"rly trying to discriminate against the au_ thor by telling him he did not think like ivhite people.

3.

we can infer that the author did not say anything to that English professor because (g) a. he knew he would behefit from the label. b. he was uncertain of the label,s meaning. was frightened of the professor. :. he l" took d. a privately ironicittitude.
We infer that Rodriguez wrote, ,,The reason I was no longer a minority wai because I was a student,,, b".rrru

4.

(8)

a. he thought minority culture and student culfure were two separate groups.

570

Richard Rodriguez

b. he was getting
roots.

too proud and was Iooking down on his

c. he thought he could get a better job by hiding his

minority background. d. he wished to avoid responsibilities to his people.

5.

'-:

, r

We can infer from the tone of his presentation of the conversations he had with faculty members in the paragraph beginning, "In conversations with fagulty members . - -" (paragraph 15) that the author (8,1,2d} a. looked forward to becoming a role model for other Hispanics. b. was finally satisfied with his identity. c. thought the faculty members did not understand his unease. d- thought the faculty mEmbers were deliberately tryrng to mislead him.

6. It is Richard Rodriguez's

ppinion that black leaders were correct in believing that (12a) a. blacks did not have equal access to higher education. b. the segregation problem was racial. c" they- needed to pressure for more black students and faculty. d. rninorities must stick together to fight the white establishment.

7.

We can conclude from this selection that Rodriguez feels that affirmative action programs (10) a. have helped all Hispanics. b. have aehieved the govemmenfs goals. c. create role rnodels for other minority students. d. have primarily benefited middle-class students.
We can conclude that Richard Rodriguez would now most

",.

::,_-

8.

a. a minority student.

b.

a student and a teacher.

c. a Mexican-American.

d. a political

activist.

24 Minority Student
9.

57't,

On the basis of information presented in this selection, tve can predict that the author would support (10) a. continuation of affirmative action Programs. b. a total end to all attempts to end segregation. c. special programs only for disadvantaged students. d. hiring and admissions quotas. From this selection we can generalize that (11) a. affirmative action Programs have only hurt people. b. well-meaning faculty members usually confuse their students. c. labeling people can create unfortunate social Pressures. d. government programs always do exactly what they were designed to do. We can further generalize that (11) a. people sometirfres feel more in common outside their own ethnic SouP.
Urings.

10.

11.

with

tli*se

c. people do not always appreciate all the good thal i'-.

d. only by identitying with ethnic causes can peoplr: ir;'*

b. resigned and straightforward. c. hateful and destructive. d. hopeful and Positive.

a. to mike

tr"P;*,y rot the:author. . I ' ',- ,o "t];;l b. to argue for the end of all programs helping blacL ard.,,: ,,, ', Hispanic students. ..,.,:i ,. :i c. to deny that some minority people are disadvanli eri. r' t'-t'i d. to ma(e us think about whit ftippens when we -,.:ei
,
'

people as minoritY

Next to each phrase from the selection in Column A writ'. lhe letter of the meaning from Column Ii that best matche:-' iiie

572

Richard Rodriguez

use context clues. (1c)

word in italics. You may wish to refer back to the selection to

Column A became implicated
deceptiaely

1.

in the strange reform movement

2. 3.

distant events

no official restrictions
denied blacks
access

4.
5. 6.
7.

activists tragically limited,the impact

principal beneftciary of the academlz,s response principal beneficiary of the academy,s response
morc aggressioe sfudent recruitment least aictimized by racism
any plausible

8.
9.
10.
11.

Hispanic on hand

conttentionally quaLified nonwhite students

unreTtresentetiae

' . 12.

of lower-class Hispanics
statisticians

13. followed by HEW 74. proposed

contrary ideas

15. won a kind of celebrity

1.6. essays served as my authoity
Column B a. fame

f i I

b. rules againsf limitations

c. in the ordinary way d. not typica| different from e. involved

'

.E

I U

24

Minority

Student

573

f.

opposite

i. person who receives benefits i. all colleges and universities k. unfortunately l. people who keep track of numbers
m. bold; active

g. hurt h. ability or right to enter

n. proof of expertise o. misleadi^gly p. seemingly acceptable or likely

TVRITING PRACTICE

1.

2.

Surnmarize in a paragraph Richard Rodriguez's reasons for feeling uhcomfortable with the label minority and for not identifying strongly with most other Hispanic-Americans. Narate in a paragraph a time during which you felt uncomfortable with a label other people gave to you.