Several students gathered last night at a debate sponsored by the Asian Students' Association to discuss making English the official language of the United States.
Despite original plans for the panel to contain representatives from Diya-the South Asian Association-the Black Student Alliance, Mi Gente, The Duke Review, College Republicans and Duke Democrats, only three panelists actually participated in the discussion. Trinity sophomore David Patel represented Duke Democrats; Trinity junior Jeff Kessler represented the Duke Review and Trinity junior Michael Bowling, president of the College Republicans, spoke for his organization.
Trinity sophomore and debate moderator Cindy Chen opened the forum by writing on the board, "Resolved: English should be the official language of the United States," and asked panelists to make an opening statement.
The discussion began with a focus on the political and economic implications of having an official language. Bowling and Kessler said that government officials could work more efficiently without the pressure of having to communicate in other languages. They also said that the need for translators and multilingual documents in government generates unnecessary costs.
Both representatives added that a knowledge of the English language is essential in order to participate fully in American society.
"If you don't speak English, you probably don't have a firm grip on politics, and in that case, maybe you shouldn't vote," Bowling said.
In rebuttal to Bowling's argument, Patel said that forcing people to learn English would be extremely expensive because of the cost of educating non-speakers. Such a policy, Patel added, would also isolate the government from a huge voting block that consists of about 14 percent of American families that do not speak English in the home.
Audience members supporting Patel's position said that making English America's official language would deny possibilities for bilingual instruction, thereby denying non-English-speaking students sufficient education. They said that this insufficient education would relegate non-English speaking citizens to lower social classes.
Representatives from the College Republicans and the Duke Review, however, denied that such a situation would arise because English would unify the nation. Fluency in English would allow all citizens to communicate with one another and to better interact with their legislators.
"Basically English is recognized as the de facto language of America," Kessler said. "It is a powerful symbol. There is no reason not to put it in writing. It will unite people."
Patel also expressed the concern that making English the official language would rob immigrant populations of their culture.
"You should not force people to change," Patel said. "America will adapt, and that is what makes America unique."
Coordinators of the event said that they were impressed by the panelists' eloquence and knowledge.
"It was very impressive to see how people could put themselves in other people's shoes," said Trinity sophomore Eric Chang, who organized the debate.
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