Shirin Ahmadpour

www.shirinahmadpour.wordpress.com

A collection of published newspaper articles

   

 

         

History on display Litchfield Museum to open Sunday

More than a century after the first settlers gathered on what is now Litchfield Park, the only museum honoring its history will open itself to the public. The Litchfield Park Museum, located on Litchfield and Camelback roads, will celebrate its grand opening Oct. 21. The Litchfield Park Historical Society sought out the relatives of the West Valley's founding fathers. Generations of sons and daughters of those who worked on and built Goodyear Farms and its communities donated many of the artifacts found in the museum. Members of the historical society since 2001 have been collecting artifacts, pictures, and documents that showcase how the city first started. "We live in a culture that is so fascinated by celebrities. It's refreshing to have a place where others can see a truly fascinating story about real people and real events," Litchfield Park Historical Society Vice President Judy Cook said. Cook has been with the historical society since 2009. She said the museum showcases the average person doing hard work. Those people did something extraordinary that impacted various aspects of the world, from agriculture to soil and water conservation to the production of rubber tires. The museum will consist of four galleries, two of which will permanently display artifacts from the early families and the Southwest Cotton Co., which later became Goodyear Farms. Litchfield Park was named in 1926 but did not become a city until 1987. "When I moved here in 1944, it was a small town of about 250 people. But these people developed the land. Before Safeway and Albertsons, there were campsites where immigrant settlers lived," Litchfield Park Historical Society Board member Robert McMillan said. "It was a horse and wagon world. We have artifacts from before automotive means of transportation. The Southwest Valley was cut off from Phoenix at that time because there were no bridges that went over the Agua Fria River when it still flowed," Cook said. The majority of the funding for the museum comes from historical society memberships. Currently, there are about 300 members, many of whom have grown up in the West Valley. History of the land has finally been archived and is ready to be used for public research. The museum serves to preserve the history of those who first settled in the West Valley. It details and displays the difficulty of life before technology made daily life easier. "It feels great to move these artifacts out of our garages and closets and into a place where people can appreciate what happened here," McMillan said. "We hope the community will find a lot of interest in learning about the history of their own home," Cook said. The historical society looks forward to school field trips and visitors going to see and learn about the people who lived in the desert. The grand opening will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and there will be a performance from Ballet Folklorico Esperanza.

 Special  Olympic  swimmers  go  for  gold    

The Southwest Valley Special Olympic swimmers, known as the Geckos, swam for the final time this year.

The team of five swept seven gold medals at regionals and made a splash at the state competition last weekend at the Surprise Aquatic Center.

More than 10,000 athletes participate in the Special Olympics in Arizona and about 400 competed in the aquatic events during the 2012 Fall Games.

The team practiced twice a week for four months at the Southwest Valley Regional YMCA. The Y provides the team with a pool to train in as well as a coach.

The swimmers said they love working with their teammates because they motivate each other to do better and work harder. The team came in first place in the relay at regionals and fourth place at state.

"Competition also keeps me motivated," Ronald Jones said. "I like to show what we can do and that we can get gold."

Jones won three gold medals at regionals. He took first place in the 25-meter butterfly and third place in the 100-meter individual medley at state. He said he looks up to Michael Phelps and hopes one day to have more medals than he does.

"Winning at state would be great because it would show that I can go all the way," Geckos swimmer Heather Moser said before the state competition.

Moser won a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle at regionals. She took home two second-place medals from the state competition in the 25- and 50-meter freestyle events.

"I get in the pool every day," Jaylon Beckwith said while wearing his medals around his neck. "Swimming has been a really great experience for me."

He won a gold medal in the 50-meter breaststroke and 25-meter freestyle at regionals. He came in fourth place in those events at state.

Matt Harris has been swimming for three years. He won a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle at regionals and placed fifth in the 25-meter freestyle at state.

His mother, Sandra Harris, said he was always around sports because of his siblings, but did not play any.

"One day someone told him to join a team, told him he could do it, and now he's been playing sports for years," Sandra said. "You never know what one word of encouragement can do."

At the end of one of their final practices, Sandra Martinez yelled out for a group hug around the coach.

"I love to swim because I love coach Cindy," Martinez said. Last year, Martinez was afraid of the water and now she is competing. She placed second at regionals in the 25-meter freestyle event and fourth at state.

Her mother, Susan, attended every practice and says that she has seen a big improvement in her daughter.

"A lot of people with special needs are often left at home with nothing to do and these sports help them meet friends and learn to exercise," Susan said.

Coach Cindy Mooney, a USA certified swimming coach, said the biggest challenge is that each swimmer has a different level of ability so individual training is important to his success during competition.

"They have special needs, but I like to say exceptional needs because they are exceptional individuals to me," said Kim Beckwith, Jaylon's mother and assistant coach. Kim said the team needs more members. Ten athletes would be ideal, but many potential swimmers are unaware that there is a place for them, she said.

"Our goal every year is to increase the number of athletes and to ensure that as many athletes as possible have access to our sports," said Pat Staflin, the Geckos' organizer.

After the state competition, most of the athletes will participate in various sports within the Geckos program. Health and socialization are the top priorities for the athletes and program volunteers.

"So many of us take everything we have in life for granted," Mooney said. "These kids have limitations but when you see how hard they work, how excited they get and when you're there to help them, it just gives you a whole different outlook in life."

The Geckos is a program for intellectually disabled adults to get involved in sports all year long. For more information about getting involved with the Special Olympics Southwest Valley Geckos, contact Staflin at 623-386-0330.

   Minorities Need Votes from ASU

Tempe, Arizona - Students at Arizona State University say minorities could have a major impact in the 2012 general election.

In the 2008 election, news sources and media outlets said student voters played a major role in electing President Barack Obama.

This year college campuses crowd themselves with voting advocacy groups. Everyday students at ASU volunteer their time to register others to vote, get petitions signed, and provide information about candidates and propositions.

10.8 percent of the student population at ASU identified themselves as Asian, Pacific Islander, or mixed race in 2011.

Of that percentage, the Philippine American Student Association at ASU holds a membership base of hundreds of Filipino-American students. Currently there are 20 to 30 active members who consistently attend PASA’s weekly meeting.

Members agree that being involved in a student organization means that a certain level of civic engagement is present.

Joseph Spiro, 23, a computer science graduate student and active PASA member, was watching the vice presidential debate live on his laptop before the PASA meeting began Thursday evening.

He said that although minorities do not vote in blocks, there is a need for politicians to adapt their messages to minority groups. America is not passed racial divides, he said.

“Political parties, like the Republican Party, will get lost in the coming years if they don’t make note of the changing demographics in the U.S.,” Spiro said. “I honestly don’t think there is much of a difference between the two candidates as both parties would like you to believe, but I do think there is enough of a difference that people should be voting.”

Mary Perez, 18, freshman and new PASA member, scrolled through Facebook on her smartphone prior to the start of the meeting.

She, like many eligible voters in America, did not register to vote by the Oct. 9th deadline.

“I read about the election and I think about it. I know registering is easy, but I just never had the time to do it,” Perez said.

She said that being a student definitely affects her political opinions. College campuses seem to be the prime location for posters, flyers, and advocacy groups to share their message she said.

Spiro said that the voter registration within the organization is probably higher than that of the general Filipino student population. New members are exposed to members who make voting a priority and realize that they do play a role on behalf of minorities in the country he said.

Students in the organization used Arizona’s ethnic-studies law as an example of why it is important for minorities to take advantage of their voting power.

Last year, the ethnic-studies law was passed to ban teaching that promoted overthrowing the country or “resentment toward a race”, courses that were “designed for a pupils of a particular ethnic group” or that “advocated for ethnic solidarity.” This law pertains to K-12 schools.

“Although it’s not a ban on ethnic studies, it still discourages people to teach or learn about minorities. It still shows how hard it is to not see race as a segregator because race still matters,” Spiro said.

Filipino-American students at ASU will be representing minorities as they cast their ballots on Nov. 6th.

“It’s important to know who our leaders could be just as it’s important to vote for the best ones,” Spiro said. “It’s the future of the country.”                                

FilAm  students  observed  the  presidential  election  with  keen  interest  President Barack Obama’s reelection was no surprise to Filipino students at Arizona

State University on Tuesday. At the downtown ASU campus, students gathered in the Walter Cronkite School of

Journalism and Mass Communication forum to watch the election results pour in live. Arizona maintained its Republican standpoint as it has since 1952, except for voting

for former President Bill Clinton in 1996. The popular vote was close with Obama receiving 50 percent of it. He won the

election with 303 electoral votes. Jason Galvan, an ASU freshman and nursing major, said, “I feel like both

candidates are kind of the same. Regardless, I’m for Obama, so I would be surprised if Romney won.”

“The new president definitely has a lot of issues to address and he needs to do something before people get more frustrated than they already are,” Galvan said.

The 2010 census showed that Filipinos are the second fastest growing minority group in Arizona. 35,013 people identified themselves as Filipino amongst the 176,695 people identified as Asian.

Sophomore Gian Demano, said, “I think Filipinos in Arizona are more inclined to vote for Obama because they often have a major interest in health care, which was a huge part in Obama’s first term.”

“What I’ve noticed being a Filipino and when I go to the Philippines is that the people are smart and practical, so the being in the health care industry is logical for them,“ Demano said. “Especially here at ASU, it’s not out of line for me to believe or assume that the Filipino students I see are nursing majors.”

Demano said he thinks in the next four years Obama will be able to make the adjustments to health care that he wants even though he faced major opposition from congress during the previous four.

“He had a lot of his own ideas and I think having a house and senate that was very much filled with Republicans made it very hard for him to deal with getting his ideas pushed further,” Demano said.

Congress maintained their Republican and Democratic imbalance after the election. Obama will face the same opposition for at least two more years.

Kendra Chavez, a junior this year, said she would like to see the new president be able to focus on job creation, education, health care and immigration.

“I suppose right now, job creation and education are pretty important to me though. I would prefer a candidate that is fiscally conservative, and works to protect our liberties,” Chavez said.

Before the election, John Sico, an ASU freshman, said he sees a problem in the nation and the new president really needs to focus on job creation. He asked himself, “Will it really help having either of them elected?” and responded, “ I don’t think so.”

The future of America will depend on the working relationship of the president and the members of Congress. Obama’s presidential opponent, Mitt Romney gave his concession speech and said, “I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation.” Filipino students hope for this success as well.

Shirin Ahmadpour continues to write for the West Valley View and

the Filipino American Journal.