PHOENIX, May 24 (Reuters) - Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio violated the constitutional rights of Latino drivers in his crackdown on illegal immigration, a federal judge found on Friday, and ordered him to stop using race as a factor in law enforcement decisions.

The ruling against the Maricopa County sheriff came in response to a class-action lawsuit brought by Hispanic drivers that tested whether police can target illegal immigrants without racially profiling U.S. citizens and legal residents of Hispanic origin.

U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow ruled that the sheriff's policies violated the drivers' constitutional rights and ordered Arpaio's office to cease using race or ancestry as a grounds to stop, detain or hold occupants of vehicles - some of them in crime sweeps dubbed "saturation patrols."

"The great weight of the evidence is that all types of saturation patrols at issue in this case incorporated race as a consideration into their operations," Snow said in a written ruling.

He added that race had factored into which vehicles the deputies decided to stop, and into who they decided to investigate for immigration violations.

The lawsuit contended that Arpaio, who styles himself "America's toughest sheriff," and his officers violated the constitutional rights of both U.S. citizens and legal immigrants alike in their zeal to crack down on people they believe to be in the country illegally.

The ruling came days after a U.S. Senate panel approved a landmark comprehensive immigration legislation that would usher in the biggest changes in immigration policy in a generation if passed by Congress.

The bill would put 11 million immigrants without legal status on a 13-year path to citizenship while further strengthening security along the porous southwestern border with Mexico.

Arpaio declined comment on the ruling. A sheriff's spokesman referred a request for comment to attorney Tim Casey, who said he was reading the ruling and had no immediate comment.

'ILLEGAL AND PLAIN UN-AMERICAN'

Cecillia Wang, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project and plaintiffs' counsel, called the judge's ruling "an important victory that will resound far beyond Maricopa County."

"Singling people out for traffic stops and detentions simply because they're Latino is illegal and just plain un-American," Wang said after the ruling was made public.

"Let this be a warning to anyone who hides behind a badge to wage their own private campaign against Latinos or immigrants that there is no exception in the Constitution for violating people's rights in immigration enforcement."

During testimony in the non-jury trial last year, Arpaio said he was against racial profiling and denied his office arrested people because of the color of their skin.

The sheriff, who won re-election to a sixth term in November, has been a lightning rod for controversy over his aggressive enforcement of immigration laws in the state, which borders Mexico, as well as an investigation into the validity of President Barack Obama's U.S. birth certificate.

The lawsuit was brought against Arpaio and his office on behalf of five Hispanic drivers who said they had been stopped by deputies because of their ethnicity.

The plaintiffs, which include the Somos America immigrants' rights coalition and all Latino drivers stopped by the sheriff's office since 2007, were seeking corrective action but not monetary damages.

Arpaio has been the subject of other probes and lawsuits. In August, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona said it had closed a criminal investigation into accusations of financial misconduct by Arpaio, and it declined to bring charges.

A separate U.S. Justice Department investigation and lawsuit relating to accusations of civil rights abuses by Arpaio's office is ongoing.

Arizona has been at the heart of a bitter national debate over immigration since Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed a 2010 crackdown on illegal immigration.

The federal government challenged the crackdown in court and said the U.S. Constitution gives it sole authority over immigration policy. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has allowed to stand the part of the law permitting police to question people they stop about their immigration status.

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/24/arpaio-racial-profiling_n_3333907.html

Families with high school seniors are celebrating across the country. The fat envelopes from colleges and universities arrived weeks ago, students have considered their options, and the choice about where to go to college finally has been made.

In many Latino homes, the joy is particularly intense because these students have defied dismal statistics: They have graduated high school and are enrolling in college.

This is a time of great promise in America, because America is learning how to value all of its people for what they can do and contribute. Amid so much happiness, it may seem insensitive to point out that the hardest work is still ahead for Latinos who are enrolling in college. But this message needs to rise above the initial excitement so that more Latino students will earn a college degree. The latest federal report on educational attainment shows that in 2011 about 32 percent of all 25- to 29-year-olds had completed a bachelor’s degree—but the rate for Latinos was only 13 percent.

This is dismaying because Latino college enrollment is increasing. The Pew Hispanic Center reported that in 2011, 46 percent of Latino high school graduates were enrolled in college, up from 37 percent just three years earlier. Today, more than 2 million Latinos are enrolled in some form of higher education—and this is truly news we should celebrate. However, the low completion rate for all college students is a major problem facing our country. The future economic vitality of the United States depends on producing far more college graduates for our workforce than we do today. As Latinos become a greater share of the country’s population, those who decide to pursue an education, graduate and apply what they learned will ultimately help shape this country. We will never reach our goals for an educated workforce and fulfill our destiny without improving the Latino college success rate too.

What is holding Latinos back? With more than 30 years of experience educating Latinos at The National Hispanic University (NHU), we would argue that many institutions are not meeting the needs of Latino students or providing the appropriate services and opportunities. Also, far too many colleges are committed to modes of operation that are no longer relevant today. It is imperative that higher education institutions change their educational paradigm so that Latino enrollees don’t fall through the cracks and leave without earning a degree.

So what do Latino students need? While many of us are still researching and identifying best practices, several concepts, such as providing students with a culturally relevant and responsive educational experience and easier access to online education, are proving to make a difference.

Latino college students often have demanding lives outside of school. They may need to work to support their families, endure lengthy commutes to campus from remote rural areas or live in inner cities where the cost of living is high. Colleges need to offer them flexibility, such as part-time attendance and online coursework.

At NHU, we have found that our Familia™ model of personalization, providing needed support systems and positive role models to help students meet high academic standards, is essential to Latino student success. In our online programs, we are creating a “virtual familia” of professors, academic coaches, tutors and peers who are key to student engagement. It is also critical to provide students with professors who understand the cultural needs of Latinos and who are reaching out and motivating their students to have a strong ethic of education so that they can be better people and improve society.

We can join in the celebration of growing college enrollment rates for Latinos—it is a major accomplishment—but we need to help these students finish the job they start and become successful professionals and leaders in our communities, cities and nation. We can do that by holding colleges accountable and demanding that they meet the needs of all students once they are enrolled.

The hard work, sacrifice, brain power, and youthful energy of America’s Latinos are the future of our country. Let’s all look forward to a time when college completion rates for Latinos meet—or exceed— the national average.

NBCLATINO.COM

http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/25/opinion-latino-students-must-finish-the-job-that-begins-with-college-enrollment/

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dismissing a veto threat from President Barack Obama, lawmakers in the House passed legislation that links student loan rates to the ups and downs of the financial markets in a vote largely along party lines.

The Republican-backed bill would allow students to dodge a scheduled rate hike for students with new subsidized Stafford loans next month, but rates could rise in coming years. Democrats largely opposed the measure — which they branded the “Making College More Expensive Act” — while the Republican chairman of the Education Committee labeled the legislation a starting point for negotiations with the Senate and White House.

“The American people sent us here to tackle tough issues, not kick the can down the road. The time to act is now. Students, families and taxpayers cannot afford further delay,” House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline said after the vote.

Interest rates on new subsidized Stafford loans are set to double, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, on July 1. Lawmakers from both parties say they want to avoid the increase but were divided on how.

Some Democrats are seeking a two-year extension of the current rates until Congress takes up a higher education bill later. Republicans have rejected that proposal — expected to cost taxpayers $9 billion — as costly and irresponsible.

The House measure passed by a vote of 221-198. Eight Republicans and four Democrats broke from their party.

“It kind of goes without saying that you’re going to be paying on your student loans for quite a while,” said Ron Burruss, who will be a junior at Kentucky’s University of Louisville in the autumn.

By some counts, student loan debt has topped $1 trillion and surpasses credit card debt in size. Only mortgage debt is larger.

Under the GOP proposal, student loans would be reset every year, pegged to 10-year Treasury notes with added percentage points. For instance, students who receive subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford student loans would pay the Treasury rate, plus 2.5 percentage points starting for loans issued after July 1.

Current subsidized Stafford loans are offered at a fixed 3.4 percent rate and unsubsidized Stafford loans are offered at 6.8 percent. The interest rate on loans to parents and graduate students is 7.9 percent.

Using Congressional Budget Office projections, the GOP plan would translate to a 5 percent interest rate on all Stafford loans in 2014, but the rate would climb to 7.7 percent for loans in 2023.

“We’re ripping off kids,” said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.

Stafford loan rates would be capped at 8.5 percent, while loans for parents and graduate students would have a 10.5 percent ceiling under the GOP plan.

In his budget proposal, Obama included flexible rate student loan rates pegged to 10-year Treasury bills. The president did not limit interest rates but included a smaller added interest rate. His plan also expanded income-based repayment options and loan forgiveness.

Even so, many students said they were frustrated by the current rates.

“It’s ridiculous that students are being charged 6.8 percent interest, when you can get a mortgage on a house for 3.5 percent,” said Zach Nostdal, a 28-year-old graduate student at Seattle’s University of Washington.

The House proposal faces a steep climb in the Senate despite some similarities to the White House’s offer.

“The Senate is not going to pick this up,” said Rep. Caroline McCarthy, D-N.Y.

The Senate planned to take up its own measure after it returns from Memorial Day holiday. Even then, it’s not clear lawmakers will be able to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions before the July 1 deadline.

“We are focused on making college more affordable while they seem focused on making it more expensive,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “The bill they passed today fails the first test of any policy: do no harm. It’s worse for students than if the rate doubles.”

Students who max out their subsidized Stafford loans over four years would pay $8,331 in interest payments under the Republican bill, and $3,450 if rates were kept at 3.4 percent, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Services. If rates were allowed to double in July, that amount would be $7,284 over the typical 10-year window to repay the maximum $19,000.

VOXXI.COM
Read more: http://www.voxxi.com/house-variable-rate-student-loans/#ixzz2UD3Xl0Gs

A group of Latino education experts from across the country urged policymakers in Washington, D.C., this week to take steps to improve education for Hispanic students.

The Latino Elected and Appointed Officials National Taskforce on Education was formed several years ago. They wanted to make sure the needs of Latino students and English Language learners were recognized as talks about the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act got underway. That act authorizes federally funded education programs that are administered by the states.

That program morphed into No Child Left Behind under former President George W. Bush and subsequent attempts to amend it and reauthorize it as the ESEA have failed, meaning policies put in place by NCLB still hold. Advocates for the more than 13 million Hispanic students enrolled in public schools around the country think several things need to change to better serve this group.

There are three they most definitely want addressed:

Issue 1: The department's response to the failed reauthorization attempt -- issuing waivers for some states to get around remaining NCLB requirements -- allows states to avoid reporting data on how different subgroups of students, such as Hispanics, are doing. That lack of data makes it difficult to tell which programs are helping Latinos and which are hurting them.

Issue 2: The new Common Core standards, which link teacher evaluations to student performance, are also a concern. Advocates worry that the more difficult students -- English language learners, for example -- will be stuck with the least qualified teachers as good teachers jockey for positions with high-performing students. The taskforce wants teachers to receive more training on Common Core and thinks that the best teachers should go to the most needy students.

Issue 3: Sequestration has also hit Latino students especially hard.

Head Start and programs for English language learners, which overwhelmingly benefit Latino kids, have seen cuts. And Head Start in particular gives Latino kids a chance to enter kindergarten on par with their non-Hispanic peers when it comes to vocabulary and other skills, areas where they have traditionally fallen behind without early intervention.

The taskforce wants more funding, not less, for such programs.

Will Anything Actually Change?

These goals are a long shot. Money is tight and collaboration across party lines seems to be a distant dream.

Ana Sol Gutierrez, one of the directors of the task force, said she saw "an absolute lack of collaboration between different party groups, especially in the House," during the meetings.

Education could also see more cuts in the future, so a more modest goal for the taskforce is simply preserving the existing funding from further cuts.

There are plans from both Republicans and Democrats to introduce bills to reauthorize the ESEA, but they're not likely to garner enough support across party lines to pass.

Sol Gutierrez is not giving up hope. Her broader goal is awareness at the national and state levels of the needs of Latinos, the fastest growing student population in the country. The group plans to push for awareness at the state level, where their voices might gain more traction.

It's an uphill battle, but "if we don't do it," she said, "no one else is going to speak up for Latino students."

ABCNEWS.GO.COM

http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/current-education-policy-hurting-latino-students/story?id=19235380#.UZ9GAOvQ0p4

Abercrombie & Fitch has apologized, again.

In recent weeks, the retailer has seen its brand's popularity plummet after Business Insider resurfaced quotes that CEO Mike Jeffries made in a 2006 Salon article. At the time, Jeffries said the store was aimed at the skinny, hip kids, not the unattractive losers.

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he says. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.”

Since the remarks were re-released, A&F has been hit with a firestorm of negative reaction from celebrities to bloggers. Although Jeffries later issued a semi-apology on his Facebook page, the outcry against the company continued.

On Wednesday, a group of teen activists traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to protest at the A&F headquarters and discuss the CEO's comments, People Magazine reported.

The activists were invited into the building for a meeting with A&F executives, and for two hours, they urged the company to reconsider its position on size limitations, reduce the blatant sexualization of its ads, expand its choice of models and support teen education programs focusing on anti-bullying and diversity.

One of the people at the meeting was Benjamin O'Keefe, an 18-year-old eating disorder survivor from Orlando who created a Change.org petition that pleaded with the company to stop telling teens they aren't beautiful and to expand their sizing (currently, A&F clothes are not offered above size 10 or Large). At the time of this writing, more than 70,000 people have signed the petition.

After the meeting, A&F released the following statement: “We look forward to continuing this dialogue and taking concrete steps to demonstrate our commitment to anti-bullying in addition to our ongoing support of diversity and inclusion. We want to reiterate that we sincerely regret and apologize for any offense caused by comments we have made in the past which are contrary to these values."

In response, O'Keefe said he was cautiously optimistic that the company would consider changing its ways.

"Our voices matter. When people come together to fight for something they believe in, change does come! We are proof of that," O'Keefe said. "I am excited to continue open dialogue with Abercrombie & Fitch and work towards creating a nation and world of young people who are proud to be themselves and embrace all the things that make them beautiful!”

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/23/abercrombie-and-fitch-apology_n_3323668.html?utm_hp_ref=business