Opinion
 

Letters to the Editor

Fiesta means fun

To the editor:

I am the director of operations for Frontier Fiesta this year, and I read Cano's article ("Fiesta embodies racial and ethnic discrimination," Opinion, Monday). I respect his thoughts on the event and value his input. However, I was disturbed by some of his comments. 

Earlier this year we held a meeting with a small group of students that has a problem with the name of the event. We could do nothing to change the name of the event this year because we were less than a month away and the cost of letterhead, mailings, magazine articles, flyers and promotions absolutely limited the University from considering a change. We did not take their concerns lightly and we are always open to suggestions and changes.

Concerts this year were perhaps the best they have ever been, with Thursday's r&b night bringing in nearly 3,000 audience members. Friday's country night was a great success, and Saturday night's salsa concert was perhaps the most energetic and fun concert in Fiesta's history.

I do not appreciate the comment, "I do not believe Frontier Fiesta really operates with this in mind." Back in early October the Frontier Fiesta Board sat down and tried to come up with ways to get more organizations involved, especially those organizations that have historically not been involved. We cut deposits and costs in half for first time organizations, we rented carnival games and gave them to organizations that could not afford to rent them and we allowed them to keep all the money generated by those games. We also made many personal visits to organizations that had not participated in the past. This year's Fiesta enjoyed more student organizations than ever before, and we will continue to try to get more organizations involved. Feel free to call 713-143-5181 with any suggestions or comments.

Jarrod Portelance,
Frontier Fiesta Director of Operations 

To the editor:

I understand the point Cano is trying to get across by questioning Frontier Fiesta's logic, although I have to disagree on many points. He talks about stereotypical representation, racial profiling and the name of the event. I think he is making something out of nothing.

I am a Mexican American and participate in a predominately white UH sorority. It is people like me who are developing diversity within the organizations. Minorities should feel free to join these groups if they want to -- I do.

I participated in Frontier Fiesta and found absolutely nothing offensive about it. The different bands you mentioned were there to let people experience different types of music.

And as far as the historical meaning behind the name, no one I spoke to found it offensive. When I think of the word "Frontier," I think of Texas' beautiful surroundings, not some ethnic fight from centuries ago.

If you want to make some changes regarding next year's Fiesta, then join the board. Think about the history behind Fiesta and how it changed our student society for the better. Go out and try to convince more minority groups or "underrepresented" groups to join in. The idea behind the Fiesta is to bring students and faculty together and have fun.

Nicole Hernandez,
junior communication major

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the UH community and should focus on issues, not personalities. Letters must be typed and must include the author's name, telephone number and affiliation with the University. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, language and space. Letters may be delivered in person to Room 151, Communication; e-mailed to dclettrs@mail.uh.edu ; or faxed to (713) 743-5384.Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu