Mon 15 Jan 2007
Is it discrimination?
Posted by Mitzie under PersonalTags: Spanish, ESL, English, Discrimination, Stupid Assumptions -
After trying to register for a class online and being unsuccessful, I decided to take a trip to the local community college. To my surprise, I found out that there was a hold on my account. This hold was based on my background. The registrars office stated that I would have to take the ESL test in order for him to lift the hold so that I could register for a class or I could have to go and talk with one of the counselors. For those of you who don’t know, ESL is “English as a Second Language.” While Spanish is my native language, it is not my primary language anymore. I’ve been in the US for well over 20 plus years. When I went to talk to the counselor, her initial response was that there was nothing she could do and that she thought that was going to have to take the ESL test. I told her that I did not need to take this test and that all I needed was to register for this one particular class to finish my degree. She left the office and when she came back she pulled up the information on the computer and lifted the hold. I wasn’t sure how this happened, but I’ve never experience anything like this before.