Ivy League Latinos

I am saddened and disappointed by Ruben Navarrette Jr. for his column “Administration Job Line Forms on the Right: Latinos Take a Number” (Opinion, Nov. 22). I do not purport to speak for the Clinton transition team, however, I can speak for a number of Latino graduates of Yale.

As one of the co-founders of MEChA at Yale, I take great pride in the achievements and accomplishments of my fellow Latino alumni. My fellow organizers in the establishment of an active and influential Latino network at Yale include Joaquin G. Avila, former executive director of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and Judge Carlos Moreno.

Avila was instrumental in the litigation against the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which opened up the seat now occupied by Gloria Molina. He has ably served on the Compton Municipal Court and would be an excellent candidate for the Superior or federal court. A more recent graduate, Cathy Kissee-Sandoval, has served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and was the first Chicana Rhodes Scholar.

As an architect, I have designed what I still believe to be the only “temporary school on a temporary site” in California (International City School in Long Beach). I have recently served on the Cal State Long Beach Latino Community Advisory Committee.

If Navarrette still feels that we “ . . . are sorrowfully out of touch with the realities,” then perhaps he could meet with us at the annual Yale Chicano Alumni gathering to meet those of us who are still trying to make a difference. I do not believe any of the alumni mentioned above have lost contact with their roots; nor do I believe that you have to have suffered cancer before you can begin to help treat it.

He will find that having attended an Ivy League school has not forced us to lose our ethnic identity, rather it has strengthened it. Our Ivy League education has helped us to look beyond the easy first impression, and to deal with difficult realities. I hope he finds the same pride and confidence from his background and training.

MANUEL E. PEREZ, Long Beach