Arizona State University - Sun Devil Spark / Sahuaro Yearbook (Tempe, AZ)

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am very proud of mexican heritage Editor ' s Note: Mark Martinez was an ASU student. Mark told his story about the challenges of maintaining ethnic identity on a predominately white campus. Mark told his story to Sun Devil Spark Yearbook copywriter Renee Caruss. Race was a complicated issue. Wherever you went you were confronted with the issue. If you filled out applications for school or jobs, you had to fill in your ethnic background. I was very proud of my Mexican heritage. I was a freshman and a part of MECHA. I was involved in the community and participated in extra-curricular activities. It was stereotypical of people to think that ASU had a lot of white, rich students. I focused on the real issues. We were all there for one reason: to get a good education. No one was above anyone else. We should have all been about our goals in life and what the future was to bring. ASU had an excellent academic image and a wonderful environment for studying. We should have all taken advantage of it and used it. There were plenty of tutors and counseling available. I didn ' t feel that non-white students were treated differently. Professors didn ' t base your grades on the color of your skin; it was the ability to which you could perform and to the degree which you excelled that they graded. You had to work for what you earned, as you did in anything in life. A lot of hateful words were expressed concerning race. If we would have all worked together and tried to clean up the streets and worked within the communities helping each other, then race would not have been such a complicated issue. Everyone had an ethnic identity at ASU and should have been proud of it. We should have shared our cultures and learned things from each other. by mark martinez and renee caruss above — Reviewing their books, Mark Martinez and Jose Martinez prepare for their next class. Ethnic identity at ASU was a situation all students had to deal with. Photo by Rick Escalante right — Taking time out for a game of pool, Mark Martinez hangs out at the Memorial Union. Martinez was a member of MECHA and felt that the students at ASU were treated equally, regardless of their race. Photo by Rick Escalante