Imbriglio 1

Christina Imbriglio
Mrs. Oliveira
College Writing Period 7
15 December, 2015
Necessity of Cultural Awareness
I.
Introduction
a. A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and
symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed
along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. (Source A)
b. There is no scientific standard to consider cultural groups inferior or superior to
one another. However, there are certain judgements and stereotypes that have been
created to label certain cultures, either in a positive or negative light. (Source A)
c. Simply, ethnocentrism is the belief that ones own culture is superior to all others.
Its a form of reductionism that makes different cultures seem less valuable. (Source A)
d. Along with ethnocentrism, misconceptions create a distorted view of cultures that
differ from our own. They cast a biased image into our brains whether we are
consciously aware of it or not. These false assumptions are created by incorrect
information, influential opinions, and many other aspects in the world today.
e. With the US diversifying more and more each day, aspects such as
ethnocentrism are becoming increasingly toxic to our society. The extreme immigration
rates of people with cultures vastly different from our own means that American citizens
must be willing to be more open minded and let go of misconceptions.
f. Thesis: The United States of America needs increased cultural awareness
among current American residents to enable new immigrants and Americans to coexist
in peace and acceptance.
II. Subtopic 1- Immigration in America (then and now) & limits of policies today
A. Immigration Then
a. Main port was Ellis Island; operated 1892 to 1954; Americas largest immigration
station; processed over 12 million immigrants; about 40% of all US citizens can trace at
least one part of their ancestry to Ellis Island (Source B)
b. Names were commonly misspelled in other countries when travelling, even more
likely to be misspelled by officials when a journey with many stops occurs. Many
immigrants also voluntarily altered their name in fear of ridicule. In an essay published
by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, its noted that one would learned that
his name often got in the way of a job interview or became the subject of ridicule at his
child's school. Any tactic to ease the transition into a normal American life was used.
(Source C)
c. Anti-immigrant sentiment at peak once WW1 ended (1914), many of the groups
traveling to and already in America were worried about racism and prejudice but
managed to make their own support separate networks (ex: Chinatown, Little Italy) They
were adamant about doing anything to please the citizens of the country and to blend in
so they contributed to their new country as much as possible. This was most notable

Imbriglio 2
when WW2 began, over a million Italian Americans were a part of the US Armed Forces
(Source D)
d. Top 5 Nationalities of Ellis Island Immigrants
1. Italian (2,502,310)
2. Russian (1,893,542)
3. Hungarian (859,997)
4. Austrian (768,132)
5. German (633,148)
(Source E)
e. Its worth noting that these 5 countries all fall under substantial influence from the 3 infamous
dictators of WW2 (1939-1945) - Adolf Hitler (Dictator of Germany with great presence in Austria
& Hungary), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Joseph Stalin (Russia).
f. 3 million of the 12 million immigrants that entered through Ellis Island identified their religious
beliefs as Jewish (Source F)
B. Immigration Now
a. Immigration has changed drastically in the last couple decades. In
some ways it has become safer. Screenings are much more intense, insuring the
safety of American citizens. Also, immigrants entering the country legally travel
via planes and other civilized modes of transportations as opposed to the old way
of cramming 2000 people onto a ship for a 2 week long trip. Although safer, the
process to enter the USA legally has also become more complicated and tedious.
The immigration system is so broken and disconnected that many immigrants
have expired visas but cannot seem to get a new one from the government.
b. Its not as easy to blend in with Americans these days. Rolando
Zenteno, and 18 year old college freshman who was born in Mexico has lived in
the US since he was 7. He says he identifies more with American culture than
Mexican, but this is not enough for him to be truly accepted. I identify myself with
the American culture," he says, "but at the same time the American society is like
'No, you're not part of us. (Source G)
c. Many immigrants live in fear every day of being deported back to
the places they escaped from. Many came legally on visas, but once the visas
ran out they were undocumented. Even with efforts to become a legal citizen, the
immigration program is so broken that it becomes nearly impossible to achieve
citizenship easily. "Everyone talks about going to the back of the line being the
number one thing that undocumented immigrants should do. I have been in
several different lines. ... The issue is there are so many undocumented
immigrants that are caught up in lines that never really go anywhere." - Prerna
Lal, 28, who came to America from Fiji when she was 14. She is in a constant
legal battle to prevent her deportation, but she is stuck in an immigration system
that leads to nowhere. (Source G)
d. Between 2000 and 2012 there was a 31.2% increase in foreign
born population in the US. It went from 31.1 mil to 40.8 mil. (Source H)
e. 28% of foreign born population in 2012 were born in Mexico. In
second place was India, accounting for 5%. (Source H)
f. California was the number one state by far to have the most
immigrants (10.3 mil), biggest share of immigrants (27% of population), and

Imbriglio 3
largest absolute growth of immigrant population between 2000 & 2012 (1.4 mil)
(Source H)
C. Immigration Policy Today
a. How to legally enter USA: Submit petition to apply for visa - Have petition
approved, then pay processing fees and request documents - Submit visa application,
financial documents, and other formal requirements - Schedule an interview with
representative, they will review application and conduct questioning - Once all is
approved, a certain type of visa will be issued based on intentions in USA. (Source I)
b. Multiple types of visas are issued, depending on your reason for coming to the
US. (Source J)
1. Nonimmigrant Visa - for people staying in the country temporarily for one of many
different purposes ex) Vacation, Journalism, Religious worker, Academics etc
2. Immediate Relative & Family Sponsored Visa - if you plan on living permanently
in the US and have a spouse/fiance`/family member that is a current and lawful US
citizen
3. Employer Sponsored/Employment Visa - if you plan on living permanently in the
US for your job or religious work.
4. Other Immigrant Visa - if you were previously a US resident but you moved out of
the country and wish to return
c. The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), the body of law governing current immigration
policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain
exceptions for close family members. (Source K)
d. Each year the President, in consultation with Congress, determines the numerical ceiling for
refugee admissions. The total limit is broken down into limits for each region of the world as
well. Refugees are admitted to the United States based upon an inability to return to their home
countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution due to their race, membership in a
social group, political opinion, religion, or national origin. For 2013, Obama set the limit of
refugee acceptance at 70,000. (Source K)
III. Subtopic 2 - Hostility in America
A. Hostilities they feel
a. Lorena Mora-Mowry is a lawyer from Venezuela that decided to settle down and
raise her family in Cincinnati, Ohio. In this part of the country, almost everyone was
either white or black, and Lorena was an outcast. She states that almost no one could
understand her accent, so she became so frustrated that she was practically mute. She
also felt disconnected from the local news, as it did not relate to or interest her. She
reached out to a local newspaper about writing an article on Latinos but they refused the
idea and did not want it in the paper. I feel like we live in a parallel world, she said. We
live in the same city, but their news is not my news. (Source L)
b. Rafael Garcia - escaped torture and abuse when his home country of Guatemala
was riddled with brutal civil and drug gang wars. He came to the US 15 years ago.
Garcia is a carpenter, pays his taxes, sends money back home for his mother, and
directs a choir at his church. Yet, he still labeled by the American people as an alien
worker, and lives his life every day in fear of being sent home. He is one of millions who
came to this country for a better life but are now being falsely portrayed as dangerous

Imbriglio 4
criminals. American hostility makes Garcia believe that his presence in the country is
unwanted and burdensome. (Source M)
c. A woman named Tara is a legal immigrant from Albania. She describes her
struggle to survive in America and hr disappointments with the mistreatment she has
received as an immigrant in this country. I am again that nobody, human dust that can
easily be ignored and dismissed. (Source M)
B. American fear
a. 2013 survey reports that 70% of Americans believe that allowing more
immigrants into the country will make it even more difficult to find a job (Source N)
b. An article from Scientific American outlines the underlying reasons for prejudice.
To sum, it claims that people are overly invested in their own groups and tend to
comfortably interact only with people of the same group. They have a set of norms and
this builds up trust within the group. Foreigners, or outsiders of the group, do not have
the same trust within that group, and are considered to pose certain kinds of threats.
We believe they may be more interested in taking our resources, more likely to cheat us
in exchanges, to violate our norms and values, to take more than their fair share, and the
like. These perceptions of threats are linked to negative emotions such as anger and
moral disgust that contribute to anti-immigrant prejudices. (Source O)
C. Surprising places hostility is encouraged
a. Higher education - After recent events in Paris caused by ISIS, a
president of a college in Virginia makes a repulsive suggestion to students.
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s call for everyone on his Lynchburg,
Virginia, campus to get a gun -- to "end those Muslims" and "teach them a lesson if
they ever show up here." (Source P)
b. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump - Its no secret that Donald
Trump is a huge voice behind the anti-immigration campaign. In his recent
presidential campaign, he often describes his plan to stop illegal immigration in
the country. His solution is have Mexico pay for a literal wall on the AmericanMexican border and to also mercilessly deport every child born in the US with
undocumented parents. Much of his promotion for the plan revolves around
statements made regarding the huge amounts of Hispanic immigrants. "When
Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best," he said. "They're
sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems
with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists." Although
he presents no statistics on these claims and they are false, racist, and
demeaning accusations, he has enough power that people believe him no matter
what. This blind and ignorant belief is what fuels the misconceptions ruining our
country today. (Source Q)
c. Members of the House of Representatives - Iowa Representative
Steve King expressed his opinions on immigrant youth in an interview with
Newsmax magazine. For every one whos a valedictorian, theres another 100
out there who weigh 130 pounds and theyve got calves the size of cantaloupes
because theyre hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert. (Source R)
IV. Subtopic 3 - Diverse places that will benefit from cultural awareness and diversity & solutions
to common issues associated with diversity --- Census data from 2010 implies that by 2050

Imbriglio 5
there will no longer be any clear racial or ethnic majority in America (Source S). Major locations
in our everyday life have become more diverse with the presence of immigrants and they will
continue to do so. Its in the best interest of all to explore the benefits this tremendous diversity
has to offer.
A. Workplace
a. In 2014, 25.7 million foreign born people were apart of the US
labor force, comprising 16.5%. Hispanics accounted for 48.3% of the 25.7 mil
while Asians were 24.1% (Source T)
b. Benefits to diversity in workplace once challenges are overcome:
increased adaptability, broader service range, variety of viewpoints, more
effective execution (Source U)
c. If were in an organization where everyone thinks in the same
way, everyone will get stuck in the same place. But if we have people with
diverse tools, theyll get stuck in different places. One person can do their best,
and then someone else can come in and improve on it. Theres a lot of empirical
data to show that diverse cities are more productive, diverse boards of directors
make better decisions, the most innovative companies are diverse. (Source V)
B. School
a. For the first time ever, in 2015 enrollment in American public
schools was set to be dominated by a collection of minorities instead of whites.
The National Center of Education Statistics predicted that 50.3% of the student
body would be comprised of Latinos, African-Americans, and Asians (Source W)
b. In 1994 a study of approximately 1500 students at the University
of Michigan showed that students who interacted with racially and ethnically
diverse peers both informally and within the classroom showed the greatest
engagement in active thinking, growth in intellectual engagement and
motivation, and growth in intellectual and academic skills. (Source X)
c. Jean Snell, clinical professor of teacher education at the
University of Maryland, believes cultural diversity enhances the school
experience, too. There is a richness that comes from students working side by
side with others who are not of the same cookie-cutter mold (Source Y)
C. Solutions
a. Workplace - 5 strategies to go about dealing with diversity in the
workplace: Recognition (know that people act and think differently), Fairness
(Maintain a fair attitude), Focus On Yourself (it must start with adjusting your own
behavior and attitude), Employee Assessments (along with standard
assessments of performance, attitude must be assessed as well), and
Encourage Interaction (acknowledge diversity issues and encourage employees
to learn more about each other in order to work out the issues together) (Source
Z)
b. School - Kenneth Zeichner wrote Educating Teachers for Cultural
Diversity, in 1992 and had 12 key elements for effectively teaching in diverse
environments. A major one is that the teacher must have high expectations for
everybody and not a specific group, no matter the assignment. Teachers must
also help students learn to connect learned material to their own cultures.
(Source AA)

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c. Acts by government - Besides strategies being utilized by those
immediately in the diverse environment to help resolve issues brought up by
diversity, other acts have also been passed to legally require fair treatment in the
workplace and classroom.
d. To put an end to discrimination in the workplace, Congress has
authorized the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This act protects any
worker, citizen or not, that has valid work authorization to be treated fairly. The
employer may not ask for further documentation to prove authorization and may
not treat any individual differently based on their place of birth, skin color, accent,
or ancestry. (Source AB)
e. The US Supreme Court ruling of the Plyler vs. Doe case claimed
that undocumented minors have the same right to attend public schooling just as
US citizens. No school may deny admission of the child, require students or
parents to disclose immigration status, or treat child differently. (Source AC)
V. Conclusion
A. (Counterclaim) Americans are often accused of having xenophobia, an intense or
irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries. Much of this xenophobia is
caused by misunderstandings of other cultures and false accusations. For example,
currently there is a crisis with the Syrian refugee issue. The majority of Americans
support the decision to keep these people in need out of our country because of the
miniscule possibility that they could be connected to ISIS. ISIS is a terrifying threat and a
force that must be dealt with, but it casts an extremely negative and false image on a
group of people that make up a seventh of the global population. The vast majority of
Syrians practice Islam, and ISIS claims to support Islam, but this is no way concludes
that any faithful Muslim is a terrorist. The difference between being dedicated to your
religion and being radical must be drawn. The term radicalism is associated with a group
of people that feel a revolution is necessary and are passionate about their beliefs. They
usually express this belief through violence and terrorism.
B. According to an article from CNN, there are between 85,000 and 106,000 radical
muslims fighting in jihadist groups around the world. Comparing this to the 1.6 billion
population of Muslims in the world (23% of world population), 0.00006625% of Muslims
are radical and support beliefs contradicting the true meaning of Islam. (Source AD)
C. This statistic is a situation that unfortunately occurs across many other groups,
and Americans play into it with their ignorant fears. The amount of people living in this
country that were not originally born here is increasing by the day, and although they
seem different, they are citizens of the same country, have the same rights, and are
equal in the eyes of the law. They are a vital part of many Americans everyday lives, and
that is not going to change any time soon.
D. By understanding the history of immigration, their fears, and their cultures, the
American society as a whole can learn to peacefully coexist in this diverse environment.
These factors may be instilled through cultural awareness, which is imperative to
success for this country in the future. Although all cultures are different in one way or
another, there is one common factor that is supported by all, and that is peace.