For the students at Patchogue-Medford High School, they recall it was a day for the occasional fun and amusement for a certain crowd; some say: to drink a few beers, then go out looking for people to mug, for money or for kicks. Jeffrey Conroy, 17, is a star athlete on a couple of the school's sports teams and was known to partake in these rather crude and criminal-like ventures. According to students, friends, and authorities, Conroy and six other teenagers spent a night drinking in the small town of Medford and proclaimed that they were going to attack "a Mexican," before deciding to set out for the more ethnically diverse community of Patchogue.
There they preyed on their target, who was Marcelo Lucero, an immigrant from Ecuador who had lived mostly in Patchogue out of his 16 years of residence in the United States. He worked in a dry cleaning store, sending a cut of his earnings to his home in Ecuador to support his mother, a cancer survivor. The authorities say that Conroy was the assailant who stabbed Lucero with a knife, after the defendants threw taunts and physically assaulted him beforehand.
For this "comfortable" Suffolk County village, the attack stirred up some hostile arguments and left many horrified and puzzled. The defendants, who pleaded not guilty, were labeled as "white supremacists" for their actions along with having their case called a hate crime by prosecutors. Many of the immigrant advocates believes this crime to be a reflection of the widespread racial intolerance toward the Latino community that has tainted Suffolk County.
However, there are those - who, of course, don't support the killing of Lucero - argue that the crime was in conjunction with the tension and anger that have been the result of the growing numbers, in the last several years, of illegal immigrants that reside in the area and within the town.
"No disrespect here, but I'm a firm believer that if you want to come to this country, you should have a job waiting for you," said Charlie, a co-owner of a shooting range who gave only his first name.
He also stated that that he was offended by some of the vulgar behavior of some of the day laborers - hooting at passing women, the site of public urination, and public littering - and even complained about their resentful influence on the town, claiming that many illegal immigrants join gangs, swelling up the ranks, and have taken advantage of housing by overcrowding their rental apartments.
In the last two decades, Long Island has seen the bloom of the Latin American immigrants because of the employment opportunities, with Ecuadorians being the single largest Latino group. In the past five years, the Latino student population of the Patchogue-Medford School District has risen sharply up to 24 percent, according to the district's superintendent, Michael H. Mostow.
However, with the rise of Latin immigrants, there have also been a rise of hostility toward the Latino population with the highly publicized attacks in Suffolk County for the last few years - one of which included the beating of two Mexican day-laborers back in 2001 that left them nearly to death, and the burning of a Mexican family's house in 2003; both in the town of Farmingville, alone. Many other Latinos, have reported being threatened and physically harassed in the streets, with objects thrown at them and their cars defaced with smashed windows. Racially charged bullying has also become a common thing for children at schools.
While many believe this to be a crime fueled by hate-filled sentiment toward the immigrant population, others feel that this crime was in no way racially related and was somewhat of a tale of drunken teenagers with a tragic end. Others have stated that the defendants were "good kids" and some have cared to point out that Conroy considered many of his Latino and black classmates to be his closest friends and that one of the defendants, Jose Pacheco, 17, is the son of an African-American mother and a Puerto Rican father, who were both victims of hate crime in Patchogue in the early 90's, having their home burned down twice.
According to his brother, Joselo, 34, who lives in Patchogue, Marcelo Lucero hadn't much of a social life and worked hard to help support his family in Gualaceo, Ecuador.
"He was like a protecter... He told me: You have to be a man here. There's no mom here anymore.' "
Conroy was charged with first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and first degree gang assault while the rest of the defendants were charged with first-degree gang assault. They were put on trial on Monday and their case went to a grand jury, reviewing evidence on Thursday, according to a spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney's office.
"I don't really feel hate," said Joselo. "I feel sorry for the families, in some way, because they have to be responsible for their kids."
As Joselo prioritizes to arrange for his brother's body to be sent to Ecuador for burial, local officials have almost entirely made light of, or even downplayed, any suggestion that racial tension had been common in the community. Even so, county and state officials have responded to the killing with plans to establish task forces and outreach programs for the Latino community.
"It is imperative that we bridge the divide," Patchogue's mayor, Paul V. Pontieri Jr., said on Thursday, "and realize that the things we have in common far out number those that divide us."
The number of children who currently reside in areas of Lower Manhattan has almost multiplied by two, since the year 2000. Along with that statistic, the poverty rate has declined over the years in all but one New York City neighborhood and there is a growing majority of Hispanic
residents in th Bronx. For the most part, these conclusions relate to
income, poverty and migration which are likely to be influenced by the
recession.
In providing information regarding detailed demographic data
for small districts of 20,000 people and integrating the results of three years
of surveys, the results suggest some clear statistical clues of trends involving
race, ethnicity, education, housing costs and other subjects.
In nearly every category, the findings
indicated the city's diversity and
dynamism.
For instance, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the small quantity of
residents who don't speak English at home decreased
considerably by more than 17 percent -- pointing to the gentrification in a
densely Hispanic and Asian area. Having said that, on the southernarea of Staten
Island, the measure rose by 26 percent as a result of an influx of Chinese and
Spanish speakers, when the area, before, had a weighty number of Italian and
Russian speakers.
Since the year 2000, most people
have been sent from Mexico, China and the Dominican Republic: 69,000, 77,000 and
81,000.
Adding to their numbers, there were also large increases of
immigrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan, and from Ghana and other areas and
regions in sub-Saharan Africa. First and second-generation Africans and
Caribbean immigrants account for nearly 4 in 10 of the city's black residents.
In the northern borough of the Bronx, the increase of Dominicans and Mexicans helped with adding to the Hispanic population by pushing past 51 percent.
On the whole, the fraction of
foreign New Yorkers still remains around 37 percent, indifferent than in 2000.
However, the amount of foreign-born who are American citizens surpassed a peak,
to 50.8 percent in 2007 from 45 percent back in 2000.
Emphasizing the
growing diversity in the suburbs, the survey showed that the median age in
Kiryas Joel in Orange County is marginally over 14, which makes it the youngest
community in the country with 20,000 or more people accounted for. The high
birth rates of the Hasidic community is underlined by the town's youthfulness.
The research findings represent a
three-year continuous record count by the American Community Survey, a
continuing profile of the country assembled by the Census Bureau, from 2005 to
2007.
"It was taken on the eve of a downturn (the census research began in
December 2007, around the same time the country began it's financial downturn)," said
Andrew A. Beveridge, a sociologist at Queens College, who examined and evaluated
the end results for The New York Times."
There's been
a shift in the cities, but can it sustain itself? The increase in children in
Manhattan, for example, is fueled by the fact that the parents have a lot of
money. But that is tied to the financial industry directly or
indirectly."
The director of the Department of City Planning's Population Division, Joseph J. Salvo, expressed his more optimistic outlook about the possible affect of the recession. "If 9/11 gives us any experience, the dislocation will be of a temporary nature," he says.
"There may be some changes in migration, but people really like to seek out the city as a destination to live."
Politics - Takeru V. Maeda
Several weeks ago, Illinois Sen. Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th president of the United States and the first black man in US history to be elected. News of the country's first mixed race / black president surged throughout the world where many nations celebrated the
victory of the Democratic candidate.
With Obama's new goals and ideals set for a changed America, where does this
place the racial barrier in our country? Has it fully come down or is this just
one of the middle steps in history toward the greater good?
People across the globe gathered in
front of their television sets and expressed their joyous sentiments for
President-elect Obama, as he gave his victory speech in front of an energetic
crowd of nearly a quarter million people. Not in a long time, has so many people
felt they were on the same page with the rest of world; America has never looked
as open-armed as before. It wasn't long ago when Black
Americans endured their struggle for civil rights, yet, today,
we're seeing an even bigger movement
that will spark a dramatic change in our country and possibly the world.
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place
where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is
alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is
your answer," said Barack Obama, on stage in front of his quarter-million crowd
of supporters. - New York Times, 2008
For years Americans had endured the economic and foreign policies of - arguably - the nation's most unpopular Republican president, which left the country with cut ties between itself and other nations. As the final term crept to an end, America needed a new leader; one who vowed to change the direction and tone of the country for a better future. Barack Obama defeated 72 year-old Arizona Sen. John McCain, who had somewhat of a rocky presidential campaign with the burden on his shoulders by fellow republican, President Bush, along with an economic collapse that occurred during the election.
With the newly-elect Obama in power, the world can now believe that we'll be heading into a future with better opportunity; and with environmental issues being one of the biggest concerns and arguments during the election, Obama promises to establish eco-friendly power resources that will give out thousands of jobs across the nation that will perhaps give influences on other nations.
British historian, Tristram Hunt, and Venezuelan political activist, Oswaldo Calvo, both believe that this presidential election will bring back the ray of light that America once shined under. "It allows us to dream a little," says Calvo, 58; "(Mr. Obama) brings the narrative that everyone wants to return to - that America is the land of extraordinary opportunity and possibility, where miracles happen." says Hunt, who was a columnist for a time and has presented documentaries and various radio programs for the BBC, and has lectured at Queen Mary, University of London.
"People feel he is a part of them because he has this multicultural, multiethnic and multinational dimension," says Phillpe Sands, a British lawyer who has written many publications on international law. "He represents, for people in so many different communities and cultures, a personal connection. There is an immigrant component and a minority component." - New York Times, 2008
From a multicultural standpoint, the election of Barack Obama signifies the recognition of contemporary America; that we have become a nation of mixed people, a land of the melting pots, if you will, and the time has come to realize that we are changing into a nation which celebrates the multiplicity of cultures and ethnicities that walk through America's doors.
"This is a historic election, and I recognize the significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight," Mr. McCain said in his concession speech, adding, "We both realize that we have come a long way from the injustices that once stained our nation's reputation." - New York Times, 2008
There is no doubt that racism and ethnic prejudice seemed to have been washed away in this presidential election, yet, for others in this country who hail from other nations, there are still many steps to be made for a racism-free America. Still, this is the first step on a steep hill that will lead us to a brighter and more diverse future that will hopefully change the country for the better.
In his stirring speech, it was Obama who mentioned of a woman by the name of Anne Nixon Cooper who's been living for more than the last 100 years. Through his words, Obama revisited moments in American history where Cooper was around to witness and through her eyes, touches on how the changes in America were vast and how, even today, we can change. She was born and raised in the time when women and Blacks had hardly a voice; a time where Nazi soldiers were given more respect than the Tuskegee aviators; a time where a wall in Berlin was broken; and was lucky enough to see the day when a Mixed race/ Black man was put to power by the people of that same nation. It must've been a proud day for Anne Nixon Cooper; and for the rest of the world, a true glimmer of hope that we can all make a difference.
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5:00 AM - November 18, 2008
In the small town of Patchogue, NY, Latinos are fearing the worse in their relatively quiet and warm community after Marcelo Lucero was murdered in what the Latino population believe to be a hate crime. 
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