New Haven Independent

Posted by: cedarhillresident | October 23, 2007 10:11 AM

Bravo to all these young minds that have got a chance to save the world!!

Posted by: charlie | October 23, 2007 10:38 AM

We should open our doors and welcome more families and children from these countries. Research shows that cities with very large numbers of immigrants (like New Haven) become far, far more successful than cities that do not have many immigrants (like Baltimore, Detroit, and Hartford).

Maybe instead of spending Market New Haven's huge pot of money on attracting suburbanites, we should spend it advertising New Haven's virtues in countries like Turkey and Guinea.

Posted by: westvillecharlie | October 23, 2007 4:17 PM

Just curious, by the way, yeah its great that we take in the world. However, do we have any figures on how many poor kids from Congress avenue and Lilac Street we are completely supporting. Or, if we want to get exotic, how many from appalicia, New Orleans and East St. Louis?
Are our proirites with our own or are they with people from far away? The hard truth is that our own people must be the first priority, when we are all in a situation where we are safe, fed and educated then we can take on the problems of the world.
Why is New Haven's powers that be so facinated with the health and well being of the third world, when our own citizens go hungry, cold and in danger of being shot by stray bullets.
And for success, i'm thinking the reader means our wopping graduation rates, our over 20% poverty rate and our skyrocketing taxes. By the way, Baltimore - greeks, Detroit - Iraqis & Hartford - Every West Indian Island you can think of.
We are o.k. with taking on the indigent of the world until we can stand on our own.

Posted by: sammy j | October 23, 2007 5:07 PM

No thanks, we're full up here, why don't you try Cabridge or Stamford. Thanks anyway

Posted by: Shirley Ugest | October 23, 2007 6:21 PM

Charlie! What are we doing to educate the kids that are already here. I think what you're suggesting is something like scholastic free agency. Recruit high performing kids from around the world in order to get test scores up. There's something that stinks about that.

Posted by: king james v | October 23, 2007 11:03 PM

I'd also rather take care of our own kids first. Turkey, Guinea and Egypt are not countries from which the U.S. takes refugees. They did not leave war torn countries, or even countries we consider supporting terrorists.
My kids, the kids of the people i grew up with - they are more important. Sorry, we're full up here, when new haven's kids are all successfully enrolled in college, we'll take a few, for now, please enjoy a pizza on wooster st. and keep moving.

Posted by: charlie | October 24, 2007 11:12 PM

Sorry, but all of you anti-immigrant posters above totally lost the argument. You didn't even bother addressing the fact I pointed out, which is that cities with tons of immigrants are FAR, FAR, FAR, FAR more successful than those without. Of course every city, even Baltimore, has SOME foreign born population, but I'm talking about the vast differences between a 4-5% foreign born population (Detroit, Baltimore), and 18-20+% (Boston, San Francisco, New Haven, Chicago, New York, etc.). There are enormous differences between these places. Baltimore, for example, has a murder rate (murders per person) that is approximately 10 times higher than New Haven's or Boston's. Cities with high proportions of immigrants are not only much safer than those without, they also have lower tax rates, more vibrant economies, lower unemployment rates and higher school graduation rates. And by a significant margin. So if you want to bump up the graduation rates of the "people already here", it goes without saying that you should all be looking to bring in more immigrants to this city. Not the other way around. Sorry to burst your little xenophobic bubbles, but that is just the way it is.

Posted by: Shirley Ugest | October 25, 2007 3:13 PM

Charlie?!
Do the math. You water down the results of poor performing students (locally born) with kids from a different culture - the results will change. My point is: "What culture are we bringing to the kids already here in order to change their lives." Your thesis suggests that the cultures of native born Americans is a culture that encourages murder rates above and beyond what is proportional. Even if it was true, do we now take New Haven's native born kids and transport them to Africa and bring the African kids here. Your view seems to much more pessimistic than you seem to realize. "Let's just forget the kids we have." I'm sorry, but I don't adhere to that view. I have all the faith in the world that American cultures have a great deal going for them and shouldn't be written off a disposible. These people are worth more than that and the present school system in this country has not been able to tap into the vast potential of these kids. It needs to change.

Posted by: charlie | October 25, 2007 5:41 PM

Shirley, once again, you are missing the point. This has nothing to do with "watering down" results or how the different groups perform. Immigrants are a win-win situation because they energize the economy and build the civic infrastructure. Cities that attract a large number of immigrants meet higher performance benchmarks in every category, both among the immigrant groups themselves as well as among the native-born population groups. American culture is great on its own, but American culture is also about immigration and the acceptance of different people and different ideas. All I am saying is that the cities that attract immigrants are the ones that perform the best, and if New Haven wants to be the best city out there, e.g., one of the 10 best U.S. cities instead of just one of the 20 or 30 best, it should be working harder to attract even more immigrants than it already has. Maybe this includes redirecting Market New Haven's cash to Turkey.

Posted by: Shirley Ugest | October 26, 2007 4:29 AM

You only need to look towards Amistad to see what is possible with what and who we have now. If a large immigrant population is so important to the peace, well being, and performance of our city, then this should thesis should apply world wide. Why are places like Tokyo, and Ankora, Turkey not a mess and New Haven is? It's not because these places have high percentages of immigrants. The thesis is flawed at its roots. The problem is that 7th and 8th graders are learning 4th grade math. We have dumbed down standards. Importing students will not magically change that. Again, your thesis is flawed.