Letter: UNM still full of character, culture half a century later

Editor,

I graduated from the University of New Mexico 45 years ago. I am from Ethiopia, and there were four of us at UNM from that country. The three others graduated in engineering and became some of the senior engineers of Haile Selassie's era, while I graduated with a degree in journalism.

Albuquerque then was a small city, and UNM was a small university. Only the Air Force base and the University were what others knew about Albuquerque - apart from that, hardly any American I knew had heard much about the city. America was always inward-minded, and much more so when it comes to sticking to one's birth state than those outside it.

In spite of all that, Americans treated foreigners well, and Africans in particular. They gave us much respect, and gave even more to this with talent and intelligence. Everywhere I went, I was made to feel comfortable. The University of New Mexico was one of the distinctions in treating foreigners from Africa, Asia and the rest of the world superbly, even though there were not many attending the University at that time. This attitude perfectly matched with the University's multicultural background and emphasis on multiculturalism.

With all this in my memory, I dropped in at the University of New Mexico three months ago with my wife and children. All were expecting a unique state, a mosaic of a community whose University led the trend. I had not imagined that after 45 years, even new generations of New Mexicans had not destroyed the past, but nurtured it to successfully blend the state's multiple cultures. New Mexico has become a state of unparalleled beauty and retained its character as a cultural mosaic.

Above all, I returned to salute the one professor in the journalism department I could never forget - professor Keen Rafferty, who used to remind me that I could change Africa not with fiery rhetoric but with the wise words of reporting and editorials. Journalism of this kind, he said, could be tailored to the level of understanding of the people and the maturity and enlightenment of governments. Many have sacrificed their lives in Ethiopia in defense of freedom of the press since I left UNM, and only these journalists and their colleagues in the Third World can say how true his words were.

Those who went back to Africa with a disciplined and multicultural education like that provided by the University have recorded great achievements in their countries. The University of New Mexico can feel proud to have made possible the graduation and return of so many to the underdeveloped world, not only as journalists but as engineers, doctors and academics of all professions.

Ayalew Wolde Giorgis

UNM alumnus