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Contact: Jason Marton
jason.marton@tamuk.edu or 361-593-4143

"Frontier Justice" informational panel brings together minutemen, contra minutemen to discuss border issues Tuesday, Oct. 25

KINGSVILLE (October 20, 2005) — Should citizens take it upon themselves to patrol the Texas/Mexico border? What consequences could that bring?

These and other questions will be addressed by the different voices speaking out on South Texas border issues in the free public informational forum “Frontier Justice: A Forum on Border Issues” Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in ballroom A of the Memorial Student Union Building at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Dr. Edwin Rowley, associate professor and chair of communications & theatre arts, will serve as moderator to a forum featuring representatives from differing sides of the Texas/Mexico border issue. Among the groups to be represented are the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of Texas, a citizen volunteer group with the aim of watching the border for undocumented workers and smuggling operations; and the Contra Minutemen Coalition, a group of people formed in Brooks County that take issue with Minutemen activities.

The Minutemen representatives scheduled to appear are Al Garza, president of the organization, and Falfurrias veterinarian Dr. M.L. Vickers. Contra Minutemen chair Michael Chavez is scheduled to speak on behalf of his group, along with Falfurrias attorney J. Michael Guerra.

Tentatively, Brooks County Judge J.B. Garcia has agreed to speak among those on the panel as well.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will not be a part of the forum, but is scheduled to be present to discuss the issue of civil rights.

The event is part of the national American Democracy Project, an initiative that seeks to create an intellectual and experiential understanding of civic engagement for undergraduates. The project is directed by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities

(AASCU), with a project co-director coming from The New York Times. Heading up Texas A&M-Kingsville’s American Democracy Project efforts is Dr. Leslie Hunter, Regents Professor in history.

Students Lilia Gonzalez and Aaron Cuevas are the key organizers of the event and have high hopes for what it can accomplish.

“It’s a complex situation, hard to understand,” said Gonzalez. “Hopefully, those who just see newspaper headlines about these issues will know more of the facts through this forum.”

Cuevas added that the forum will serve as an unfiltered source of information for the university and the community.

Gonzalez and Cuevas noted the formal support the forum has received from various student groups. They include the Pre-Law Society; Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MECHA); Pi Sigma Alpha; Sigma Lambda Beta; Omega Delta Phi; Student Government Association; Kappa Delta Chi; and the Robert J. Kleberg History Club.

More information on “Frontier Justice: A Forum on Border Issues” is available through faculty organizer Cecilia Aros Hunter at 361-593-4154.

This page last updated 21 October, 2005