Opinion: Burgess Owens — intent vs. impact
Intent is what you mean to do, and impact is how your actions are perceived and felt by others.
'I have never been more excited about where we are,' Burgess Owens recently said about education in Utah. He went on to say, 'The whole purpose of education is to make sure our kids are the best prepared in the entire world.' Unfortunately, comments like these clearly demonstrate how disconnected Congressman Burgess Owens is from realities facing his community.
Utah faces significant challenges in education today:
Between 2021-23, Utah lost approximately 2,056 people to suicide, and 22.9% of Utah high school students have seriously considered suicide. We currently rank 7th in the nation for suicide.
The needs of special education services continue to go unmet due to inadequate support from the state Legislature.
The Starbase Hill program, which inspired students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, was shut down due to a lack of federal funding.
Discrimination persists throughout the state and many schools have failed to respond to formal complaints from parents.
In many cases, when families file civil rights complaints, they are ignored or dismissed by local districts and state education agencies.
Educators are being demoralized by Owens' frequent misrepresentations and lack of support for their work.
While addressing crime, drugs and gang violence is crucial, it is deeply troubling that hardworking immigrant families, many of whom are longtime U.S. citizens, are being unfairly lumped into these categories. Second- and third-generation Americans are being targeted simply because of the color of their skin.
Burgess Owens has shown time and again that he is out of touch and primarily serves his own interests. He has failed to represent the true needs of Utahns.
This is specifically painful given his personal history. In 1969, he was one of four African American players who were integrated onto a university football team — facing the very same type of discrimination he now enables against immigrant and minority children. He is benefiting from the civil rights activism that paved the way for him, while working to dismantle those same efforts for others.
As a U.S. congressman, Burgess Owens took an oath to represent all constituents in Utah. That means listening to constituents across all communities, not just those who align with a political agenda, and upholding the principles of unity and opportunity for all Utah students.
We call on Congressman Owens to truly represent Utah by working with all communities and rejecting divisive rhetoric and harmful policies. Our students and educators deserve better.
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