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Life & Times Transcript
01/17/06 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- What happens when one school's religious beliefs conflict with university standards? Des Starr>> We are a country that was founded on Christian beliefs and we want to teach from our Christian perspective. Robert Tyler>> You go ahead and teach them, but you're not going to get college prep credits for them. Val Zavala>> And then, the setting is almost other-worldly, but it's perfect for a world-class art collection. These stories and more next on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> It's an interesting feud between church and state. At a Christian school, students take courses with a Christian perspective, but now University of California officials say those classes won't count if those students apply to UC campuses. Roger Cooper takes a look at both sides of the controversy. [Film Clip] Roger Cooper>> At this high school in south Riverside County, students are learning about music, marching and showmanship as they practice for an appearance at the Liberty Bowl. But they also have a unique opportunity to learn about the boundary between church and state. Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta is a private institution where some one thousand students are taught courses from a Christian point of view. Des Starr>> We are a country that was founded on Christian beliefs and we want to teach from our Christian perspective. Roger Cooper>> Des Starr is Superintendent at Calvary Chapel Christian. Des Starr>> They teach evolution, they teach intelligent design and they teach creationism and they show where the flaws are in evolution. Roger Cooper>> But a few months back, Calvary Chapel School got some news. The University of California informed them that some of their courses would not be given credit when the students applied to the UC system. Specifically, UC officials rejected textbooks for three Christian-oriented courses in history, government and literature as too narrow to be accepted for college prep credits. The school turned to attorney Robert Tyler to look into it. Robert Tyler>> In the response to these courses, it became blatantly apparent that it's not really what was being taught, but how it was being taught. Roger Cooper>> So last August, six Calvary Chapel students filed a federal lawsuit alleging the UC system discriminates against private Christian schools. Christopher Patti is the attorney for the University of California system. We spoke with him by speaker phone from the UC headquarters in Oakland. Christopher Patti>> In the university's view, it is what is being taught. Our review of the textbooks and the courses suggests that they're not really teaching these subject matters. Robert Tyler>> Essentially what the UC is trying to do is kind of secularize private Christian schools. They allow numerous other courses taught from numerous other viewpoints. Religious, philosophical and other types of viewpoints, including political, at other private schools and they give college prep credits through courses that are taught from different viewpoints. Roger Cooper>> Tyler heads a Temecula law firm called Advocates for Faith and Freedom. Robert Tyler>> But the Calvary Chapel Christian School submitted curriculum for a few courses because the UC looked at those courses and thought that they were expressing too much of a Christian viewpoint and they said we're not going to accept those courses for sake of college prep credits. Christopher Patti>> Well, that's actually not what the university said about those courses. What the university said was that they didn't meet the university's academic requirements. Roger Cooper>> And, says Patti, this is not a case of religious discrimination. Christopher Patti>> First of all, we want to make it clear that the university is not in any way seeking to exclude students who attend Christian schools or even to influence what those students learn in the religion courses that they take. The fact is that the university has accepted now, I think, more than fifty courses from Calvary Christian Academy in Murrieta and has accepted many, many students from that school. Courses have to meet certain academic standards and, in this case, the courses just didn't meet them. Roger Cooper>> The lawsuit is also being filed on behalf of the Association of Christian Schools International. It says the UC has also rejected some textbooks from Bob Jones University Press and A Beka Press as not consistent with the viewpoints and knowledge generally accepted in the scientific community. Robert Tyler>> The UC had a problem with the textbooks and, in those textbooks, they looked at them and they said, you know, these are just too religious apparently. Now that's a real problem because what they're looking at is the viewpoint being taught. Christopher Patti>> To give you an example, the biology text said that it was intended to teach religion first and science second, and the university's view and the view of its faculty is that a science course needs to teach science first. So it wasn't that there was some religious viewpoints in the text. It was just that it didn't do a good job of teaching the subject matter that the university requires to be taken. Roger Cooper>> Tyler contends the UC's bias is evident from other courses it does approve. Robert Tyler>> In this particular case, the UC has given college prep credits for Intro to Buddhism, Islam, Intro to Rabbinic literature, literature of the counter-culture. What we're objecting to is the fact that the UC has allowed other schools to teach these other types of courses from a very narrow and defined perspective, yet will not allow Calvary Chapel Christian School to teach Christianity's influence on America or Christianity and the American republic. Roger Cooper>> What's your response to his contention there? Christopher Patti>> Well, it's accurate that the university has approved, usually as electives, courses about religion or other points of view, but those courses are required to be academic in nature. Robert Tyler>> For some reason, they don't want to recognize for sake of college prep credit courses that are viewed from a Christian standpoint. Christopher Patti>> Well, it's not true that it always gets the door slammed on it and, if you review approved university course lists, you will see that there are many, many courses dealing with Christianity that have been approved. But those are courses that, in our view, teach the subject matter in an academic fashion. Roger Cooper>> The UC points out that students who choose to take non-approved courses can still take tests and get into the UC schools, but Tyler says the practical impact of that is to discourage students from taking the Christian-oriented courses. What does this lawsuit mean to you? Des Starr>> Hopefully, it will mean that we will be able to have the UC system recognize our Christian perspective, the viewpoint from which we teach. Christopher Patti>> Basically, that's what we believe is at stake in this course, our ability to set and maintain high academic standards for which the university is known. Robert Tyler>> There is a counter-culture that has been opposed to Christian influences in America for a long time. You watch the news and you see it all over the place. So these are students who I'm proud to represent because they are willing to take a stand at an important time. Roger Cooper>> Church and state have come into conflict on a high school campus and it's now up to a federal court to see if it can restore harmony. In Murrieta, I'm Roger Cooper for Life and Times. [Film Clip] Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Hena Cuevas>> The war against graffiti is one that is fought in Los Angeles every day. Graffiti seems to be everywhere and getting rid of it is an uphill battle. But here in the city of Glendale, one police officer has decided to make eliminating graffiti his own personal mission. We met up with Officer Jerry Eubel of the Glendale Police Department to find out how he's spraying away graffiti one paint can at a time. When Officer Jerry Eubel goes on patrol, he's usually armed with more than a gun. What he does requires that he carry an unusual arsenal in the trunk of his police car. [Film Clip] Hena Cuevas>> An array of paint cans. Yes, paint cans to wipe out all the graffiti he encounters. As he drives the streets of Glendale, Eubel is on the lookout for any graffiti markings, or tags as they're also called. Jerry Eubel>> The key is to determine where the graffiti is and get it out as soon as possible. Don't give these kids, these criminals, a chance to bring their friends over and show off their tagging names. They're graffiti artists, so they call themselves. Hena Cuevas>> And these so-called artists are giving him a lot of work. When Eubel spots graffiti, he pulls over, looks for the right color and begins to spray. Jerry Eubel>> As you notice here on the trash can bin that I just painted out, there were two markings. Then if you look over here by the apartment complex, you see a little bit more graffiti, so it's very important to get it painted out as soon as possible to keep more from adding to the area. Hena Cuevas>> He works together with the department's gang crime unit to catch the taggers and they have a simple way to spot those who have been vandalizing property. Jerry Eubel>> If we have some graffiti that just occurred maybe by some kids or teenagers and the police happen to stop a group of people, we can check their hands. As you notice on my hand, there's a little bit of gray paint from just painting this out. So this is a telltale sign of somebody that just did some graffiti. Hena Cuevas>> Eubel started fighting graffiti seven years ago. When he noticed just how serious the problem had become, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Jerry Eubel>> I decided that it was just easier to go buy a couple of cans of spray paint, put it in the trunk and that way I would be able to get rid of it immediately. Hena Cuevas>> Whenever possible, he tries to match the colors. Jerry Eubel>> We have gray, tan. We have red here just in case there's some graffiti on a curb and we can paint that out. We have our dumpster blue that always works well. We also have our gray cinderblock wall paint. This works good on different walls that we can actually dip this in here and paint right over it and notify the owners. We have everything in here that we need to get rid of graffiti immediately. Hena Cuevas>> What's the color that you use the most? Jerry Eubel>> The color that I probably use the most is white. If it doesn't match exactly, it's good to put white paint over maybe a light tan wall if I didn't have that color. So probably white. Hena Cuevas>> What would happen if every police officer had one of these little anti-graffiti kits? Jerry Eubel>> (Laughter) Well, to be honest with you, I truly believe there's so many police officers out there, again, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, and I think, if all police cars have this, I don't think you'd see graffiti. Hena Cuevas>> But he's not free to cover all the graffiti he encounters, like this one at a local business. In this case, he must contact the owner first. Jerry Eubel>> This here does not look like a typical gang graffiti. This looks like kids that were doing some tagging. But if you don't remove this right away, these kids that did this will come back, show their friends and now their friends might want to do another piece of tagging next to this, maybe in competition. Hena Cuevas>> Have you ever had people think that it's a waste of time for you to be looking out for graffiti instead of focusing on other things that police officers should be doing? Jerry Eubel>> Not one person has said to me that this is a waste of time. People in the community want this taken out and people see me constantly painting out graffiti. People honk, wave, say "Good job" and, you have to remember, it would only take me just a couple of minutes to paint out a little bit of graffiti. So it's not like I'm spending, you know, hours upon hours doing this instead of maybe looking for what people might say real criminals. We're still looking for that also, but then again, you have to remember, graffiti will bring more criminals to the area. Hena Cuevas>> And actually, graffiti is a crime. Jerry Eubel>> And graffiti is a crime, yes. Hena Cuevas>> In capturing the taggers, Eubel also gets help from the community. Jerry Eubel>> I've gone out and put reward signs over the graffiti that I've painted out. We've done it four times and all four times people have called in and we've captured the people that have done it. One time I put up a sign, a reward sign, to catch a particular person and that person went and graffitied my sign. I did take that quite personally and we did catch him. Hena Cuevas>> And it's not just graffiti. Eubel's approach to policing includes getting rid of other things he says can also breed criminal activities. Jerry Eubel>> When I start my day, what I'll do is come up to the district and I'll drive the entire district and I'll be looking for any fresh or new graffiti, anything that's been abandoned, any garbage that might be in the area. Then once that's complete, if I find any, I'll either call the business and have them remove it or I'll remove it. Hena Cuevas>> Like an old couch and dresser left abandoned on the side of the road. Jerry Eubel>> "Well, yeah, I'm down here at Verdugo and Fern and there's a couch and it looks like a wooden broken chest of drawers. I was wondering if you might have someone up in the area that can remove it." You'll drive by maybe in a couple of days and you'll see a refrigerator. You know, then you'll see an old toilet sitting there. At some point in time, you have to do something and, if not the police, really then who? Hena Cuevas>> As a community police officer, Eubel maintains close contact with the residents in his patrol area who also work as his eyes and ears. Jerry Eubel>> "So these police reports got dropped off. Any graffiti ones in the area?" >> "There was this one, yes." Jerry Eubel>> Now they might go out and damage a wall and only put four or five letters on that wall, maybe one foot by one foot, but to bring that wall back to its original color, the entire wall needs to be repainted. So what they think might just be a little bit of paint that they're painting out might turn into a thousand dollar repair project. Hena Cuevas>> And that's the type of expense he's trying to eliminate even if it means doing it one spray can at a time. I'm Hena Cuevas for Life and Times. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Val Zavala>> It is a garden of sculpture and every one of the artists is from Latin America. It's the latest addition to the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach and Vicki Curry took a tour. Vicki Curry>> Tucked behind the Museum of Latin American Art is a multi-level space lined with cacti and palm trees. Artworks stand on bold display in some places. Others are nestled among the minimalist landscaping. It's a Sculpture Garden unlike any other. Gregorio Luke>> This garden is a uniquely Latin American art space and it is because not only the artists are Latin American, but also the design of it is very much influenced by contemporary Latin American architecture. Vicki Curry>> The museum, known as MoLAA, brought together more than a dozen sculptures in this space designed by Long Beach architect, Chris Brown. Gregorio Luke>> The main characteristics of the contemporary Latin American architecture is first a simplification of the space, a pursuit of purity in design and also a very interesting use of color. We're not here trying to create a movie set, but to find some of those elements that define the Latin American spirit and put them together. Vicki Curry>> The contemporary sculptures come from Mexico, Central and South America and Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. Gregorio Luke>> There are many different expressions of Latin American art and this museum and this garden is a product of that plurality. In Latin America where there is not such a powerful critical establishment and where there are many traditions, you have artists that are exploring and trying to define in different ways what it means to be Latin American today. This is a piece by Fernando de Szyszlo who is Peruvian. de Szyszlo is one of the most important abstract artists in Latin America today. This is a piece called "The Black Sun". After the conquest, the Incas thought that it was going to be a season of great sadness, so this is a sun that doesn't shine. You can look at it as many levels. You know the meaning of it, or you can just admire it by the beauty of its form. This sculpture is a piece by Carlos Luna who is Cuban. It's called "War-Giro". It's a little play of words and what is interesting about this piece is the fact that it has like two sides to it. You have on the one side a living being and on the other you have a skeleton. So this is an idea of duality and forms a lot of the art of Latin America. This is a piece by Cecilia Miguez and she is an artist that has an exquisite technique. You can see the very realistic ways. Look at those hands. But in this particular case, she combines her form with a kind of industrial kind of object and she calls it "The Time Traveler". Again, it's an interesting combination of very detailed work with what you could look at as some kind of a conceptual expression. Vicki Curry>> And this artist now lives in Los Angeles, right? Gregorio Luke>> Yes, she is living here. Guillermo Trujillo is the author of this nucho. He is from Panama and he is an artist that is very much interested in recreating Latin America's pre-Hispanic past. So the nuchos are figures that are connected with pre-Hispanic mythology. They are these figures that are half-ghost, half-spirit and this nucho was created specifically for the museum, so it's called "Nucho de Morla". Vicki Curry>> Now this sculpture looks pretty different from the rest of the ones in the garden. Gregorio Luke>> Yes, this is by an artist who created "Angel of the Americas", so it is an angel. Of course, the wings are suggested and it communicates a sense of elevation somehow. I like also, in some of the pieces, normally we're not used to thinking of sculpture in terms of its color. Yet we have several examples in this garden in which you actually see how the metal is painted and color becomes an integral part of the artistic creation, as in this great example. Vicki Curry>> Another recurring theme in the Sculpture Garden is animals. Gregorio Luke>> In pre-Hispanic mythology, animals play a decisive role. Dogs, for example, are supposed to guide people in the after-life. The animal becomes, many times, an alter-ego to the person and a symbol of that identity and that personality. This piece by a Mexican artist is a bull, somehow reminiscent of cubism. It's a bull formed of geometrical forms and you get the feeling that it's his territory and he's somehow guarding his turf. This is the work of an Argentinean artist, Gustavo Lopez Armandias. Of course, the idea of making enlarged objects is not new, but what Lopez Armandias does is that not only he creates these large figures, but he also builds into them and somehow he tries to connect these objects with his own memories or what these objects suggest because our memories are always triggered by objects. Vicki Curry>> Memory is also triggered by sights and sounds. MoLAA mixes a music, theater and dance to showcase the diversity of Latin American culture. Gregorio Luke>> Many forms of beauty will be brought together here. The static beauty of the sculptures and the beauty and motion of the dances and the musicians. Vicki Curry>> But the museum is much more than an ambassador of Latin American culture. Gregorio Luke>> It is very important in today's life to open a space for beauty. By looking at art and by looking at nature and by listening to music, we can also see ourselves in those sculptures. We can hear ourselves in that music and we can find bridges between each other and towards our own spirit. Val Zavala>> For more information, you can go to the website for the Museum of Latin American Art at www.molaa.org. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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