January 15, 1999
By Lisett Labra and
Sergio Martinez
On our recent trip to Governor Gray Davis' Inauguration on January 4, 1999, we flew into Sacramento on a very foggy and chilly day. Our flight was delayed about an hour but it was still interesting because we sat behind the Consul General of Mexico, Luis Herrera-Lasso. When we arrived in Sacramento we took a taxi to the Governor's Inaugural at Memorial Auditorium.
While at the Inaugural, we heard from a powerful choir, an incredible singer and a fine military orchestra. As moderator of the event, Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante started off the ceremony by telling the audience that he was the Governor for the next fifteen minutes, that is, until Gray Davis was sworn in as Governor. Also in attendance were Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper, Governor Pete Wilson and his wife Gayle, various other U.S. officials, as well as a couple of Governors from Mexico and other dignitaries from California and beyond.
When Chief Justice George of California's Supreme Court swore in Gray Davis, his wife Sharon, was at his side. Afterwards, Governor Gray Davis was being applauded which caused him to "raise the roof" with his hands, which received even more applause.
When Governor Davis gave his Inaugural speech we were glad to hear that education reform was going to be very important to him. One of the topics that we thought were most important was that in about four years, students would have to pass a high school exit exam before graduation, which means that those who do not pass may not be ready for college (or life)? The second education topic we felt was important was his wanting to put millions of dollars into a reading program for elementary school students. As middle school students we now see this as very important. The final topic that most impressed us was Governor Davis' idea of making sure that the top 4% of all California high school graduates being given the chance to enter a University of California system school, which is our goal as well.
After the Inaugural event, we ran into San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Alan Bersin. He told us that we "can be anything you want to be as long as you want to be it." We were also interviewed by a T.V. station from Fresno about our views on Governor Davis' comments on education reform.
From there we went to visit our host, Senator Richard G. Polanco of Los Angeles. Since he bought our plane tickets and invited us to the Capitol on January 4, 1999, we were supposed to have lunch with him, but our plans changed due to our delayed flight. Instead, we met with Senator Polanco, the Senate Majority Leader, in his huge and antique-filled office. He spoke to us at length about his life in East L.A. as a young boy through what it took for him to become a Senator. He is a bright, very nice and energetic person.
After meeting Senator Polanco and having lunch, he arranged a tour of the Capitol for us. We were able to visit both houses of the Capitol and learn about the interesting history. We also learned about how a bill becomes a law and about how the Governor can either sign, amend or veto a bill. Right after the tour we met Latino artists Edward James Olmos, Rita Moreno, Carlos Santana and Luis Valdez. These artists were there to promote educational programs for all California youth. Their slogan was "Cada cabeza es un mundo," meaning each mind (head) is a world.
At the end of our interesting trip we were invited by Assemblywoman Denise Moreno Ducheny, to Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante's Inaugural Celebration. We waited in 32 degree weather outside for over an hour as we waited to get inside the State Rail Road Museum. We were freezing! When we finally got inside, we got stuck in the hot dog line, but did get to check out some really old and large trains. We didn't have time to listen to comedian Paul Rodriguez and rock band Los Lobos, because we had to get back to the Sacramento Airport to catch our flight back home to San Diego.
Hopefully, Governor Gray Davis' cabeza will lead our mundo into a better place for us all in the years to come?
Lisett Labra and Sergio Martinez are Middle School Component Students at the Barrio Logan College Institute.
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