G.A.: Well, when Chicanas read Borderlands, when it was read by little Chicanas in particular, it somehow legitimated them. They saw that I was code-switching, which is what a lot of Chicanas were doing in real life as well, and for the first time after reading that book they seemed to realize, “Oh, my way of writing and speaking is okay” and, “Oh, she is writing about La Virgen de Guadalupe, about la Llorona, about the corridos, the gringos, the abusive, et cetera. So if she [Gloria Anzaldua] does it, why not me as well?” The book gave them permission to do the same thing. So they started using code-switching and writing about all the issues they have to deal with in daily life. To them, it was like somebody was saying: You are just as important as a woman as anybody from another race. And the experiences that you have are worth being told and written about.
KPI_Library Bookmarks on 13 Apr 10By Tara Siler on All Things Considered, NPR, March 31, 2010. Siler reports that students miss out on financial aid, particularly in community colleges, because they don't understand the system. Pell Grants can be particularly useful to low income students, if they understand how, when, and why to apply.
