HOW SHE SEES IT Immigrants' lives in U.S. are mulifaceted

By MARY SANCHEZ
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
The remarkable thing about Western High School, is no one there finds it remarkable.
"You'd have to know our school," is the drawled reply the Kentucky school's principal gives to many questions.
Consider when Principal Louis Hughley hung a Mexican flag outside the building. The flag honored a student who died from a freak soccer accident.
Raising the Mexican flag was a natural response for Principal Hughley.
The flag honored Francisco Valle Victorino. Francisco died Oct. 11, a day after a soccer ball slammed into his neck, tearing an artery.
Francisco was 17, the soccer team's goaltender, and an immigrant from Mexico.
The accident happened during a district match and received widespread media attention, including mentions of the Mexican flag flying.
One Indiana woman called, ranting something like, "how dare you fly that Mexican flag on the school."
Hughley told the woman, "she paid taxes in Indiana, and that she doesn't have anything to say about what goes on in Kentucky."
"I thought, 'The nerve of her. We are in mourning.' Everybody else thought it was great idea."
That is the point.
Media attention to immigrants usually leans heavy on policy coverage, some people's outrage.
The hearings on immigration reform in Congress. The bickering between Republicans and Democrats. The antics of people who want everyday citizens to "patrol" the nation's borders.
All are newsworthy topics.
But for most people, these things are background chatter. Most of America simply goes about living, often alongside immigrants.
Principal Hughley, for instance, doesn't really know what industries might have first attracted Latino immigrants to the Louisville area.
He doesn't need to know.
Special education
He focuses on the fact that more than half of his students qualify for free and reduced lunch, nearly 200 need help with English, and the school has the highest number of children in special education within the district.
"Everybody has their own issues," he says. "They have always gotten along together."
Western has more than 900 students, a good chunk of whom began life in another country.
Russian. Bosnian, Mexican and Cuban, to name a few. The school keeps the flags of nearly twenty countries on hand, all to represent the native lands of students.
Outside the building are holders for each flag.
On special occasions; parent/teacher conferences, assemblies, and now tragedies, the flags are displayed.
"I didn't even think anything about it," Hughley said of raising the Mexican flag. "It was just showing honor and respect for him and his country."
When Francisco died, the people of Louisville did what good people do.
An opposing team presented a wreath to Francisco's team at the district tournament.
Other schools sent flowers. Trading cards where printed with Francisco's photo. Yellow ribbons were pinned to t-shirts.
Collections were taken up to help with costs. A memorial display was set up at the school.
Francisco's father wanted the address of the student who kicked the soccer ball. He wanted to send a letter, letting the child know the family has no ill feelings.
The United States flag at Western High was lowered to half-staff. And a Mexican flag was flown.
The people at Western High don't let the problems get in the way of the goals. And maybe that is why the grief for Francisco is so great.
The community didn't see a child who at 17 was struggling to learn English.
They saw a student who could get through the required two years of ESL language studies.
They didn't see a 17 year old who was still a sophomore.
They saw a potential community college student.
They didn't see a foreign-born teenager who had transferred to the school less than two months ago.
Classmate
They saw a team and classmate.
Considering all of this; one irate telephone call doesn't seem to matter much at Western High.
Francisco Valle Victorino will be buried in the village cemetery of Atlixtac, Mexico.
His Western Warrior team jersey will be retired.
X Mary Sanchez is an opinion-page columnist for The Kansas City Star. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.