Teen told to hold her tongue

Stephanie F. is fluent in both English and Spanish. She dislikes presumptuous non-Hispanics who tell her she shouldn't speak Spanish in public.

It has happened several times to the 16-year-old Las Vegan, who was born in the United States to parents who had emigrated from Central America.

Once it happened at a public middle school after Stephanie, her sister and Spanish-speaking friends were chatting among themselves in Spanish in the cafeteria. Stephanie says a guidance counselor called them into an office and told them not to talk Spanish at school, not even outside of lessons.

According to the teen, the adult told them that non-Spanish-speaking students had been complaining.

"We weren't talking about them. ... They need to keep out of our business," was Stephanie's response.

Another time, she and her sister were at Circus Circus, heading for the Adventuredome amusement park.

A stranger behind them, whom she described as a man of retirement age, chastised them for their private conversation.

The gist of his remarks was, "This is America. You guys need to talk English. Guests can't talk Spanish. It's rude."

Stephanie says she tends to keep quiet during class discussions about current events, in which fellow students have expressed the opinion that children whose parents are illegal immigrants "shouldn't go to school because their parents don't pay taxes."

Stephanie defends her silence on the grounds that "I'm mad. I don't want to go off. I just let them talk. They don't know anything."

In fact, a U.S. Supreme Court decision has upheld the right of all youngsters residing in the United States to receive a public education from kindergarten through grade 12, regardless of the immigration status of the child or the child's parent.

Stephanie is not publishing her last name in order to protect local relatives, some of whom are illegal immigrants to this country. She lives with her mom, who is a naturalized citizen.