The Marquette Tribune reported on March 3 that the Marquette Student Government Senate has passed "Making it Clear" legislation which calls for a special task force to evaluate the English proficiency of Marquette teaching assistants and professors.

The legislation was drawn up in response to students who "have trouble understanding TAs and professors whose primary language is not English." I find this legislation offensive and shortsighted.

Marquette TAs and professors, regardless of their mother tongue, all go through a detailed application process. Those selected for admission to the university, TA positions, or professorships are obviously fluent enough to have met admissions and employment standards. Students who complain they do not understand these individuals most likely are not listening carefully enough.

It is narrow-minded to suggest that everyone who works at Marquette should speak English with the same accent. Foreign students and professors enrich the academic dialogue at Marquette, and domestic students should be thankful rather than hold the foreign academics in distain for not speaking with uniform pronunciation.

Although understanding foreign professors and TAs may require effort at first for students who are not used to hearing diverse accents, it is certainly no impossible task; it merely requires patience and concentration.

In the increasingly global marketplace of ideas, individuals who speak only one language are at a distinct disadvantage. Rather than complaining that they cannot understand, Marquette students should embrace the opportunity to practice listening to people who speak English in different ways. If Marquette provides a student's first experience with foreign accents, it certainly will not be their last.

Instead of expecting everyone to speak uniform English, we should be grateful for those who have made the effort to learn English thereby enriching our academic experience.

Gabrielle Bielen is a graduate student in the College of Arts & Sciences.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Mar. 15 2005.