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In Phoenix, A New Quest For Diverse Public Pool Lifeguards
NPR ^ | 3/28/2013

Posted on 04/06/2013 11:58:37 AM PDT by Altura Ct.

After noticing that most of the lifeguards at the public pools used by Latino and African-American kids were white, the Phoenix aquatics department decided to try to recruit minorities.

More than 90 percent of the students at Alhambra High are black, Latino or Asian. On a recruiting effort there over the winter, the city's Melissa Boyle tells students she's not looking for strong swimmers. Like many under-resourced schools, Alhambra doesn't have a swim team.

"We will work with you in your swimming abilities," Boyle says.

Boyle's colleague Kelly Martinez takes on the delicate task of explaining the scenario the city is trying to correct.

"The kids in the pool are all either Hispanic or black or whatever, and every lifeguard is white," she says, "and we don't like that. The kids don't relate; there's language issues."

Martinez turns to a Latina student to her. "Do you speak Spanish?" she asks. "We need more lifeguards who can speak Spanish."

Competitive swimming still has a reputation as a white sport. And a national study released in 2010 found African-Americans and Latinos reported much lower swimming proficiency compared to whites.

"It's that catch-22," says Becky Hulett, who oversees Phoenix's public pools. "If the kids don't learn how to swim, as adults they are not going to swim, [and] they aren't going to take their own kids to swim."

So two years ago, Hulett began rethinking lifeguard . Traditionally, Phoenix's 500 lifeguards came from more affluent parts of town, most of which are farther from the public pools.

"It really populated from schools that had swim teams, and so that was our feeder into our lifeguarding programs," she says.

To help diversify its lifeguard ranks, the city raised about $15,000 over the past two years in scholarships to offset the cost of lifeguard-certification . Recruits who pass a swim test at the end can apply to be city lifeguards.

As the teens swim laps at Alhambra, it's clear many haven't had much formal training. But the coaches of the course aren't fazed and are prepared to put in the time to teach.

"Honestly, I have a little bit a fear of the water, and I wanted to overcome that fear," says high school junior Jesus Jimenez. He didn't grow up going to pools with his family but likes the idea of lifeguarding.

"It is nice to have the satisfaction of knowing that if somebody is in trouble you can save them at any time," he says.

If he is selected to be a lifeguard, other pool staff will work with him on his swimming skills all summer.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Mexico; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: affirmativeaction; arizona; beckyhulett; kellymartinez; melissaboyle; mexico; phoenix; quotas
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To: Altura Ct.
More than 90 percent of the students at Alhambra High are black, Latino or Asian. On a recruiting effort there over the winter, the city's Melissa Boyle tells students she's not looking for strong swimmers. Like many under-resourced schools, Alhambra doesn't have a swim team.

Notice the 'pity party' excuse?

It's not that their parents didn't give a damn about raising their kids - it's because their schools didn't have 'swim teams'...

IS THERE ANYONE here who learned to swim at school? Anyone? There are public pools in every city.... maybe the parents should get off their behinds and take their kids to free swim lessons or teach them themselves.

When the first child dies at one of these public pools attempting to be 'oh so inclusive' how will guilty white liberal idiots find a way to blame white people?

41 posted on 04/06/2013 1:35:39 PM PDT by GOPJ (New AP term for Illegal Aliens IS Undocumented Democrats.... Jay Leno)
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"The kids in the pool are all either Hispanic or black or whatever, and every lifeguard is white," she says, "and we don't like that. The kids don't relate; there's language issues."

She has a point there. Water doesn't speak spanish.

42 posted on 04/06/2013 1:36:45 PM PDT by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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To: GOPJ
"More than 90 percent of the students at Alhambra High are black, Latino or Asian."

That means that 90 per cent of the parents are lazy, stupid, and are too apathetic to have their kids get swimming lessons. Maybe THAT is why anglo kids are life guards?

43 posted on 04/06/2013 1:41:45 PM PDT by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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To: Mouton

Long ago I lived in Chicago and would go biking along the lake on th near north side. Being a pretty good swimmer, I went through mental scenarios based on being way laid by Amish thugs. I decided the best thing to do would be to jump into the lake where it was over my head and challenge them to follow on the belief that I could robably drown any one of them who did. No, I didn’t ever have to do it.


44 posted on 04/06/2013 1:44:48 PM PDT by libstripper
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To: dirtboy

“I guess a drowning Hispanic kid in a pool would rather have a poor-swimming Spanish speaker coming to rescue him than a strong-swimming Anglo.”

This will spread to every aspect of our economy (it really is ALL ABOUT MONEY), until it is outright illegal to hire a white guy. It is close enough now, with “diversity lawsuits” forcing companies to take unqualified tokens on the payroll and simply keeping them out of the way of productive, smart people who get the real work done.


45 posted on 04/06/2013 1:52:42 PM PDT by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic war against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Altura Ct.
If he is selected to be a lifeguard, other pool staff will work with him on his swimming skills all summer.

what???? he gets to be a lifeguard BEFORE he actually has the skills? i see where this is going...

46 posted on 04/06/2013 2:05:57 PM PDT by latina4dubya
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To: Altura Ct.
"The kids in the pool are all either Hispanic or black or whatever, and every lifeguard is white," she says, "and we don't like that. The kids don't relate; there's language issues."

then the kids should learn to speak ENGLISH!

47 posted on 04/06/2013 2:07:04 PM PDT by latina4dubya
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To: FlingWingFlyer

Yep. This same crap went on when women started trying to get into fire fighting. Who wants a 130 lb 5’ 4” PERSON to be the one to carry them out of a burning building? Really disgusting thinking.


48 posted on 04/06/2013 2:40:51 PM PDT by Pigsley (nan)
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To: Altura Ct.

Check out the comments at the source (NPR of all places!). Maybe there is yet hope for us?


49 posted on 04/06/2013 2:49:45 PM PDT by Riflema
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To: Altura Ct.

If I were the pool authority, the first place I would look is t5he latino ski patrol


50 posted on 04/06/2013 2:54:32 PM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 .....History is a process, not an event)
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To: Altura Ct.
Ha ha!

Any bets they soon limit the depth

of the pools to 4 feet?

51 posted on 04/06/2013 3:05:20 PM PDT by raybbr (People who still support Obama are either a Marxist or a moron. No, they are both.)
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To: Altura Ct.

Liberals have been and will continue to be responsible for countless deaths.

They are abject scum.


52 posted on 04/06/2013 3:22:22 PM PDT by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: GOPJ

Aside from college, no school I ever went to had a swim team; hell, thet didn’t even have a pool.

Funny thing, though, that almost everyone still learned how to swim.


53 posted on 04/06/2013 3:26:02 PM PDT by ought-six ( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: Enterprise
The point is shame should be carried by the parents of kids who can't swim. Not the schools or swim teams... but the parents.

I know a very sweet elderly white woman who's parents didn't bother to teach her how to swim when she was a child - and to this day she's afraid of water. It wasn't very nice of her parents...adults can learn to swim but it's one of those things best learned when young. Like riding a bike... critical periods...

Most cities - mine included - offer free swimming lessons for low income children. It's a good idea. Problem is low income parents aren't bothering to bring their kids in to learn.

This issue has NOTHING to do with 'swim teams' at schools...or slavery or anything but parents not bothering.

It's tiresome listening to guilty white liberals treating blacks like they're retarded children who must be given an excuse and a pass for selfish choices... Really, there's nothing wrong with a culture having an expectation that parents meet minimum standards... not laws making people teach their kids to swim - just a small amount of social pressure.

54 posted on 04/06/2013 3:27:19 PM PDT by GOPJ (New AP term for Illegal Aliens IS Undocumented Democrats.... Jay Leno)
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To: kearnyirish2
well, its really all about eliminating jobs for whites...thus, we won't be able to earn money....we'll get to be poor....

its communism...rewarding the "party" people...not the ones who deserve it...

55 posted on 04/06/2013 3:36:37 PM PDT by cherry
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To: cherry
I'm fairly sure I saw this as a "semi-news semi-satire" a short time ago.

Could NPR have picked up the story not knowing it was satire? I can't believe anybody could be this stupid.

You cannot be an effective or even a SAFE lifeguard if you are not an excellent swimmer, completely at home in the water. When you go in after somebody (and even with reach-row-throw-go, eventually you will have to), you are going to be working for two, the victim is going to be in a panic and probably trying his best to drown you. You can't be thinking about swimming, all your brain power and strength will be needed to talk the victim into letting you help him or in a worst case overpowering him.

You can't turn poor swimmers into lifeguard-capable swimmers during the course of one summer. I was always happy to get them drownproofed and moving effectively through the water on their own.

- WSI, Red Cross and BSA Lifeguard certified.

56 posted on 04/06/2013 4:07:31 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGS Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
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To: GOPJ
Here's the attention grabber for me, and Martinez needs to be confronted with it by the white students and their parents.

"Boyle's colleague Kelly Martinez takes on the delicate task of explaining the scenario the city is trying to correct.
"The kids in the pool are all either Hispanic or black or whatever, and every lifeguard is white," she says, "and we don't like that. The kids don't relate; there's language issues."

Where in hell does Martinez get off saying that she doesn't like it because the lifeguards are white and the kids in the pool are minority? Racist jackass! Might she have phrased it a little better? Perhaps she could have said something like she has noticed that all the lifeguards are white and the kids in the pool are minority. Her goal is to try to get minority children into programs so that they too can be lifeguards. But no, she injected RACE and RACE RESENTMENT into the subject. I give her an "F" for her performance in taking on the delicate task of explaining the scenario the city is trying to correct.

And she should have been the one to point out that it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure their kids can swim and become lifeguards. It is NOT her responsibility to be a racist.

57 posted on 04/06/2013 5:05:24 PM PDT by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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To: Altura Ct.

I thought the plan was to stop “resegregation”. Isn’t this an example? Why do black kids need a black lifeguard and mexican kids need a spanish lifeguard? What if the pool has some of both? Do they get 1 of each and each only watches over their own kind? Are they “separate but equal”? This is idiocy of a new and different kind, sort of a sense-resistant strain of idiocy that will continue to grow until we get the lead idiot away from the steering wheel.


58 posted on 04/06/2013 6:38:13 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite it's unfashionability)
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To: Altura Ct.

“Why would you want lifeguards to be strong swimmers? That is so old school...”
I imagine that many folks in distress tend to grab upon anything and everything to stay afloat. That includes the folk your trying to save.

When I was in boy-scouts we were taught to avoid getting into the water and to take special precautions to avoid being taken under ourselves if we had to.

Of course it never hurts to be a strong swimmer


59 posted on 04/06/2013 6:43:05 PM PDT by Monorprise (`)
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To: PapaBear3625

I suppose its possible that some racial groups tend to be drawn more towards sports than others. It could be a cultural or genetic difference.

Might it be said that swimming was more important in Europe than running?


60 posted on 04/06/2013 6:45:55 PM PDT by Monorprise (`)
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