2008 Woodie Awards
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The Real "Fact of the Matter"
Issue date: 5/25/05 Section: Opinion
In response to the imperceptive letter written about me, I would like to say that I, Theresa Chavez, have no "profound contempt" toward the Armenian nationality or ANY nationality for that matter. As a person of faith, I believe we are all created equally. My quote from the April 27th issue was completely taken out of context. Again I said, "...I FELT like there was a mafia surrounding me." And to this day, I stand by what I said and let me make it clear why.
On the day of April 20, 2005 at about 6:30 p.m., I was campaigning, when I noticed that one of Nelli's campaign helpers was illegally addressing voters, which was in violation of a rule in the election code: "There will be no campaigning or distributing of campaign materials within 50 feet of polling areas..." Thinking that maybe she was not aware, I approached her and simply alerted her that what she was doing was illegal. She snapped at me and shouted, "Mind your own business and worry about your own campaign!" It was then that Nelli, and two more of her helpers surrounded me. Nelli then said repeatedly to my face that "Theresa you're just jealous!" This from a person who is "proud, hardworking, and passionate..." as also stated in the letter. These verbal attacks were completely unnecessary and I felt overpowered and victimized, as if I had been surrounded by a mafia.
The real "fact of the matter" is that life is not a game. Life is a series of events, whether good or bad, it's how we deal with them that determine our character, and what we learn from these experiences is what makes us grow as a person. I have no regrets, I am proud to say that I campaigned with dignity and honesty. I'm appalled that adults were behaving so immaturely and unprofessionally. As a 17-year old, I've learned so much from this election experience, I've learned to deal with animosity and I've learned to get over it. Please, let's all be adults about this, learn, reconcile, and get over it! If you choose not to, that is your business... but seriously, you really need to consider growing up.
Theresa Chavez
ASU Fine Arts Commissioner
Former Presidential Candidate
On the day of April 20, 2005 at about 6:30 p.m., I was campaigning, when I noticed that one of Nelli's campaign helpers was illegally addressing voters, which was in violation of a rule in the election code: "There will be no campaigning or distributing of campaign materials within 50 feet of polling areas..." Thinking that maybe she was not aware, I approached her and simply alerted her that what she was doing was illegal. She snapped at me and shouted, "Mind your own business and worry about your own campaign!" It was then that Nelli, and two more of her helpers surrounded me. Nelli then said repeatedly to my face that "Theresa you're just jealous!" This from a person who is "proud, hardworking, and passionate..." as also stated in the letter. These verbal attacks were completely unnecessary and I felt overpowered and victimized, as if I had been surrounded by a mafia.
The real "fact of the matter" is that life is not a game. Life is a series of events, whether good or bad, it's how we deal with them that determine our character, and what we learn from these experiences is what makes us grow as a person. I have no regrets, I am proud to say that I campaigned with dignity and honesty. I'm appalled that adults were behaving so immaturely and unprofessionally. As a 17-year old, I've learned so much from this election experience, I've learned to deal with animosity and I've learned to get over it. Please, let's all be adults about this, learn, reconcile, and get over it! If you choose not to, that is your business... but seriously, you really need to consider growing up.
Theresa Chavez
ASU Fine Arts Commissioner
Former Presidential Candidate
