Wednesday, February 01, 2006

WILMINGTON, NC - Should undocumented immigrants be eligible for in-state tuition at North Carolina's public universities?

In his new documentary, La Vida No Es Facil(Life is Not Easy), Maurice Martinez examines this controversial topic by telling the plight of three college-aged Latino students who were born in Mexico and attended public school in North Carolina. These undocumented immigrants are children of poor farm workers and struggle to pay out-of-state tuition to attend state colleges and universities.

Martinez, a University of North Carolina Wilmington professor of specialty studies in the Watson School of Education, says, "Children should not be punished for the impoverished human condition of their parents. America's most neglected resource is low-income students in higher education."

La Vida No Es Facil will premiere at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 10 in room 162 of the School of Education building on the campus of UNCW. The screening is free and open to the public with a running time of one hour. A mariachi band will be playing live music and Mexican food will be served.

Martinez has done extensive work for many years on the origins of Indians in New Orleans. He hosted "Blue Notes," a 15-part series that highlighted jazz, blues and R&B musicians from North Carolina, that aired on WHQR and other public radio stations throughout the state. He previously produced The Quorum, a true story about social change and racial integration in New Orleans in 1963.

Maurice Martinez may be contacted at martinezm@uncw.edu or 910.962.4279.

Note to Media: If you would like an advance (DVD) copy of La Vida No Es Facil, please contact Caroline Cropp, UNCW media relations specialist, at 910.962.7109.