With bills pending in Congress, English may become the official language of the United States, but support for the proposal varies at Iowa State.

“I’m very concerned about this issue,” said Barbara Mack, a lawyer and associate professor of journalism and mass communication.

The Republican-sponsored English bills would require the federal government to conduct all official government business in English only, except for health and safety matters. The bills would ban bilingual ballots, for example, in federal elections.

Mack questioned the validity of the proposal. “I don’t see multi-language ballots as being any huge burden on the government,” Mack said. “This country has functioned well for over 200 years without an official language. I don’t see the need to create one now.”

Supporters disagree. Sara Jones, a senior in hotel/restaurant management, said one official language would help streamline government business. She said trying to accommodate cultural and ethnic groups in the United States becomes too complicated. “We can’t change things to fit every culture,” she said.

Melanie Hatterman, a senior in genetics, agreed. “People who come to the United States should try to assimilate to the American culture,” she said.

Arlene Lacayo, a junior in journalism and mass communication who speaks both English and Spanish, said she opposes having an official language because it would limit diversity.

“People who advocate one language say their goal is efficiency, but having one language wouldn’t achieve this. This would only discourage diversity,” Lacayo said.

Roberta Abraham, chairwoman of ISU’s linguistics program, said she also disapproves of having an official language. “This limits minorities and puts them in a bad spot,” she said.

Abraham offered an example of an Asian woman who spoke little English and had trouble at the local drivers’ license station. “She had such a difficult time just making the employees understand her questions about the height and weight categories that I wondered how will she ever pass the [written] test?'”

Mack also questioned the message that an official language policy would send.

“What do we gain by telling people we will no longer accommodate them? Are we saying we respect them less because they can’t read English?” she asked.

Supporters say, however, that making English the official language is a practical measure, not an attempt at discrimination.

“The majority of people in America speak English as their first language, so it makes sense to have English be the official language,” said Kari Detrick, a freshman in animal science.