Rhetoric has been an essential part of politics since men could toss togas around their shoulders and call themselves important. In the game of politics, non-consequential gestures are often just as influential as actual social progression.

What we have witnessed here in Wyoming has been much of a farce as well. The bills recently introduced, such as the anti same-sex marriage and immigration bills, are nothing more than Wyoming representatives trying to take a “hard stance” on conservative pet issues. 

To gain some campus perspective, I interviewed Jose Gamboa on the subject, a UW student who was part of the group of students that organized the social justice march last Friday. He was working to raise awareness of these unjust bills and spoke against the immigration bill in front of the appointed committee. 

After a plethora of people spoke out against the bill on Monday, it was indefinitely postponed. 

“Especially with the University of Wyoming being such a diverse place, we wanted to start here, so we could get the message out that students are against it,” he said.

But diversity is one of Wyoming’s main issues, since—in terms of population—it’s a homogenous Mac and Cheese soup with the occasional sprinkle of pepper. 

Our university is arguably the most diverse spot in the entire state. The real question then is: Why even introduce an immigration bill?

Gamboa explained that the bill was a clone of the controversial bill passed in Arizona last year. 

“That’s why we have so many ridiculous parts in it,” he said, “like the one that if you see people on a street corner looking for jobs, you can ask them for their I.D.” 

When was the last time you saw someone on the street soliciting jobs in Wyoming? 

Also, how would a “peace officer,” as the bill states, distinguish between someone just hanging out and someone illegal looking for a job? This ambiguity leaves room for racial profiling.

To Gamboa, who is an American of Hispanic ethnicity, racial profiling is already an issue in the state. “I mean, it’s everywhere,” he said. “Having such a low number of minorities, you don’t see many minorities [represented] in the legislature. To be honest, yeah, if a white person is driving and a Mexican is driving, let’s be honest, who’s going to be stopped first? The Hispanic person, obviously.”

Frankly, Wyoming is not a border state with thousands of illegal aliens coming across state lines. 

Arizona has more illegal immigrants coming into the state per month than Laramie has residents. 

If anything, this state’s main problem is retention. Wyoming is practically bleeding potential when college students leave to go somewhere else because they don’t see a future for themselves in Wyoming’s economy.

The legislature is going for effect, but I could only see two actual impacts in this scenario. 

First, foreign media sources will love to write a story on how intolerant Wyoming, along with the other states planning to introduce the Arizona law, is. As an international student, I will be supremely disappointed by such coverage. 

I have lived in Wyoming for five years; I met the people here and saw their generosity and good will. Had this bill passed, it would have only tainted Wyoming’s image and probably hurt the tourism industry. 

But it would also have been a blow to the university. The administration works hard on increasing diversity on campus, so we can learn about others. 

It is already hard enough to entice prospective out-of-state students to come to a state they’ve never really heard of. 

When the only thing they do find out about is that the “Equality State” slaps a heterosexual-Caucasian-American-only exception to that equality, it definitely does not help.

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