Citing unspecified security concerns, UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa has cancelled the scheduled Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. - Andy Lee middleweight championship fight scheduled for June 16 at the Sun Bowl. While a concern for public safety is always a weighty consideration, generic concerns about border violence are unhelpful, uninformed, and are at odds with the facts. Let's remind the Chancellor that El Paso remains one of the country's safest cities and successfully hosts major sporting and cultural events without incident, year in and year out. Giving in to unsubstantiated hysteria about the safety of our community is counterproductive and irresponsible, and buys into a false perception that hurts our city. Additionally, this reasoning poses serious threats about the future of important sporting, cultural, and other academic events at the University.
We are proud of our city, and proud that it continues to be a safe place to live, work, play and visit. We need to remind our state and national leaders to stick to the facts. Please sign and circulate this petition to show your support of our community (and let's keep any comments positive and civil), and let's let demand accountability from the UT System to our community.
