Meet the 24-year-old who could decide the future of TUSD's ethnic studies

By Ernesto Portillo Jr. Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Saturday, May 14, 2011 3:51 pm


Miguel Cuevas didn’t ask to be in this spot. But the freshman Tucson Unified School Board member is in the crucible of the district’s cultural and educational debate.

He is the swing vote on a proposal by board president Mark Stegeman to diminish Mexican-American Studies. But 24-year-old Cuevas appears unfazed even in the midst of the highly charged debate that has attracted national attention.

“I have to do what I think is right,â€