The chances are pretty low that in a given week you and your friends will discuss immigration, the political interests of youth in other countries, the place of civil rights activism in current affairs and the importance of building connections with students of other ethnic backgrounds.
But sparking dialogue about rarely discussed topics was exactly the point of the University's second-annual Latino Awareness Week, held March 19 to March 23.
LAW was organized by La Alianza Coalition of Hispanic/Latino Leaders, an umbrella organization that includes groups such as the Latino Student Union and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. According to La Alianza Chair Tyrone Jean, the week's events were intended to give students some knowledge of issues in the Latino community that typically do not receive much attention.
After four years of latency, LAW was revived last year as a way to acknowledge issues in the Latino community. Jean said this year, reaching out to faculty and staff was one of La Alianza's goals.
As part of the week's events, students discussed immigration during a forum called "Apathy of the Youth in South America," and a faculty panel deconstructed stereotypes about Latina women in another discussion. The week concluded with a gathering of leaders of student minority groups.
Spanish Prof. Mané Lagos said she participated in the faculty panel discussion about Latina women, entitled "Our Hips Don't Lie," because she wants people to be aware of the distinction between Latin American women and Latina women living in the United States.
"Latin American women and U.S. Latina women are not a [cohesive] group," she said, adding that there is more of a generation gap among U.S. Latina women because of differing cultural traditions.
One of the main features of the week was a lecture by Vincente "Panama" Alba, one of the founding members of the Young Lords Party, a civil rights group that worked to improve conditions for Latino communities in the United States in the 1960s.
The Young Lords were dedicated to resolving issues in their community. Alba related a story about trouble with garbage collection in the Puerto Rican communities in New York City. When the garbage kept piling up unnoticed by the collection company, the Young Lords organized a mass burning of the uncollected garbage in the middle of Madison Avenue. Alba said the Young Lords were best known for their "direct action."
Not all of the Young Lords' activities were as provocative as lighting trash on fire in the middle of a busy street; they also worked to set up schools in unused churches.
"The power of the people is an awesome thing but you have to exercise it," he said.
Friday's event, "Conversations Among Communities," was dedicated to improving interaction among student minority groups. Although Minority Rights Coalition Chair Patrick Martinez, former La Alianza chair, said communication among the groups is steadily improving, he added there is work yet to be done.
Asian Student Union president Carlos Oronce said talking with leaders from other minority communities helped him see the similarities they share -- similarities that can be drawn upon for greater unification among the different communities.
For example, he said, ASU and La Alianza leaders struggle with uniting their diverse members under the non-specific labels of Asian or Latino.
Although LAW was well-advertised among minority communities, Oronce said he would have liked to see greater attendance from leaders of various groups around Grounds.
LAW organizers also advertised the events to Spanish classes in an effort to draw an audience from the broader community.
Both Martinez and Jean said this year's Latino Awareness Week was successful.
"Every single event [had] a phenomenal turnout," Jean said.
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