Due to the pandemic, Facebook Live was used for Latinx speakers to share their experiences and thoughts on multiculturalism in today’s world.
Roberto Garcia, the director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, over- saw the Latinx Conversations last week.
Roxanne Chantaca and Raquel Ledesma, SVSU alumni, spoke in the livestreams Sept. 28-30.
The other speakers, including Angelica Johnson, Kathy Perez, Roxanna Bermudez and Evangeline Cruz, are all current students.
Garcia said students learned about the personal and professional experiences of the speakers as well as the culture, identity and immigration of the Latinx community.
It is important for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs to give people a cultural education in order to help people understand, recognize and appreciate the aspects of different cultures, Garcia said.
“The discussions around culture and identity have become more embraced by institutions across the country as many have initiated diversity and inclusion training,” he said. “The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs has stayed at the forefront of these ongoing conversations and is committed to educate our campus community to help prepare them as global leaders and citizens.”
Social work fifth year Kathy Perez spoke at the event, sharing her experience as a member of the Latinx community.
She spoke about immigration, citizenship, family separations and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Perez said she hopes people will understand the importance of learning more about what goes on in societies even if it is not something everyone can relate to.
“Multiculturalism is important in today’s world due to the many different cultures and being around so many cultures,” she said. “It is important to learn about the cultures and how to work and try to understand those of a different background.
Johnson, a social work senior, also shared her experiences with Latinx culture and identity. She highlighted the movement to introduce gender-neutral pronouns to languages with masculine and feminine word structure.
It is important for people to familiarize themselves with cultures not only at SVSU, Johnson said, but also out in the workforce and that multiculturalism is a crucial aspect of the world today.
“Multiculturalism is important in to- day’s world because with many cultural groups, we need to acknowledge and educate the different viewpoints, practices and contributions,” she said. “Many minority cultural groups have experienced exclusion of their contributions.”
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