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Latino
Ohio:
An OSU Sponsored Conference
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By Jennifer Whitney |
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The Ohio State University’s Extension Services
, Office of
International Affairs, Department of Spanish and
Portuguese, Center for Latino American Studies, International
Programs in Agriculture, and University Outreach and Engagement
sponsored a two-day conference at the end of April entitled
Latino Ohio: Working with the State’s Migrant and Immigrant
Populations.
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Professor Peter Demerath listens intently
while a participant shares her reactions to his interactive
presentation on cultural awareness
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Those in attendance
included OSU faculty and staff and OSU extension employees,
as well as community members from around Ohio and beyond including:
a Spanish teacher from Arlington, a Spanish professor from Miami
University, Columbus community social workers, an Assistant
Dean from Franklin University, guests from Purdue University,
as well as employees of Catholic Social Services located at
Lincoln Park West. In all, there were approximately 100 people
in attendance.
The conference featured speakers from OSU and around the state
and even hosted international guest Jorge Bustamante, Ph.D.
Bustamante, Eugene Conley Professor of Sociology at the University
of Notre Dame and eminent specialist on Mexican migration to
the United States gave the keynote address. Bustamante provided
an historical overview of U.S.-Mexico relations regarding Mexican
migrants working in the United States and focused on relations
and the migrant question after the events of September 11th.
On the following Saturday, Bustamante was also the keynote speaker
at the Hispanic Awareness Month event entitled The First Annual
Ohio Latinamercanist Conference.
Other speakers at the Latino Ohio conference included Laura
Stanton, founder and current president of Mind Seed. Stanton
e and achievement that will always stay with you. presented
a program on building cultural competency, in which participants
analyzed their own cultural history in order to gain an understanding
of the many ways in which one’s culture influences perceptions
and worldviews. Stanton ended her lecture with a quote by Storti,
which provided some food for thought:
“The old proverb notwithstanding, we cannot put ourselves
in someone else’s shoes. Or rather, we can, but it’s
still our own feet we feel.”
Peter Demerath, Ph.D., assistant professor from the School of
Policy and Leadership at OSU, followed Stanton and continued
in the same vein with his talk on understanding one’s own
culture and cultural competencies. Demerath provided an interactive
session in which participants played a card game where they
experienced first-hand the frustration wrought in trying to
understand the subtleties and nuances of different cultures.
The game served to point out Demerath’s belief that culture
is a system of rules, which can be bent and negotiated. Furthermore,
Demerath posited that different cultures have rules, which are
both similar and diverse. He asserted that entering into a new
culture is analogous to playing the same game, but by different
rules. Demerath’s overall message for those in attendance
was to:
“HOLD YOUR ASSUMPTIONS about people in check” and
“STAY OPEN to understanding [others’] culturally patterned
way of doing things and their worldview.” Demerath continued
by stating, “Try to become more aware of how your OWN cultural
patterns and your own supposedly ‘normal’ way of doing
things [influence your own worldview].”
Following Demerath, Victor Mora, Associate Director of Enrollment
Management at Ohio State, presented the demographic trends of
Hispanics/Latinos in the US and in Ohio. The focus of the presentation
was the significant growth of the Latino population throughout
the US. In Ohio, there are areas in which the Latino/Hispanic
population is growing rapidly. The Latino/Hispanic population
in Franklin county alone has grown approximately 163% between
the years of 1990 and 2000.
The conference also provided breakout sessions on a plethora
of topics relevant to Latinos/Hispanics and the state’s
migrant and immigrant populations. Topics ranged from Basic
Spanish Language Skills to Health Issues facing the Latino community
in the U.S.
Participants hopefully walked away from the two-day conference
with a better understanding of their own culture, the culture
of others, and the Latino/Hispanic migrant and immigrant population
throughout the country and especially here in Ohio. Walter Tucker,
Director of JobReach at Catholic Social Services had this to
say: “I attended the conference because I was interested
in learning more about the immigrant trends and changes. It
was also an opportunity to network with other providers in hopes
of establishing partnerships to strengthen and enhance services
provided to the Latino community.”
In her workshop, Stanton included the following quote by Derman-Sparks,
which provides an eloquent explanation of the importance, timeliness,
and necessity of this conference as well as conferences like
it in the future:
“People in the 21st century will not be able to function
if they are psychologically bound by outdated and narrow assumptions
about their neighbors. To thrive, even to survive, in this complicated
world, we need to learn how to function in many different cultural
contexts, to recognize and respect different histories and perspectives,
and to know how to work together to create a more just world
that can take care of all its people.”• |
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