InterviewwithMoisesSerranop. 11

Staff and FacultySpotlightsp. 6

The voice of the Latino community at BGSU

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Table of ConTenTs3 Intro to Newsletter4 About the Writers6 Community Spotlights11 Undocumented, Unafraid12 What Happened to America?16 Unaccompanied Minors

Intro to the New

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About the NewsletterDear readers:

September 4, 2014 marked the beginning of a dream; a dream for Latinos at Bowling Green State University to have an avenue of communication, a common place for everyone to come together. After 27 days of work, and thanks to the dedication and invaluable contributions of Taylor Hawes and Ray Plaza, the dream becomes a reality today, October 1, 2014. Today marks the beginning of a new alternative, a new outlet for Latinos at BGSU. Today, we proudly present to you La Voz. And how appropriate of a name it is for this newsletter, because this new alternative is the voice of the voiceless, the voice of the proud raza, our voice, nuestra voz.

La Voz seeks to serve two principle purposes. The first purpose is to inform. It is our responsibility, as members of this great community, to be aware of what is affecting us, directly or indirectly, locally or nationally. It is our responsibility, as creators of La Voz, to facilitate that awerness in an environment that lacks the bridge between the information and the consumer. Information is knowledge, and knowledge is power.

The second, and perhaps most important purpose, is to unify. Our community at BGSU is comprised of hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and alumni, who all share a culture and its roots. La Voz intends to be the go-to place for all of us to come together as one, unified community, no matter the age, the occupation, or the national origin. You will find information about all organizations that promote our culture to the university community as a whole, as well as spotlight those in our community who make a difference, here and elsewhere. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being the inspiration for this new alternative. In appreciation, we offer a product you can feel pride and actively participate in. La Voz is not just the dream of three individuals; it is the dream of all of us. Today we make history together. We make BGSU history, Latino history. Let us make our voice matter. Let us say, loud and proud: this is La Voz, nuestra voz.

Juan Pimiento

subscribeTo receive up-to-date information on the newsletter and its publications, like us on Facebook at www.facebook/LaVozBG.

Ray PlazaHialeah, Florida

Puerto RicanAdministrator

Desmond JacksonDesmond Jackson is a first year at

BGSU and plans to major in Graphic

Design with a minor in Pop Culture.

He is involved in Latino Student

Union, Vision, and is a SMART

mentee. He was born and raised in

Greenville, Ohio and plans to one

day living in Seattle after travelling

the world.

Christina IngleChristina Ingle is a senior at BGSU

and is majoring in International

Studies and Latin American

Culture Studies. In her free time,

she is a baker extraordinaire,

humanitarian, and (attempted)

marathon runner.

Taylor McFarlandA freshman at BGSU, Taylor is

majoring in Journalism and plans

to double major in either Spanish

or Sociology. She has dreams of

living in Spain and traveling to such

countries as Argentina, Colombia,

the UK, and Saudi Arabia.

About the writers

also inTroduCing:

Juan PimientoMedellin, Colombia

ColombianBroadcast Journalism

Senior

Taylor HawesColumbus, OhioVCT / Spanish

Senior

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Community SpotlightS

sigmA lAmbdA gAmmAThis past month we dedicated all of our events to the empowerment of women. October 20-22nd we hosted events in support of our philanthropy, Breast Cancer. These events included our second annual Breast Cancer awareness event “Pink Rain” which aimed to educated students about Breast Cancer with the help of a Wood County Health representative. October 22nd we celebrated our Charter Day, which marked the 19th year that our chapter has been on BGSU’s campus. We also participated in Take Back the Night, Silent Witness Project, and SSS Trio’s Success Conference. In November we are looking forward to having our Academic Appreciation tables where we give out cupcakes for good grades!

Members: Brooklynn Martinez Mayra Lopez Taylor Snider Ashley Peguies

lA comuNidAdOctober has been a busy month for the residents of La Comunidad. We participated in various events for Hispanic Heritage Month. We also had a full week of activities for Día de los Muertos which included a movie night, decorating sugar skulls, a cultural dinner in conjunction with the French House, and ended the week with a Radio Style Play performing the musical section in collaboration with La Conexión the Bowling Green. We are very excited to end the month with many cultural activities.

We are also ready for Game night, Movie night, and the cultural dinner that will take place in November. If you would like to participate or find out more information about our events, please contact acarmen@bgsu.edu.

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Organization Spotlights

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lAtiNo studeNt uNioNLSU just finished wrapping up Latino Heritage Month! To kickoff the month long celebration, LSU collaborated with SMART to host an event that educated students about the different components of the Latino Culture. Throughout the month LSU also participated and hosted many other events like a potluck with La Comunidad, discussion with the Ethnic Student Center and the Women’s Center. Our largest event for the month was the annual Latino Issues Conference. The conference was very successful and included the keynote speaker Moises Serrano.

LSU is excited to announce our second annual Toy Drive in partnership with La Conexion of Wood County. The LSU Toy Drive aims to provide the children of families involved in the community organization with gifts for the holidays. The drive is scheduled to begin soon.

Board Members:President: Mayra LopezVice President: Xiomara Hernandez de MarceloTreasurer: Hannah CardenasPolitical Action Chair: Catheline Longoria PerezPublic Relations: Chris LantonSecretary: Allie WitherpoonHistorian: Ashley RobinsonCo-Advisors: Ana Brown & Ray Plaza

What has been your role with the BG Latino/a community (on-campus and in the community)? I chat with people at the Latino Issues Conference, perform in the Día de los Muertos

play, and occasionally fight crime as my superhero alter-ego “El Paraguas”.

What advice would you have for the BGSU Latino/a students and fellow colleagues? Never give up, but if you are going to lose or fail, throw a big tantrum.

Never give up, but if you Are goiNg to lose or fAil,

throw A BIG tANtrum.

“”

fAculty spotlight: thomAs JAvier cAstillo

What is your current role? Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Film at BGSU.

What brought you to BGSU? The wonderful weather.

What are your hobbies/interest areas? Walking my dogs. That is seriously all I do.

Want to nominate someone you know for a spotlight?We will have spotlights in the following areas:

Undergraduate Student Graduate StudentFaculty

Please email LaVozBG@gmail.com with nominee's name and category you wish to nominate them for by the 15th of the month. Nominees will be contacted and asked to provide a photo and a brief statement.

StaffAlumni

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stAff spotlight: mArshA o. olivArez

What is your current role? Senior secretary in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies.

What brought you to BGSU? I was born and raised in Bowling Green. My parents came here from south Texas looking for

a better life. My career at BGSU began as a telephone interviewer in College Park on these

new machines called a “Mac” back in 1984. It was called The Population and Society Research

Center, and it was run by Dr. Jerry Wicks in the Sociology department.

What are your hobbies/interest areas? I love crafting, and I am currently into making kitschy items using my mother’s old Mexican

loteria cards. I make key chain holders, wall plaques, coasters, purses, anything that I can get

my mod podge brush on. I even did a pair of shoes. I also love gardening. This year, I planted

8 pumpkins for my grandchildren, great niece and nephew. My sunflowers are always a big hit

as are the hundreds of tulips that bloom every spring in my yard.

What has been your role with the BG Latino/a community (on-campus and in the community)? I have been active over the years in many aspects. I developed and began the annual Cinco de

Mayo Celebration for the City of Bowling Green back in the early 90’s. I have been a co-chair

of Latino Student Union. I was chair of the former Latino Networking Committee (now Latino

Networking Alliance) for many years, and I also served as the secretary. I developed a newsletter

that I published for LNA many years as well. I served for ten years on the Human Relations

Commission for the City of Bowling Green. I am a past recipient of the Diamante Latina

Leadership award. I volunteer at the annual Black Swamp Arts Festival. I am a notary public for

the State of Ohio. I am a proud alumna of Bowling Green State University having received my

Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree in 2011.

What advice would you have for the BGSU Latino/a students and fellow colleagues? I would say to stay active and involve yourself with the issues that face our community. We need

to work together so our voice is heard. Staying active in the community is always good to stay

current with the issues as well as to stay connected with each other, be it on campus or within

the community. This is your home and it is up to you to make the change you want to see.

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Editor’s Note: Marsha officially retired on November 20, 2014.

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uNdocumeNted, uNAfrAid: AN iNterview with moises serrANoby Juan PimienTo

Undocumented and queer activist Moises Serrano was the keynote speaker for the

2014 Latino Issues Conference. La Voz had a chance to speak with Moises about his

life as undocumented and queer, his inspiration, and his message for the BGSU

Latino community:

What is the biggest issue you face being an undocumented immigrant and queer?The psychological aspect is probably the biggest issue. The bullying and the

oppression that comes with these identities really takes a toll on you. We are

advancing in the fight for LGBT rights, but the fight for undocumented rights are

falling behind. I was saddened by the lack of cooperation between both groups.

What inspired you to become an activist?I felt very unhappy until I heard about the DREAM Act, and the dream to go to

college motivated me to put a face and a story to this issue. About four years ago

I decided to join a movement–El Cambio, which advocates for immigrant and

minority rights in rural North Carolina- to advance rights for immigrants, and now

I have a chance to listen to other stories and to bring awareness to our causes.

What motivates you to continue, despite the opposition to your causes?I’m motivated by my family, my community, and by my friends. I have a deep sense

of community. I’ve heard many stories of injustice through my work in El Cambio,

and those stories don’t sit well with me. People need to rise up and lift their voices.

I want people to share their own stories.

What do you wish those who attended the conference learned from your speech?We have to stop thinking about social justice issues and separate issues. We are all a

great movement for equality. It’s time to talk about intersectionality because it seems

a lot of our identities are attacked.

whAt hAppeNed to AmericA?WriTTen by Taylor mCfarland

What happened to America? Where did she go? America was once considered the land of opportunity, land of the free, and home of the brave. It was considered a land that people could travel to in order to gain freedom from religious persecution as well as a corrupt government (I prefer to use “people” rather than the term “immigrants” because it is usually exercised in a negative way, as if a person who travels from other areas of the globe is considered an alien, or unearthly). Anyhow, America was once a place that represented freedom, peace, and unity. Where did America go?

Many people travel from different regions around the world to reach America in order to establish better lives for themselves and their children. Many parents travel to America in order for their kids to receive a good education, achieve goals, and accomplish a better life than what they would have in their home country. There was a time where if you had a dream, regardless if you were a natural-born citizen or not, you could achieve it in America.

Commonly, America has been referred to as “a country that welcomes people with open arms,” but where exactly is America now?

It’s a common notion that most people that come to the United States are from Latin American countries, even though there are people that come from many other areas. Though, the United States currently holds over fifty-two million Hispanics and Latinos, 29% of them being from Mexico[1]. El-Salvador, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Cuba are also accounted for majority foreign-born people that come to America1.

In present-day, coming to the United States and becoming a U.S citizen is discouraged. In order to become a U.S citizen, one must go through an extremely frustrating, repetitive and arduous process that includes a bombardment of papers and an extensive amount time. The process can take more than ten years to accomplish, costing thousands of dollars and an unreasonable naturalization test along the way. Even after person successfully attains their U.S citizenship, they are regularly racially profiled, asked for valid proof of citizenship almost anywhere they turn, and ignorantly questioned, “Are you legal?” If the United States is such a welcoming country, why does it make people jump through countless, fire-blazing hoops just to be considered “American”?

In addition, those who can’t afford or aren’t able to become a citizen live in an everyday fear of banishment. These people are commonly referred to as “undocumented immigrants”, a term that comes across as calling someone a “thing” rather than a [...]

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person. These people come to America for the same reason as others: to establish a better life and take advantage of opportunities circulated in America that don’t exist in other areas. However, because they are unable to become an official American citizen, they encounter a lot more trials and tribulations than the average foreign-born person. Because they are unable to successfully attain a social security number, a driver’s license or a work permit, they tend to work and drive illegally. The problem with this is that if officials visit a workplace, seeking to make sure that all workers are legally working and have their papers or if an officer does a routine traffic stop and asks for identification, they are subject to being arrested and later sitting in a deportation hearing. Why must America treat foreign-born people in such a manner? It’s not like they come to the United States causing destruction, nor do they intend to.

In reference to the naturalization test, is it fair to have such a strenuous composition? People longing to become an American citizen have to study intensely for an exam that consists of questions even most natural-born citizens don’t know. In order to capitalize on this point, I took the liberty of asking fifty natural-born citizens three particular questions that I found on a sample of the naturalization test. The three questions that I asked were: “Who is currently the U.S Supreme Court Chief Justice of the United States?”, “Who composed the Star Spangled Banner?” and “Who knitted the United States flag?” Of the fifty people, 26% knew that Francis Scott Key was the composer of the Star Spangled Banner and 32% knew that Betsy Ross knitted the American Flag. On the other hand, shockingly, none of the fifty people knew who currently rests as Chief Justice of the United States, which is John G. Roberts Jr. since 2005. Additionally, according to a study conducted by Chris Kent, a writer of Daily Mail, more than 1,000 Americans over the age of 18 were asked ten random questions from the test[2]. Of the people questioned, 35% were unable to answer at least five questions correctly [1]. Furthermore, 75% of respondents didn’t know the functions of the judicial branch, while 71% could not name the U.S. constitution as the ‘law of the land’[2]. If Americans can’t correctly answer some of the questions that derive from U.S history, not to mention questions that were answered numerous times in 10th grade American History as well as 12th grade American Government, why does the United States form such an exigent test for foreign-born people when most Americans themselves can’t even pass it? Foreign-born people have a short period of time to study the many aspects of American History and American Government. Yet, 97% of them are able to pass it successfully. Americans have a period of about two to three years in which they are able to acquire that same knowledge. [...]

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Wouldn’t you expect Americans to know more about their own homeland?

Granted, the tragic terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001 has scarred America and has caused many limitations, especially when it comes to letting people from outside the border to be allowed entrance. It has caused the U.S to act as if all people from outside of the American border, especially those from Mexico, as if terrorists in order to protect its citizens. It seems that the government as well as American citizens themselves are worried that terrorist groups are going to disguise themselves as Mexicans so that they can gain access to America and engage terroristic activities. But isn’t it possible that terrorists can be anywhere? Does Mexico have to automatically be considered the commonplace that terrorists use to gain access to the United States? Yes, it borders America, but can’t terrorists come from anywhere? In addition, most foreign-born individuals that comes to the United States work hard, respect and abide by the law, and don’t cause any trouble. It’s not like they come to America and exhibit rebellious behavior or cause chaos.

Let’s look at things from another perspective. Take a minute to stand in the shoes of foreign-born individuals. If America was a communist dictatorship where leaders killed innocent men, women, and children every day because of their race, religion, gender and so on, wouldn’t you do whatever it takes to get you and your family out of such an environment? Wouldn’t your first thought be to travel to a land in which you had freedoms, especially those of freedom of speech and religion? Wouldn’t you want a better life for your children? Wouldn’t you think your children deserved to have a better life elsewhere? These may be some of the same questions that run through the minds of foreign-born people who long to come to the United States.

So what’s the “super so what” of this piece? Can present-day America really be considered a welcoming country? Foreign-born people, most notably Latinos and Hispanics, have to endure innumerable obstacles just to be considered a citizen and others who aren’t able to feel like they have to hide with deportation hanging above their head on a daily basis, but it’s a welcoming country? The government treats many people from outside the border like a terrorist, but the United States is a welcoming country? It’s considered the land of opportunity, but aren’t those who seek to come to the United States to achieve discouraged? Questions consistently thrown at them, such as “Are you legal?”, racial profiling and taking a test that consists of questions over a country that most of its own citizens don’t even know the answers to. Is that not discouragement at its height? America wasn’t always like this. She was a land that was viewed as a place to escape ruthlessness and cruelty and encounter opportunity and freedom at arrival. Where is America now? What happened to America? Where did she go? Will she ever return?

[1] Baral, Susmita. "50 Percent of American Immigrants Hail From Latin America." Latin Times. N.p., 28 May 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.latintimes.com/where-do-american-immigrants-come-mostly-latin-america-pew-research-center-reports-175790>.

[2] Kent, Chris. "One in Three Americans Would 'fail Citizenship Test'" Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 03 May 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2138877/One-Americans-fail-citizenship-test.html>.

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A yeAr iN review

the humAN side of the uNAccompANied miNors issueWriTTen by ChrisTina ingle

I had never even heard the term “unaccompanied minor” until I heard it on the news in

Guatemala last summer, when there was a tremendous influx into the United States of

thousands of unaccompanied minors, mostly from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

The stories of the unaccompanied minors were not even released into the spotlight

until anti-immigrant groups invaded the media with claims that Obama was slacking

on securing the border and protecting undocumented immigrants through temporary

legal status. They are aggressively pressuring U.S. administration to quickly deport the

children back to their home countries. However, these children are not without some

legal protection. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization

Act of 2008 declares that unaccompanied minors from Central America legally must

have a deportation hearing and be turned over to the Department of Health and Human

Services within 72 hours of being taken into U.S. custody. Once the children are in U.S.

custody, immigration proceedings are begun and children are given immunizations and

health tests. Until this hearing, children are being kept in barracks in Air Force, naval, and

military bases up to 35 days. If the wait exceeds 35 days, they are placed with a relative

or foster until the process is concluded.

the uNited stAtes is morAlly iNdebted to lAtiN AmericA, Not oNly becAuse the bAlANce of resources is completely uNequAl, but Also due to the uNited stAtes’

policies iN lAtiN AmericA duriNg the cold wAr erA.

“”

But the media seems to ignore one of the most important parts: the personal stories

of these children. There are many reasons why unaccompanied children come across

the border, some of them being because their parents were killed in war, their parents

were imprisoned while trying to cross the border, their parents were separated from

them while crossing the border, they are trying to escape from dangerous violence, or

they wish to be reunited with their family who work as migrants in the United States. [...]

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Most of these children come from impoverished rural villages in the Northern Triangle of

Central America, which consists of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. How are these

children crossing the border? Many times, their parents pay coyotes, or human smugglers,

to take their children across the border. These smugglers are falsely informing families

that the United States will give their children temporary permits to stay in the country,

when in reality the children are able to stay due to slow deportation proceedings. Due

to heightened anti-immigrant sentiment in recent years, many children are likely to be

deported back to their countries of poverty, violence, and lack of opportunity without

much of a hearing.

What the xenophobic anti-immigrant groups do not understand is that the United

States is morally indebted to Latin America, not only because the balance of resources

is completely unequal, but also due to the United States’ policies in Latin America

during the Cold War era. Due to the U.S.’s tremendous fear of communism, it financially

supported many of Latin America’s brutal rightist regimes, especially in Guatemala and

El Salvador, which exacerbated the violence that already plagued the countries. If the

United States’ Cold War policies are not enough, the United States also throughout

history has attempted to control economic production in the periphery countries to

benefit its own economy, which has exploited Latin America and contributed to its massive

underdevelopment. In the political science world, this is known as the dependency theory:

the flow of resources from underdeveloped “periphery” countries to a “core” of wealthy

countries, augmenting the latter at the expense of the former.

To those Americans chanting, “Americans before illegals,” complaining that these

unaccompanied minors are straining the United States’ resources, and declaring that

their towns will not receive any more immigrants, please take into account the significant

contribution the United States has made toward poverty and violence in Latin America.

Please think of the pain these children’s parents went through in turning them over to

a stranger to take them to a foreign land, thinking they may never see them again, but

knowing it is their only option. Please remember that these children are human beings who

are entitled to a safe environment and bright future as much as anyone else.

Not my child, Not my problem: the uNited stAtes' Attitude towArd uNdocumeNted childreN

WriTTen by desmond JaCkson

For decades, the United States has been concerned with the topic of undocumented

immigration. There have been voices across the country calling for either the deportation

or the acceptance of “illegal” immigrants. Many of us are familiar with the reasons that

some people would want undocumented immigrants deported such as, “They’ll take our

American jobs” or, “They’ll bring crime and drugs to our nation” or even to more extreme

statements such as, “They have their own country to live in”. All of these statements

can contribute to the dehumanization of undocumented immigrants. Even the phrase

“illegal immigrants” can dehumanize people by reducing them to something that isn’t

even a person, it reduces them to something that is so “beneath” our society that we can

treat them however we choose. This is wrong. I, having grown up in the Midwest and in a

largely rural community, have seen much of this ignorance and disregard for human life.

However, would people change their opinions if the undocumented immigrants they

are so strongly against were children? Recently, the media has been discussing the topic

of undocumented child immigrants. The issue has been whether or not to deport these

young children who have been brought to the United States by their parents at a young

age. Many of the children that the media reports on are currently very young and have

been brought to the United States by either their parents, or by coyotes who will smuggle

the children across the U.S./Mexican border for a high fee. Other cases involve young

adults who have grown up in the United States and have gone to school here and are

a part of the culture as well as their community, and have later found out that they are

undocumented immigrants and could be at risk of being sent back to a foreign nation

that they have never been to before. Once again, the debate is what to do with these

children. Are they innocent and therefore deserve granted pardons and green cards, or

should they be treated as criminals and face the same penalty as other undocumented

immigrants face? In my opinion, I believe that these children/young adults are innocent

in both cases. The young children who are brought across the border by their parents

are not accomplices to the “illegal” activities of their parents. Their parents may have

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come to the United States for various reasons (economic stability or opportunity, to

escape violence or corruption, etc.), but the children have been brought along without

understanding of the risk that they are taking. In situations like these, I would say that

the family should be given leniency and perhaps given work permits and allowed to stay

in the U.S. Splitting up the family would be inhumane, so allowing the children to stay

(against the parent’s will) and sending the family back would be wrong, so keeping the

family together should always be a priority. There are also situations where the child has

immigrated on their own and are either here to find their parents in the United States or

have been sent for by their parents. In these situations, the children shouldn’t be treated

as adult criminals. They shouldn’t even be treated as criminals. I would personally think

that uniting the family should be

a priority.

However, I understand that finding the child’s parents who could be undocumented

could pose many difficulties and threats to their living in the United States. When

discussing the young adults who find out that they are undocumented later in life,

I believe that similar principals should apply. In my extreme opinion, they should be

granted citizenship immediately. No matter when they came to the United States or

how, they were unknowledgeable about what was actually happening. They are just as

innocent as they were in the day that they crossed the border. These young adults have

grown up in the United States without knowledge of being undocumented. They have

been raised in our culture and likely don’t remember growing up in their country of

origin. Sending away these youth to a nation that they know nothing about and that is

just as alien to them as most people walking on the street in the United States is wrong.

Our government and people cannot place fault on someone who has don’t nothing

more than life their life. These are all my opinions, and I would love to hear what you all

have to say.

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We wish everyone the best of luck on your finals and a happy and safe

holiday season!

See you next year,La Voz Team

La Voz | Decem

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