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Hispanic Heritage Month

All members of the Case Western Reserve University community are invited to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, with events and programming hosted through Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Events will feature celebrations of Latinx/Hispanic culture, resources for students, conversations with experts in their fields and a wide variety of other opportunities. 

Planning for Hispanic Heritage Month was a joint effort by several student organizations and campus offices, including Alianza Latina/Latin Alliance, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, La Alianza, the Office of Education Abroad, and the Latinx Alumni Association.

The following events will be held as part of the month.

“The Importance of the Latinx Vote: Why, How, & Where”

Ongoing through Friday, Sept. 18

Throughout the week, La Alianza will share information about the Latinx vote, including why voting is important and how to determine eligibility.

View the posts on La Alianza’s Instagram account.

Office of Multicultural Affairs Hispanic Heritage Month open house

Friday, Sept. 18
Noon

The Office of Multicultural Affairs will hold an open house during Hispanic Heritage month. Students can (virtually) check in with the OMA community.

RSVP for the OMA open house through CampusGroups.

“Showcasing Latin American Cuisine”

Fridays: Sept. 18 and 15, and Oct. 2, 9, 16

Every Friday at noon, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers will release one or two Latin American recipes along with a video of a professional Peruvian chef making the food. 

Access the recipes through CampusGroups. 

“Voto Latino, The Latino Vote: Latino Voices & Perspectives on Voting”

Monday, Sept. 21
3:30 to 5 p.m.

Participate in a virtual webinar to learn from a group of panelists on the importance of voting for Latinos in Cleveland and the surrounding Ohio areas. The Hispanic Roundtable will co-host the event. 

RSVP for “Voto Latino, The Latino Vote: Latino Voices & Perspectives on Voting” through CampusGroups.

“Me Abroad: Encountering the World, Overcoming Challenges”

Friday, Sept. 25
1 to 2 p.m.

Hear from students of Hispanic heritage about their study abroad experiences. This Friday Forum from the Office of Education Abroad is in collaboration with the university’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage month. 

Register for this Friday Forum on CampusGroups.

“Impact of COVID-19 on Hispanic Communities”

Friday, Sept. 25
6 to 7 p.m.

This session centers around the clear fragilities brought forth to the Hispanic communities by the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists will share their professional experiences related to how the pandemic has affected the LatinX community in Northeast Ohio, as well as the services they are providing to alleviate the situation. The conversation also will embrace discussions on how the CWRU and surrounding communities can maintain resiliency and support. 

Sign up for “Impact of COVID-19 on Hispanic Communities” on CampusGroups.

Art exhibition—“Thank You for Looking: Children of Displacement”

Monday, Sept. 28, to Friday, Oct. 30
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This exhibition features portrait drawings of forgotten children by local artist Mark Krieger. Krieger meets these children and their families in impoverished, isolated Honduran villages or in tent camps close to the U.S./Mexico border where they wait, hoping for the chance to seek a better life in this country. The exhibit will be offered in two formats:

  1. Tinkham Veale University Center Media Board: Over the course of five weeks, eight portraits by the artist will be featured on a rotating basis along with a writing about the child’s and artist’s experiences. Stop by to connect with each beautiful child and their story.
  2. YouTube virtual exhibit: All who register for the event will receive a link to access the exhibit through a video presentation. Links will be sent in the first week of October.

Visit CampusGroups to sign up for the virtual aspect of this event.

“Flamenco as a Practice of Resilience”: virtual lecture and workshop 

Friday, Oct. 2
6 to 7 p.m.

An art form that grew from the diverse cultures and influences in Southern Spain, flamenco lyrics describe perseverance amidst hardship and the dance embodies strength. In this workshop, students will receive an overview of the history of flamenco, and then explore how flamenco movements, rhythms and gestures help heal trauma and embody resilience. Alice Blumenfeld, who will lead the workshop, also will speak about her experiences teaching flamenco to incarcerated women and flamenco’s unique way of empowering individuals and developing community.

Blumenfeld is a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, a Fulbright Scholar in Dance and an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence recipient in Choreography (FY20). As a performer, she toured with Flamenco Vivo for five seasons and has performed as an invited guest with many companies, including performing in Spain and Germany.

Visit CampusGroups to read more about Blumenfeld and to register for the event.

La Alianza Student Org Conference 2020

Saturday, Oct. 3, to Sunday, Oct. 4

La Alianza wants to continue providing members who may have been affected by the pandemic with opportunities. The La Alianza Conference serves as a platform to provide La Alianza members and CWRU students with opportunities to develop academically and professionally, as well as to learn more about Latinx/Hispanic culture. The event will feature workshops about research and internship opportunities, resume building, identity and more.

Learn more about the conference and register on CampusGroups.

“In Conversation with Dr. Marla Perez-Davis (GRS ‘11, chemical engineering)”

Thursday, Oct. 8
6 to 7 p.m.

The Latinx Alumni Association invites members of the Case Western Reserve community to a conversation with Marla Perez-Davis (GRS ‘11, chemical engineering), director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. She will share insight on her own career and leadership journey as well as her contributions to the NASA community.

Pérez-Davis, a Puerto Rican doctor of chemical engineering has worked at NASA Glenn for more than 35  years and has won numerous awards throughout her career. Pérez-Davis is the recipient of numerous NASA awards, including the Women of Color Technology Award for Career Achievement, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal and the prestigious Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives. 

This event is part of homecoming weekend. Register on the Homecoming 2020 website.

“DACA: Future at Risk”

Friday, Oct. 9
6 to 7 p.m.

This event features a discussion about the present and future of DACA, and implications to our society. RSVP for “DACA: Future at Risk” on CampusGroups.

“A Critical Dialogue on Dismantling Anti-Blackness in the Latinx Community”

Saturday, Oct. 10
2 to 4 p.m.

During this session, CWRU students, faculty, staff and alumni will discuss the entrenched anti-Black racism that exists within the Latinx community, how groups and organizations on campus and in the broader community can help dismantle it, and what actions we can take as individuals to elevate our anti-racist work.

A key objective of this session will be to specify anti-racist actions we can take as leaders within our community to create a more inclusive, equitable and just community.

Informational materials will be provided several weeks prior to the session for registrants to become familiarized with foundational vocabulary and ideas important for anti-racist work. Registrants will be asked to review the material prior to the session, in order for us to build a shared understanding that will facilitate a more meaningful discussion during the session. 

Register for “A Critical Dialogue on Dismantling Anti-Blackness in the Latinx Community”.

Fall 2020 Power of Diversity Lecture Series: “Creating Inclusive Work Spaces–A Latinx Staff Perspective”

Tuesday, Oct. 13
1 to 2 p.m.

This lecture will feature:

  • Marel Corredor-Hyland, diversity, campus partners and HR development team leader, at Kelvin Smith Library; and
  • Mark Clemente, scholarly communication and copyright librarian at the Freedmen Center for Digital Scholarship at Kelvin Smith Library.

Sign up for this Fall 2020 Power of Diversity Lecture Series event on CampusGroups.

“Cafecito con SHPEtinas”

Thursday, Oct. 15
7 to 8 p.m.

SHPEtinas is a program from the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) National that strives to ignite Latinas in STEM. It focuses on increasing the Latina representation on all levels of academic and corporate leadership. For Hispanic Heritage Month, CWRU SHPE will host a SHPEtinas panel with four Latinas at different parts in their career to share their story, experiences, advice, and give us the opportunity to learn from incredible women in STEM.

Register for “Cafecito con SHPEtinas”on CampusGroups.

“Resilience in our Global Community”

Friday, Oct. 16
6 to 7 p.m.

Join a conversation with International Partners in Mission’s Adela Zayas, Victoria Jimenez, Eneyda Ramos and Joe Cistone about community based-economic development in El Salvador, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua. The partners also will discuss resilience in times of COVID-19 and opportunities for CWRU students/staff to support the work of partners.

RSVP for the discussion with the partners on CampusGroups.

Gala Latina: Promoting Latinx Excellence

Saturday, Oct. 17
6 to 8 p.m.

Gala Latina is an annual banquet held by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and La Alianza that focuses on the cultural celebration and empowerment of our Latinx community on the CWRU campus as well as in our broader Northeast Ohio community. As one of their main flagship events, Gala Latina serves as our platform to highlight Latinx excellence and share compelling stories of Latinx success.

Register for Gala Latina.

“Power of the Latinx Vote with Scholar and Author Bernard Fraga”

Wednesday, Oct. 21
4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Fraga will discuss the power of Latinx and other BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of color) voters to shape elections this November and beyond. The session will be moderated by Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity Robert L. Solomon, Esq.

Learn more about Fraga and register for the event on CampusGroups.