Town hall meeting examines quality of life for Latinos

By Stephanie Schonholz

For the Daily

Like a battle cry from a war zone, Edward James Olmos said to a packed room of people from various facets of the Latino community, "We are everybody, Latinos in the United States, what do we do? You name it, we've done everything."

In addition to delivering an energetic keynote address yesterday, the Latino actor gave a forceful speech Sunday evening at the Latino Town Hall Conference, which was sponsored by the student-run Latino Task Force.

In an attempt to bring awareness to the quality of life for Latinos across the country, Olmos said that "we (Latinos) don't have a national voice as Latinos; I'm the closest thing to it."

An advocate for the betterment of the Latino community for more than 30 years, Olmos said that the key to raising the status of Latinos in this country must begin with changes in the education system of the United States, starting with grammar and preschools.

The relaxed atmosphere of the meeting allowed many audience members to express their opinions regarding the state of the Latino community at the University and the nation at large.

Associate English Prof. Jonathan Sallas, in reference to the expanding Latino studies program, said, "the Latino studies program on campus is meant to be a resource to learn the origins, experiences, hopes and goals of the Latino community."

After Olmos' speech concluded with a standing ovation, the town hall format included a student-led discussion that enabled University Latino students to speak about the problems and solutions occurring right now on campus.

LSA sophomore Galy Guzman said she is not satisfied with the status of Latinos at the University and the Latino student community is not as involved as it should be.

"Keeping the passion for unity in our community" is one way in which J.J. Arevalo, an office assistant in University Undergraduate Admissions, said he feels that the Latino population can grow and become an even greater force on campus.

Arevalo said he "would like to see Latinos in a variety of leadership roles" in order to branch out in the student groups at the University.