Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off with keynote speech from West Cosgrove today
University offices hope to showcase Hispanic culture with a serious of events starting today with a speech from a Texas immigration expert.
Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off tonight with West Cosgrove, founder and executive director of Project Puente, a nonprofit promoting border immersion programs focusing on the issues of global economics and immigration.
The event is sponsored by Minority Student Services and begins at 7 p.m. in Plachta Auditorium. Admission is free.
Shant’L Raines, a Farmington Hills graduate assistant for MSS, said the event aims to bring awareness to immigration reform in the U.S. Illegal immigration will also be discussed.
“He’s very involved in issues and is uplifting in the Latino culture,” Raines said. “He’s going to give the opinion of why it’s in the best interest of everyone to be on the bandwagon for immigration reform.”
Keisha Janney, assistant director of MSS, said Cosgrove is a great selection to represent the Hispanic culture.
“One of the reasons we’re excited to have him is because he brings other opinions to campus,” Janney said. “I’m really looking forward to what the community, students and faculty think.”
Cosgrove will also encourage students to take immersion trips offered by Project Puente. The projects allow people to spend time in communities located on the U.S. and Mexico border, she said.
“The organization is facing financial challenges because people aren’t going on the immersion projects,” Janney said.
Cosgrove will open the forum for questions following the discussion.
Other events
Hispanic Heritage month, which started Wednesday and runs until Oct. 15, will also feature a food tasting event, salsa dancing lessons and “Zumba Latin Fitness.”
Stan Shingles, assistant vice president of University Recreation, said the Zumba Latin Fitness program is a great experience for students.
“It provides a very diverse program that is very popular on college campuses and in communities across the country,” he said. “Students with activities to types of activities with Zumba and cultural heritage is certainly a good opportunity.”
This is the second year University Recreation and MSS will both sponsor the Zumba class.
“There’s lots of opportunities for students to come out and experience something out of the ordinary,” Janney said.
