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Latinas at
the WOW
Conference:
After
months of intensive planning, the WOW! Women on
Writing Conference exploded onto the Skyline campus
on March 8th, International Women's Day. Skyline
Latina students were everywhere and one of the most
visible was Therese Bravo, a well-known Pacifica
artist, who was featured in the exhibit. Every
conference has to have a mother, the person who
nurtures the seedling idea into a full-blown event.
Anita Martinez, Dean of Language Arts, was such a
person for WOW!. She guided the initial proposal
and, throughout the year, gave her support, getting
down to the basics of stamping envelopes and moving
tables, whatever was needed. Also, Rosemary
Ybarra-Garcia, Skyline's Vice President of Student
Services, moderated the Women on Writers panel
discussion. Do you also know that she is a
published poet? In addition, Kathleen de Azevedo
Feinblum, a Skyline professor of English, led the
fiction writing workshop at the conference. Her
fiction and articles have appeared in many
publications. Of course the conference would not
have existed without the guidance and vision of its
coordinator, Marijane Datson. If you have a
favorite Latina writer whom you want to hear speak
or do a workshop with or see perform at next year's
conference, write to her at datsonm@pacbell.net.
Impressive
Achievements of Puente's Students:
Congratulations
to Puente student Erika Maida who has just been
accepted to a summer research position at the
Center for Adaptive Optics at the University of
Houston. She will receive a stipend of $2500 as
well as the opportunity to present her research at
the (SACNAS) Society for Advancement of Chicanos
and Native Americans Conference in October. Only
13 students total were chosen!!
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UC
Berkeley Field Trip:
On Friday,
March 21st, Puente students attended UC Berkeley to
tour its beautiful campus. We had great weather
and a very informative tour guide. Afterwards, we
had lunch on Telegraph. It was a very relaxing
day!
Puente
English Class Update:
Puente
English class is well into its fourth book this
semester, which students will soon be writing
collaborative papers on, titled Strangers Among Us:
Latino Lives in a Changing America by Roberto Suro,
and is described this way: "Combining vivid
narrative with policy analysis, Suro demonstrates
the ways in which Latinos are changing the way this
nation looks at itself, and how their presence, and
growing visibility, will redefine our identity and
shape our common goals."
Honoring
Cesar Chavez:
It is
how we use our lives that determines what kind of
person we are. We cannot seek achievement for
ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity
for our community. Our ambitions must be broad
enough to include the aspirations and
needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.
--Cesar
Chavez
In March and April, events have taken place
across the country to honor the life, work and
vision of Cesar Chavez. He was a California labor
organizer, civil rights activist and founder of the
first successful farm workers' union in U.S.
history, the United Farm Workers of America. Cesar
Chavez forged a national support coalition of
unions, church groups, students, minorities and
consumers to improve working conditions and civil
rights for farm workers.
There is no turning back…We will win. We
are winning because ours is a revolution of mind
and heart. --Cesar Chavez
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