Goshen College hosted its first ever Latino Scholarship Dinner Tuesday night in the College Church Fellowship Hall. The goal of the dinner was to raise $50,000 for Latino students, and were able to come up very close to that goal, with around 160 people attending. Attendees included students, faculty and members of the greater Goshen-Elkhart community. The event also had a large number of speakers, including President James Brenneman; Janeth Vela, a junior; Rebecca Espinoza Kubacki, a former state representative; Edgar Saucedo-Davila, a GC alum; Alexa Valdez, a junior; Toby Faustino, a senior; and Isaac Torres, the founder and president...

By Christi Sessa • November 19, 2015 • News

Along with the stress and heavy workload that follow fall break, members of Latino Student Union (LSU) as well as members of Goshen College Nursing Student Association (GCNSA) are organizing a food and clothing drive to help families in need throughout Elkhart County. The food drive, which began on Monday, will run until Thanksgiving, whereas the clothing drive will run until the end of the semester. Donation boxes are located in almost every building on campus and all donations will be given to both the Salvation Army and the Elkhart County Women’s Shelter. “Our goal is to help as many...

By Maddie Birky • October 29, 2015 • News

This week, we at Goshen College have dedicated ourselves to recognize two incredibly important subjects—Sexual Violence Awareness Week and the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. These two events both have huge implications, both globally and here on our campus. With the growing number of Latino and Hispanic heritage students at GC, the Latino Student Union certainly has a reason to celebrate and publicize pride in their diverse cultures this year, as every year. I recognize that focusing on a particular week or month in order to talk about Hispanic heritage is not sufficient on its own, but I hope that...

By Grace Weaver • September 17, 2015 • Features

Nearly 30 percent of this fall’s incoming class identifies as Hispanic. As a college that prioritizes intercultural learning, Goshen College has been working hard to develop its identity as a Hispanic-serving institution. According to Richard Aguirre, director of corporate and foundation relations, notes that “despite their population growth, Latinos lag behind all other racial and ethnic groups in the percentage of students enrolled in college.” Aguirre adds that lack of financial resources is one of the primary reasons for this fact. According to President James Brenneman, Goshen College has worked towards becoming an institution that better serves Hispanic populations by...

By Jenae Longenecker • September 3, 2015 • News

On Saturday, April 4, five Goshen College students travelled to Chicago, IL to participate in a community forum, march and panel given by Caravana 43, families of the 43 missing Ayotzinapa students. Caravana 43 is travelling across the United States to share their stories and demand the return of the students and an end to U.S. military aid to Mexico. First-year Hannah Yoder and sophomores Zach Zimmerman, Anya Kreider, Mimi Salvador and Alma Flores all attended the events. In the evening, the National Museum of Mexican Art hosted a presentation given by Latinos from the local suburb of Little Mexico....

By Maddie Birky • April 16, 2015 • News

On Monday, Nov. 4 a “Dia de los Muertos ofrenda,” or a Day of the Dead altar, was constructed in the Center for Intercultural and International Education (CIIE) office to commemorate all students who have died in aspects of activism throughout the world. Although traditionally in Mexican culture, “ofrendas” are made to represent a specific person, this “ofrenda” not only represents the many students who have died in activism, but also the 43 students who disappeared from a teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Mexico on Sept. 26. Beginning as a “News Flash” assignment for the History of Mexico class, Marcia Good,...

By Kayla Riportella • November 19, 2014 • News

Saturday evening, over 100 students streamed into Umble Center for the first-annual talent show co-hosted by the Black Student Union and the Latino Student Union. Acts ranged from song and dance to rap and poetry. Angel Reyes, a senior, was one of the emcees for the evening and has been leader of LSU in the past. “I think it was great gauging the audience after each group to see that they were just as impressed as I was with the performers,” Reyes said. A few of the performers were returning to the stage with new material after excellent debuts at...

By Monica Miller • October 20, 2014 • Arts

Today, the MIL Mariposas Monarca group, in collaboration with Rocio Diaz, Goshen College multicultural outreach and community liaison, will host the event, “Extendiendo Las Alas Al Exito.” This is event is taking place in order to target the Latino families in the Goshen community and to promote their exploration of college as an option for their children in the future. “This event is to inform Latino families about the college-going process, the importance of education in order to be able to succeed in this country, financial aid and scholarships,” said Diaz. Members of the Latino community at Goshen College are invited...

By Frances Fonseca • April 9, 2014 • Arts

Placido Rodríguez begins his work day at Patrick Industries, a recreational vehicle company in Bremen, well before sunrise. He drives from his home in Elkhart to stack drywall and wood panels, hour after hour, working to give his family a better life. “I work a 10-hour shift with one 15-minute break and a half-hour lunch break,” Placido Rodríguez said, “I have to wake up at 3:30 a.m., start at 5 a.m. and end at 3:45 p.m.” Meanwhile, his son, Alejandro, is sitting in a Climate Change class at Goshen College by 9 a.m., three mornings a week. Alejandro Rodríguez, a...

By Luis Pérez Lerchundi • April 2, 2014 • Features

Black Student Union and Latino Student Union joined together to present the Microaggression Project last night at 6:30 p.m. in NC 17. The event was centered on the theme, “We too are Goshen.” Students from both clubs took pictures with microaggressions they have experienced before the event and posted the pictures around campus.  There was discussion about the presence of microaggressions and how society can eradicate them.  

By Record • April 2, 2014 • Arts

Nearly every third person in Goshen identifies as Hispanic or Latino, according to a 2012 census estimate. Among elected city positions, however, Goshen has never counted a single Latino representative. The disparity between the city’s elected representatives and its Latino population, according to Gilberto Perez, associate professor of social work, is more than an issue of electing a Latino representative. Last year, Perez was appointed to the Goshen Plan Commission, a committee that promotes orderly property development. He said it comes down to an issue of Hispanic involvement in the community. Perez believes that candidates are elected based on how...

By Isaac Fast • March 12, 2014 • News

According to HACU.net, to become an HSI, Goshen College needs 25 percent of the student body to be Latino or Hispanic.  This qualifies the college to apply for certain funds that help improve access and support for post-secondary education within the Hispanic population. Dr. Rebecca Hernandez, associate dean for intercultural development and educational partnerships, said, “This is a benefit for all of our students.  The world has come to our door.  So why not take advantage of the kinds of learning we can do together and grow to meet that really wonderful core value of global citizenship?” Lilly Endowment, Inc....

By Elizabeth Franks-North • January 22, 2014 • News

Alma Rosa Carrillo Flores woke up every morning to breathe the musty Mexico City air. She sauntered sleepily out of her small, pink toy factory-themed bedroom to meet her brother, mother and grandparents in the kitchen for, possibly, her favorite breakfast of beans with mayonnaise and a souped-up ham sub sandwich called ham cake. “Ahh, it’s like heaven!” Alma exclaimed, remembering this meal of her childhood. “And café! Not coffee, but café! It’s just a little plastic cup with Nescafé and Alpura Mexican milk. It’s delicious!” Their house was three stories high, a narrow rectangle of cement and red brick...

By Kolton Nay • January 15, 2014 • Features

After five years of operation, the Latino Studies domestic Study-Service Term program will be canceled due to scheduling complications.  In its place, students seeking to substitute their international education degree completion requirements with something other than SST can choose to take classes on campus. “Domestic SST will be canceled as we know it,” said Stan Miller, registrar.  “It will be replaced by alternate options.” According to Miller, students previously enrolled in Latino Studies SST courses struggled to fit them into their course schedules between other requirements for their majors. Five years ago when the Latino Studies domestic SST program began,...

By Quinn Brenneke • December 5, 2013 • News

The Latino Student Union will add a new element to next week's dance instruction in the RFC's old pool space. Students are invited to dig up an unsightly sweater or take advantage of Goodwill's 50% discount on Saturdays for an Ugly Sweater party. The party will raise money for the Center for Healing and Hope in Goshen. The party will start at 6:30 p.m. next Wednesday in the RFC's old pool space. There will be refreshments, sweater competitions and a Latino dance party. "This is something that I'd like to see happen every year," said Matt Saucedo, academic counselor. Despite...

By Logan Miller • November 14, 2013 • News