Sources: Yessica Prato, yprato04@k-state.edu; and Madai Rivera, 785-532-5500, madai@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Kayela Richard, 785-532-2435, media@k-state.edu
Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH BRINGS NOTED SPEAKERS, CULTURAL EVENTS TO K-STATE
MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with several special events, including K-State's fifth annual HALO Midwest Encuentro, a Hispanic student leadership conference.
Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15, is a national celebration that pays tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched society. The month of celebration also marks the independence of several Latin American countries.
K-State has several Hispanic and Latino student organizations that promote Hispanic/Latino cultural environments and causes, including the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, known as HALO, and the League of United Latin American Citizens, known as LULAC. Both organizations are involved in planning and organizing Hispanic Heritage Month activities at K-State.
The month kicks off Thursday, Sept. 15. LULAC will present a performance by Mexico 2000 Ballet Folklorico and have table displays from noon to 1 p.m. in the K-State Student Union courtyard. The event is in conjunction with several other K-State Hispanic/Latino groups, including Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority, Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity, Bilingual Education Student Organization, Lambda Theta Nu sorority, the Colombian Student Association and HALO.
Other Hispanic Heritage Month events at K-State, all free and open to the public, include:
* Friday, Sept. 16, LULAC Presents: "A 20/20 View of Hispanic America" with John Quinones, the Emmy-awarding co-host of ABC's "Primetime" and "What Would You Do?" The event will be 6-7 p.m. in the union's Forum Hall.
* Thursday, Sept. 22, Claudio Ivan Remeseira, director of the Hispanic New York Project at the Center for American Studies at Columbia University, will present the lecture, "Covering Latino-America: What Does it Mean to be a Latino Journalist in the U.S. Today?" at 11:30 a.m. in Room 207 at the union.
* Thursday, Sept. 22, a fundraiser for the Hispanic American Leadership Organization from 5-8 p.m. at HuHot Mongolian Grill in the Manhattan Town Center mall, downtown Manhattan.
* Friday, Sept. 23, Roundtable: "The Construction of Latino identities from Outside Latin America," from 10 a.m. to noon in Hale Library's Hemisphere Room.
* Tuesday, Oct. 11, fifth annual HALO Midwest Encuentro, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the union ballroom. Encuentro is a conference for Hispanic and Latino students from across the Midwest. The guest speaker will be Juan Andrade Jr., president of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. Frank Martin, K-State men's basketball coach, also is scheduled to appear.
