On Saturday, April 23, St. John’s University’s Committee on Latin American and
Caribbean Studies (CLACS) held its 2nd
Conference on Educational, Legal, and Health Care Needs of the
Latino Community in New York City, at the Queens Campus. The
event was co-sponsored by several schools and units of the
University: St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
The School of Law, The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, The School of Education, The Peter J. Tobin School of
Business, The Center for Psychological Services and Clinical
Studies, Student Government, and The Cervantes Institute of
Manhattan. Vice Provost Willard Gingerich gave the welcoming
remarks and Deans Mary Daly, Robert Mangione and Jerrold Ross
addressed the importance and relevance of this conference.
Program moderator was Dr. Alina Camacho-Gingerich, Chair of
CLACS.
This academic event, an all-day conference, brought together
professionals and scholars from various academic disciplines to
offer various solutions and options to the social, educational,
legal, health and psychological challenges facing the immigrants of
Latin American and Caribbean origin in the New York City
area. While Latinos were the prime target of the conference,
the research uncovered could also benefit other immigrant groups
who have similar challenges, issues and problems, and hopefully
will contribute to the policy agendas of public and private
sectors. Nearly one-third of the current residents of New York City
now hail from Latin America and Caribbean region. Dr. Clover Hall,
Vice President of Academic Planning and Institutional Research at
St. John’s University and a member of CLACS, offered a thorough study of the
demographic changes in the Latino population in New York City, a
presentation which underlined the necessity of academic events such
as this.
Morning keynote speakers were Dr. Dolores Fernandez,
President of Hostos Community College, and Dr. Eduardo Marti,
President of Queensborough Community College, who spoke eloquently
from professional and personal experience, on the important role
community colleges have in the educational lives of many immigrants
and their children. These colleges often serve as the bridge
to four-year academic institutions, including St. John’s, for
students on their way to professional success. Dr. Marti and Dr.
Fernandez offered some solutions and options they found effective
in their own colleges to confront the challenges Latinos face in
various areas of their education.
These college presidents pointed out that even though the Latino
community is the largest and most rapidly growing minority in the
United States, those coming from economically disadvantaged
families and neighborhoods do not often receive a proper
education. These Latinos are not adequately prepared in
grades K-12, and this factor alone might impede them from getting a
higher education. Students of all ethnic backgrounds who live
in low-income neighborhoods, for example, often are not encouraged
to take more advanced courses, such as AP courses, which put them
at an educational disadvantage. These factors tend to affect the
Latino male student more, said Dr. Marti. They are usually the ones
that do no finish high school and, if they do, they will most
likely not attend college because they are pushed towards getting a
job and not a higher education, something that is usually left to
the woman. Both Dr. Marti and Dr. Fernandez also pointed out
that cuts in Federal Programs, such as Head Start, also have had a
negative educational impact on low income Latinos. The afternoon
keynote speaker, Dr. Lloyd Rogler, Albert Schweitzer Professor
Emeritus at Fordham University, addressed important issues of
cultural sensitivity in mental health research uncovered in his
many years of study with Latinos in Puerto Rico and in New York
City.
In addition, three different panels of scholars and St. John’s
Latino/a graduate students, discussed the health, educational, and
legal needs of the Latino community, as well as past, present, and
future solutions. These panels were chaired, respectively, by
three other members of CLACS: Dr. Rafael Javier, Professor of
Psychology and Director of the Center for Psychological Services
and Clinical Studies led the discussion on health, Dr. Grace
Ibanez-Friedman, Assistant Professor, School of Education, led the
panel on education, and Janice D. Villiers, Esq., Associate
Professor, School of Law, chaired the discussion of law.
Issues discussed by these panels included the need for proper
medical assistance and how to receive it; the need to recognize the
prevalence of certain illnesses such as heart problems, obesity and
diabetes in economically disadvantaged Latino families, so that
they can be properly treated; the recruitment of minority teachers;
Proposition 227 Other important issues addressed included the
language barrier experienced by first generation Latino immigrants;
the need to be culturally and linguistically sensitive; race
profiling; family law issues, such as pertaining to child abuse and
neglect; legal issues in special education; deportation in
disproportionate numbers of Latino immigrants. Dr. Frank
Biafora, Associate Dean of the Graduate Division of Arts and
Sciences, gave the closing remarks.
The findings of this conference and a few select invited
contributions on these topics will be available in book format and
electronically. For further information, please contact: clacs@stjohns.edu or call (718)
990-1932.
Please view the CLACS Conference photo gallery.