¿Que Pasa, Ohio State? Spring 2019, Vol. 27, No. 2

Volume 27 • Number 2 • Spring 2019

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Making Space for Latinx Scholarship and Community

Quiénes somos

Esquina de los Editores

Reyna Esquivel-King, Editor Luiza Corrêa, Art Director Yolanda Zepeda, Managing Director

Latinx Community and Identity

Contributors Adrián Rodríguez Ana Medina Fetterman Ally Langley Angela Acosta Antonio Duran Arin Perkins Ayanna Williams Ben Cuevas Carlos Berríos Polanco Evelin Nuñez-Rodríguez Frederick Aldama George Thomas Lauren Lopez Maria Fredericks Reyna Esquivel-King Rolando Rubalcava Victor Tenorio Yolanda Zepeda

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion publishes ¿Qué Pasa, Ohio State? each autumn and spring semester. ¿Qué Pasa, Ohio State? is proud to celebrate the achievements of Latinx in a variety of disciplines: art, politics, science, technology, literature, and more. Although not every discipline will be featured in each issue, each thematically organized issue will highlight the diversity of fields in which Latinx excel.

The Ohio State University is not responsible for the content and views of this publication. The publication does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the staff.

Note: We use the term “Latinx” to represent all Latino identities. Photos for each piece are provided by the author or interviewee unless otherwise noted.

On the Cover: "All Lives Matter"

by Arin Perkins arinperkins@outlook.com arins_art (instagram)

Reyna Esquivel-King , Editor This year continues to get harder, especially for people of color. Violence against us is escalating, leaving us feeling alone and vulnerable. However, we must remember we are part of a larger, stronger group that has faced many obstacles and overcome them through the power of community. As members of the Latinx population, we must uplift and celebrate our many cultures and differences and remember that we are one. This issue highlights the wonderful diversity in our community and what makes us special.

We start off this issue with a collection of creative works that discuss identity in the Spanish-speaking population. We continue with the second part of Luz Por Las Nubes

by Rolando Rubaclava about connecting with his family in Mexico. Writers discuss the issue of Spanish fluency, selfidentification, and the variety of definitions of what it means to be Hispanic.

This is the heart of the Hispanic Identity Project by Ana Medina Fetterman. In Finding my Home in Puerto Rico, Victor Tenorio writes about visiting Puerto Rico for the first time! Then, we show how several organizations at Ohio State University are engaging with the larger Hispanic community. For example, Sol-Coñ showcases comic writers who are people of color and it is a space where they can come together and converse about the pros and cons of being a person of color in the comic book industry. BuckAlly and the SPPO committee also provide events and information for the Spanish-speaking community in Columbus.

We highlight the issues queer people of color face with Exploring Experiences of Queer People of Color by Antonio Duran. Our centerfold continues to discuss this theme with Knit PrEp by artist Ben Cuevas. Ben Cuevas is a Los Angeles-based interdisciplinary artist, who’s perhaps best known for the complete human skeleton he knit while in residence at the Wassaic Project in 2010. He works in textiles, sculpture, installation, photography, video, sound, and performance. His practice underscores queer/feminist ideologies, with a focus on the condition of embodiment. As a genderqueer, male-bodied, HIV Positive, Latinx artist, his identity directly influences his work, which is often autobiographical. The centerfold is followed by an article about Ben Cuevas and his art.

The next few articles explore the idea of healing. The Soothing Power of Culture by Evelin Nunez-Rodriguez is a poem about health and home remedies, discussing the cultural significance of using Vicks! Los Podres Curativos del Arte by Arin Perkins, who is also the artist featured on our front cover, talks about exactly what the title is: the healing power of art.

The last articles showcase the professional organizations at Ohio State and the work that has been done to help the Latinx community. Carlos Berríos discusses how Dr. Michael Chema, a former OSU student, developed a scholarship for Puerto Rican graduating high school students. Adrian Rodriguez talks about Stone Lab and their experiences on the island campus.

Lauren Lopez writes about the experiences of the Hispanic Leadership Institute’s (USHLI) Annual Conference. Institute of Teaching and Learning by Reyna Esquivel-King discusses her trip to this conference, which is the largest gathering of underrepresented minority Ph.D. scholars in the country. The final articles highlight Latinx leaders across the OSU community.

Despite the anger and hatred that we see in the media, we must come together and be stronger than the negativity. It is important to stand up and support each other!

Contenido 19 The Soothing Power of Culture

4 Spanish Fluency

Evelin Nuñez-Rodríguez

Angela Acosta

5-6 Luz Por Las Nubes

II

20 Los Poderes Curativos del Arte

Rolando Rubalcava

Arin Perkin

7 Resurgimiento Maria Fredericks

21 Finding my Home in Puerto Rico

8-9 Hispanic Identity Project Ana Medina Fetterman

22 Giving Back: From Student to Scholarship Sponsor Carlos Berríos Polanco

10-11 SPPO Engaged with Latinx Community Reyna Esquivel-King

23 My Stone Lab Research Experience

12 Putting the Heart in SÓL-CON George Thomas 13 Tales from La Vida

Victor Tenorio

Adrián Rodríguez

24 SACNAS Welcomes You 25 ODI Team Attends USHLI Lauren Lopez

Dr. Fredrick Aldama

14 BuckAlly

26 Institute of Teaching and Learning Reyna Esquivel-King

Yolanda Zepeda

15 Exploring Experiences of Queer People of Color Antonio Duran

16-17 Knit PrEp Ben Cuevas 18

“I leave my Body in every Stitch” Yolanda Zepeda

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Alpha Psi Lambda Celebrates Founder’s Week Ayanna Williams

28-29 Spotlight 30 Congratulations to Dr. Juan Alfonzo 31 Graduates

{Spanish Fluency}

La fluidez en Español Angela Acosta Graduate Student, Spanish and Portuguese It started with a conglomeration of comments: “I thought you grew up in Mexico.”

“I thought you were 100% Latina.”

“Are you Hispanic?”

“You didn’t learn Spanish at home?”

When you ask me about my Spanish, You want to know about my family, The people who swore their allegiance to this country By giving up the languages of their ancestors, The children who felt shame instead of pride And never inherited the words that were theirs all along.

When you ask me about my Spanish accent Because I am from Florida, but not Cuban, Because I am fluent, but not a native speaker, You want an easy, cookie-cutter answer.

But that is not my story.

This is my story.

The way I speak doesn’t come from those who raised me, But those who raised me up.

It comes from Spanish classrooms, From Boricuas, Cubans, Spaniards, Venezuelans, From three years of Spanish speaking competitions, From the poetry of Vicente Aleixandre and Pablo Neruda, And from Spanish lunch tables in Massachusetts.

The way I speak is unique to me: Air breathed into my lungs with the memory of my ancestors, Tongue pronouncing my last name in Spanish, Words loud and clear in my Spanish classroom, The voice that was inside me all along.

photo credit | elainejoyroach.com | belonging

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Luz Por Las Nubes II Rolando Rubalcava, Graduate Student, English Department

After a few days, my mom and I went to Jalisco, where both my mom and dad grew up. While Aguas (look at that- I'm even picking up slang here) is more metropolitan, the city we were traveling to was much more rural. We went to visit my aunt Rosalba in Mechoacanejo, a small city just outside of Guadalajara. The drive there took almost half a day.

When we got there, I met my aunt's husband, Zacharias.

I've never heard anything about him back home, so this was like meeting a stranger in every sense of the word.

We really connected after telling him I was a teacher at a community college. He works as the principle at his local elementary school. We shared stories about teaching and the books we love to reference and lecture about in class.

After a few of these stories, like that time one of my students passed my class after struggling to turn in assignments while raising a family and working at his dad's construction company, he asked me to visit his school and meet with his students. It sounded like a great idea, meeting students from another country, observing a whole new curriculum.

I had no idea what to expect. I also had no idea just how much I didn't know about teaching. We drove to the school that morning, right when the sun came up. It was freezing outside, and there were caws from real roosters at this hour. On the drive, I saw what the city really looked like; not as something wondrous or nostalgic, but for what it was- a rural city, with a small population, where houses are made with whatever materials are available and parcels of land sit there, hoping to be developed. We arrived at the school, where I experienced my first sense of teachershock. The school was tiny, with about six classrooms, an administrative office, and a field for outdoor activities. The entire student body was about sixty students. My initial thought was that some of the children from this town stopped showing to work on the family farm, which was my dad's experience. "Nope", my uncle said. "This is everyone.

I even made it my mission to get all of the kids from this area to school. As far as I know, this is all of the kids. They are all enrolled all coming to school and doing work". I've

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never been on a campus with less than several hundred students. This includes all of the schools I attended, going back to elementary school. The school had plenty of resources, and there was no lack of effort or workload instructors gave to their students.

There was nothing ostensibly flawed or lacking at this school; it was a small school in a small city with a small student body. I had to shake off this shock, but once I did, it was really easy to appreciate how much my uncle put into this school. I observed a classroom and saw students working, turning in homework. And, just like students here, some were a bit disruptive, or a few were on their phones, and one student really liked being the focus of attention. Yeah- they were just like us. Then‌something weird happened.

My uncle asked me to teach a class. There was a class that was learning English, and he asked if I could go over their next lesson on writing in English. Working as a professor at a community college, I've had a large range of students, including international and refugee students, working adults, students coming back to school after years of stepping foot in a classroom, and students older than me. This, however, was like teaching in another galaxy. I had no lesson plan, I had no clue where they were with their writing skills, and my Spanish is terrible. How in God's name am I going to do this?! When I entered the class, every pair of eyes was looking at me, waiting for me to impress them. I was asked to teach, as if I had some kind of valuable insight on the English language. A small phrase streamed through my head: Don't Freak Out.

I stood outside of myself and looked at what they finished- for having a teacher who barely knows what he's doing, and students writing sentences, working in pairs, and getting writing done, I was impressed by these kids. They got good work done. Teaching in the country I'm from, if I saw this, I'd call it a good day. Their class time was done, and my uncle and I left home.

I've never felt so exhausted after teaching than on this day. For as long as I have been a teacher, my only goal for my students is that they take something, anything, whatever it is, into their next class. Here, I was not in a position to dictate what they should or shouldn't take.

Instead, I told them how great they did and looked forward to seeing their academic success. I tell that to my students every semester; here, my wonder was as genuine as it was sympathetic. My uncle and I left home, but I wasn't as interested in chatting. A new facet in teaching opened up for me. I can still see their faces, glowing with an interest in learning, while I stood up there, with a pull coming from my back, begging me to retreat. I did not retreat. I stood there and taught, and they appreciated it.

(dontfreakoutdontfreakoutdntfrkoutdntfrkkouuuuuut) One of the students showed me their textbook and what they were studying. We started on sentence structure by going over basics; what's a verb; what's a noun; how do they make a sentence. While sentences in Spanish don't follow traditional English structure (Subject-Verb-Object; in Spanish, it's more like VerbSubject-Object), we sat down and discussed what's important to know when writing in English. We did sentence trees, translation exercises, and some work from the text identifying parts of speech. When we talked about sentences, I asked them to write a small paragraph about what they enjoy doing the most on the weekends, then worked with in pairs, and took turns translating words, then turning them into sentences in English. They all got about two sentences done, but frankly classes I teach in the States aren't even this productive some days. The class section was done before we had a chance to work in groups.

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https://seekinginfinitejest.com This Blog Post is dedicated to my Grandmother, Juana Pedroza Ibarra. I had a chance to meet her while I was in Mechoacanejo. She passed away the day after we came back from Mexico at the age of 84. She raised my dad, along with another fourteen siblings. Getting to know her back story was almost Faulknerian, learning about the history of my family's matriarchy.

Unfortunately, the dementia made it impossible to know who I was. Seeing her, regardless of her knowing who I was, made me make sure I never forget my time here. A bit over a month later, I got a tattoo inspired by a phrase my dad told me years ago when I got my first job: No matter how tall a tree grows, it never forgets its roots. This tree is still growing, with its roots etched on my arm. I'll never forget where I came from. This tree will make sure of it.

my landscape flattened overnight, the summits of the andean sierra transformed into snowy sea-level flatlands. the cinder-block homes and garden orchids that colored my surroundings shape-shifted into suburban uniformity and evergreen trees. i woke up to four white walls, a cold -shouldered ambiance, and finally the face of my sweet mother that felt oceans apart. la primera vez que mis ojos llegaron a profundizar la realidad de la diferencia también fue mi primer dia en los EEUU. i couldn’t run away from the imposed Difference. though my gaze quickly got accustomed to the patterns of my physical environment and the feeling of the briskwinter-blazing-summer on my skin, my life was ever-more marked by otherness. i was the only perfectly gelled back french braid among straight hairs and soft ponytails. the abuelita-knitted sweater among mass-produced t-shirts and jeans. a foreigner in a sea of strange sameness. realmente llegué a entender que la diferencia que sentía no estaba adentro de mi entorno, sino también dentro de mí misma. as i owned this othered-body, those around me had two choices: either they embraced me as i was, or rejected that which inconvenienced them and submerged me in the sea of sameness. so, i felt the cold, white waters of the West surround me, turning me out from the outside-in. the waves washed away my name and my warm andean nature, crashed into my mother tongue, and left me ashore like a lost soul. mi mundo cambió.

Resurgimiento

National Spanglish Creative Writing Winner

Maria Camila Fredericks, Undergraduate, Environmental Policy and Decision Making

it began with my name. as i looked into the eyes of my kindergarten teacher for the first time, all i could make out of her words to me were “maria” with a soft r. my nametag said maria, my classmates called me this name, and suddenly i began to understand that i was not camila here. the sweet and tender name given to me by a maria cristina, uttered by maria belens and maria paulas, an essential marker of my latinidad, was stripped from me in the blink of an eye. y qué pasa cuando pierdes tu nombre? pues, te conviertes en una persona desconocida. my beautiful language left with camila. within the span of three months, this unfamiliar ontology buried her very essence in favor of adding yet another layer of westernization to her body. whether consciously or unconsciously, my defense mechanism became to accept these terms and conditions pushed onto me. that is to say, in trying to locate the person that was newly assigned to me, erasing every part of the obsolete me became crucial. soon, i was introducing myself as maria with a soft r, flinching when my mom spoke to me in spanish, and resisting the features that highlighted my othered-body. mi cultura, y el lenguaje atado a ella, se convirtieron en una fuente de vergüenza y tristeza. losing my language, name, and culture to the necessity of seeking opportunity elsewhere was no coincidence. i understand this process to be another iteration of a violence that has displaced and stolen from people for hundreds of years. colonization, and its compulsory condition of supremacism, effectively found its way to my everyday, pushing me to renounce my personhood by virtue of upholding a majority. la primera vez que mi cuerpo llegó a profundizar la realidad de la colonización, también fue el primer día que me empecé a descolonizar. hablar el español ecuatoriano no es simplemente una herramienta; es mi manera de levantar mis raíces del suelo y recuperar mi propia historia. al arrastrar las erres, disminuir cada palabra, y utilizar el lleísmo, otros pueden sentir el mestizaje de mi tierra y oír los cuentos de mis bisabuelos. de mi boca salen los sonidos que me parieron, la riqueza que forma montañas y ríos inmensos y la identidad que se niega a ser reprimida. compartir mi lengua materna resucita a la niña de trenzas hechas por su mami y de saquitos tejidos por su abuelita. despierta a la camila, que siempre ha estado dentro de mí, esperando el gran resurgimiento de esas aguas frías que una vez la hundieron. el español es el camino hacia mi liberación. es mi fuente de vida.

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THE HISPANIC | LATINO IDENTITY PROJECT Ana Medina Fetterman Alum, Psychology and Italian

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he Hispanic/Latino Identity Project captures the experiences of 24 Hispanic and/or Latino students from The Ohio State University. As a Spanish-American living in the United States, I was compelled to explore the experiences of other individuals whose identities have been shaped by two—but often conflicting identities—and their quest in the formation of their own sense of self and belonging in multiple communities.

My conceptualization of the project began with my own experience as a Hispanic American woman who grew up in Ohio. Although I lived with my single, American mother growing up, I regularly visited my Spanish-Peruvian family in Spain.

I identify with being both Hispanic and American, but I grew up in a small community where having two cultural backgrounds was a relatively unique situation. It was not uncommon for me to hear remarks about why I should or should not, be able to consider myself Hispanic.

Sometimes, it was because of the way I look (I am white), sometimes it was because my friends had never heard me speak Spanish, but, more often than not, it was because people had very generalized ideas about the Hispanic community.

There are nearly 21 countries that fall under the Hispanic label and about 22 under the Latino label.

While these terms are often used synonymously, some countries like Spain--located in Europe--or Suriname, whose official language is Dutch despite its location in Latin America, only fall under one term. Moreover, countries in Latin America have a strong history, not only of colonization and slavery, but also of immigration, that contribute to its racial and ethnic diversity.

It was difficult sometimes to parse out the mixed messages I was receiving and the lack of complete belonging that I sometimes felt from any community. That is to say, my worldview, perspective, and

personality were very influenced by growing up in a multicultural family, but I sometimes felt that I wasn’t Hispanic enough or could not completely identify with individuals who grew up entirely in a Hispanic country. Moreover, being a white Hispanic, I was not exposed to some of the issues and discrimination that Hispanics of more Amerindian descent sometimes face in this country; it was not uncommon for me to hear generalized comments about Hispanics without the commenter realizing there was a Hispanic in the room. Throughout the years, in forming my own sense of identity, I was often confronted with the question—what makes someone Hispanic and is there one singular answer to this question? Is there a spectrum to being Hispanic?

I wanted to speak to other individuals who were confronted with the same question or, maybe, who even knew the answer. Is it speaking Spanish (or Portuguese, etc.)? Is it rooted in our biology or better defined by our cultural experiences? How does the way other’s perceive us impact our own identity, acceptance in different communities, discrimination we may or may not face, and our overall experience of being Hispanic and/ or Latino in the United States? The ultimate goal of my project was to put into question the idea of what it means to be Hispanic and/or Latino in the United States and to broaden the viewer’s notion of the diversity of these communities. I wanted to showcase not just the diversity that occurs in the “melting pot” that is the United States, but is common among Hispanics and Latinos all over the world. Moreover, I also wanted to highlight the unique comradery that occurs among Hispanics/Latinos and learn more about how we choose to identify.

Do others identify more with the word Hispanic or Latino, or with their specific country of ancestry?

During the spring of my senior year, I interviewed and photographed

24 students from The Ohio State University from a variety of backgrounds (The only requirement to participate was that students had to consider themselves to be at least 50% Hispanic and /or Latino).

Some students had moved to the United States when they were younger, some individuals grew up entirely in the United States with two Hispanic parents, and other individuals were ethnicallymixed. The overall response I received was very positive and it was fascinating to hear everyone’s stories and perspectives. For example, I spoke to a student who was conceived through the help of an egg donation from a Puerto Rican woman, but whose parents were of Italian and Jewish descent.

She spoke to me about trying to be an ally in the current sociopolitical stage given her own privileges. I also spoke to individuals who were black and Hispanic, whether their African roots were from different sides of their family or from their Latin American background. I wanted to know about these student’s experiences and how being Hispanic/Latino has shaped their own perspectives. I wanted to know whether two individuals from objectively similar backgrounds could identify in different ways.

Ultimately, I hoped to celebrate the diversity of the Hispanic and Latino communities and highlight experiences that bring us together.

You can see the full project here: anamedinaphotography.com/hip Special thanks to Victoria Sevich for help with interviews and to Olivia Nikol and Laura Bentley for their assistance with makeup.

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from scholars and artists from around the Midwest. The celebration was open to the public. SPPO Outreach was extremely excited to bring this cultural event to the greater community of Columbus! Partners for this event included Office of Diversity and Inclusion/LASER, the Center for Latin American Studies, University Libraries, and Latina/o Studies at Ohio State.

HEALTH CARE INITIATIVESS

ENGAGING THE LATINX COMMUNITY SPPO INITIATIVES Reyna Esquivel-King, Graduate Student, History Department

O

utreach in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese emphasizes the pedagogical, social, and academic value of partnering with diverse communities in the Columbus area and beyond.

Signature events include Festival Latino in the summer, Día de los Muertos in the fall, and our partner luncheon in the spring. We are composed of Spanish and Portuguese faculty members and graduate students from diverse areas of inquiry, as well as a large network of collaborators and volunteers whose

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vision and energies power our many areas of engagement.

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOSS Ohio State SPPO’s Día de los Muertos celebration took place during the first week of November, 2018. The community event included a screening of the film Coco at the Gateway Film Center, calavera poetry, a procession on campus, art exhibits at Hagerty Hall and Thompson Library, and visits

JUNTOS PARA EL BIENESTAR EN LA DIABETES The Juntos study is an NIH-funded project in its second year of implementation. Under the direction of Dr. Glenn Martinez, Director of the Center for Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and Dr. Usha Menon of the University of Arizona, this multisite study aims to improve health outcomes for Hispanic patients with diabetes while improving the Spanish language skills and cultural understanding of Nurse Practitioner students. The study is composed of multiple phases. After taking a course on chronic care management in the Hispanic population, students are linked with Hispanic patients at a local health center who have been newly diagnosed with diabetes. Over the course of six months they coach patients in diabetes management, and within this period the students travel to Honduras for a cultural immersion experience. Through this project, the Juntos team hopes to create a sustainable educational intervention that will benefit the Hispanic population in Central Ohio and throughout the country.

I.M.P.A.C.T Interpreters for the Medical Profession through Advanced Curriculum and Teaching. Welcome to the IMPACT website where we cultivate community resources to address language barriers in health care. These are the components of IMPACT: High School and College level coursework in Spanish, Academic and Professional mentoring, medical interpreting training, medical interpreter internships, national certification

SERVICE LEARNINGS

EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVESS SEMINARS ABROAD FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS The Summer Seminars Abroad for Spanish Teachers (SSAST) have been offered annually since 1991, moving to a different site every two years as a way of presenting as many faces as possible of the Spanish-speaking world to educators and students of Spanish. Previous locations have included Mexico (1991-92); Ecuador (1993-94); Costa Rica (1995-96); Spain (1997-98); Dominican Republic (1999-00); Chile (2001-02); Paraguay (2003-04); Guatemala (2005 -06); Bolivia (2007-08); Nicaragua (2009 -10); Argentina (2011-12); Peru (2013-14); Colombia (2015-16); Cuba (2017-18) and the next one is going to be offered in MontevidĂŠu, Uruguay (2019).

featuring the children and their artwork.

At the end of the semester, each child receives a complete storybook at a school fiesta celebrating reading, writing, and going to college. The project is organized by Dr. Jill Welch, Senior Lecturer at the OSU Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese.

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Spanish offers the class 5689S as an advanced Spanish language course. The context for the course is the Spanish-speaking communities of Columbus, Ohio.

In class, guest speakers from the community discuss their work, life experiences, and career opportunities.

Out of class, students go into the community to practice their Spanish skills with native and heritage speakers, and volunteer with community organizations that serve the Latino communities in Columbus. Students have used the course to establish connections with community partners and to gain knowledge and experience that helped prepare them for graduate school and future careers.

Many students have found that service learning is not only rewarding but life changing. To get involved, contact the Committee Chair: Dr. Paloma Martinez Cruz at martinez-cruz.2@osu.edu.

OHIO HABLA PODCAST Born out of the oral history project about Latin@s in Ohio, Oral Narratives of Latin@s in Ohio (ONLO). It seeks to amplify the Latin@ experience with interviews in Spanish, English and Spanglish.

COMMUNITY INITIATIVESS THE BILLINGUAL STORYBOOK PROJECT The project is a partnership between the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Salem Elementary, Columbus City Schools. Spanishspeaking first and second graders enrolled in ESL at Salem provide artwork and brief bios to OSU students enrolled in Honors Spanish Composition (3403H), who then write stories in Spanish and in English

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Putting the Heart in SÕL-CON Creators of Color and Their Colorful Creations George Thomas, Undergraduate, Department of English

I was fortunate enough to spend three days speaking with the writers and illustrators at this year’s SÕLCON exhibition, running from Thursday Sept. 27th to Sunday Sept. 30th. After an introduction to some of the creators at the Thursday reception, I sat down for lunch at the campus BIBIBOP with Fernando de Peña, Rodrigo Vargas, and Constanza “Coni” Yovaniniz, the co-creators of the graphic novel Elisa y los Mutantes. I spent the next hour and a half furiously scribbling notes as the three talked back and forth about their work, its context in Chilean, and international history, as well as their own views on the place of international creators in a market so dominated by the United States, and especially by white Americans.

We chatted on the way to the restaurant about how the event was treating them, talked about the new rentable scooters scattered around Columbus (Coni and Rodrigo managed to ride ten uninterrupted feet while sharing one, a task I have yet to succeed at myself), took pictures with the iconic statue of Brutus Buckeye in the Ohio Union, and jaywalked like proper campus residents.

Before the interview had even begun, there were moments that spoke volumes to me about just how wide a divide we were trying to bridge. The entire basis of Elisa y los Mutantes was a series of protests in Chile in 2011-13, known as the Chilean Winter. The massive social uprising was a defining moment in the lives of many Chileans, my new friends included. It spelled the end of for-profit universities in the country, an overhaul

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of the tax code to better fund the new public education system, and more. And I had never heard of it until the day I picked up Elisa y los Mutantes and lost myself in the splash of shapes and speech. There were hints, too, that the artists’ exposure to the United States came mostly from entertainment and mass media. Half in jest, the trio warned each other away from acting out too much in public, lest a random citizen gun them down in the street like John Wayne in some old wild west flick.

At lunch, the conversation revolved around their exposure to America’s popular media. “The U.S. creates for the U.S.. It’s an international market, but it produces for itself,” said Fernando. “The world has a microscope pointed at the U.S.. The [Chilean] mass media is the U.S. mass media. U.S. films are Chilean films… Something like 70% of our films are US films.”

I asked if this extended to the comic industry in Chile as well. It turned out that the problem was even worse.

“There’s no scene for it in Chile… it’s a hobby. Nobody gets paid for it. We had a comic book industry, but it died.” He paused. “No, not died. It was killed. And you don’t know that unless you read a fucking history book.”

The lack of education about international history, brought to light in my own ignorance about the Chilean student protests, turned out to be a widespread problem. Rodrigo mentioned an episode of the popular TV show Breaking Bad as an example. “The Chilean character has a flashback at a Chilean university that didn’t exist at the time.” He laughed. “Use Google!”

Fernando brought up the problem of representation

in U.S. mass media, especially given its weight in the global entertainment industry. Most people’s only exposure to other cultures came in the form of entertainment like films and comics. “If Latinos aren’t in the U.S. mass media, they’re just another gringo, you know? If you don’t cross the border, you don’t see it.” He pointed to his own experience trying to get Elisa y los Mutantes published. “They asked me to make the female character more blond, make her whiter, give her bigger… you know… but she was based on Rodrigo’s girlfriend.”

Coni spoke up at this point, taking the topic of international representation even further. “It’s important that we’re starting to mix the U.S. Latinx comic community with the Chilean. They talk about the Latinx experience, but it’s in a U.S. context. There are a lot of different views, and it’s important to have them together, but do they know what’s happening down there?”

The answer, clearly, is that we do not.

There’s still an enormous amount of work to be done in bridging the gap between the U.S. and Chile, and between every country. The dream of a truly international community, with all nations given their due representation, is a daunting challenge to be fulfilled, but one that we might just be up to with the help of emerging communication technologies and events like SÕLCON. The trio put themselves in debt for their first trip to the U.S. in 2014, but every year there’s a little more money for their travel and a little more interest in their work.

Artists and consumers alike stand to gain a great deal from these international exchanges, be they professional or personal. There are new ideas to share, new stories to tell, and new perspectives to shape our world with. And I found a final quote in my notes that gave me a little hope for the success of events like SÕL-CON, written in an unfamiliar hand and signed with a little doodle of Brutus Buckeye himself.

Tales from La Vida Anthology, edited by Frederick Luis Aldama

TOUR THE EXHIBIT

Dr. Aldama presents a collection of works from more than 80 Latinx comics creators. The anthology was released in conjunction with an exhibition at Ohio State’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum featuring autobiographic short stories that demonstrate the complexities of Latinx identity and life. The exhibition ran November 2018 to March 2019.

SÕL-CON is sponsored by Office of Diversity and Inclusion. It was lauched in 2015 by Frederick Aldama.

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Buck-I-Dream Ally Training Promotes Support for Dreamers Yolanda Zepeda, Assistant Vice Provost, Office of Diversity and Inclusion

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growing community of allies has committed to supporting DACA and immigrant students at Ohio State. Recognizing the ambiguity and confusion around immigration issues, and the impact that the shifting landscape has on the needs of undocumented students, a group of allies has come together to create a more welcoming environment.

The Buck-I-Dream training program was launched a year ago to help members of the campus community gain information on how to support DACA and undocumented students. The threehour training promotes understanding about the financial and legal realities that students face, and fosters sensitivity regarding the social and emotional stressors associated with their status.

DACA and undocumented students at Ohio State have expressed a sense of vulnerability and isolation because they do not know who they can trust. The ally trainings aim to create a visible community of support. At present, 118 individuals across campus have self-identified as DACA-friendly, have completed a three-hour training on how to be an ally, and have committed to act as resource for DACA and undocumented students. All units are encouraged to participate.

In addition to the training, a list resources and information around DACA is available on the University Libraries Research Guides site.

Upcoming training dates are listed on the website. The site also includes a complete list of everyone who has signed an ally contract. This resource can help students seeking assistance The Research Guide can be

found at guides.osu.edu/DACA. Training sessions to date have been facilitated by Professor Anna Babel and doctoral student Stacey Alex, both members of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

In order to respond to the growing demand for trainings, the ally group is calling for volunteers who may be interested in supporting the training program. Participants interested in planning sessions for their units or facilitating/co-facilitating training sessions should contact BuckIDream@gmail.com.

Ohio State has a DACA Liaison who serves as a one-stop resource for questions regarding application questions and financial aid questions and any other issues DACA students experience while at Ohio State. Dr. Todd Suddeth can be reached at suddeth.1@osu.edu.

DACA Resources for students and allies

Contribute to the DACA Support Fund! • •

Visit giveto.osu.edu Select Fund # 314540

This fund supports financial aid and programming for students under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or students who otherwise meet DACA eligibility requirements.

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Antonio Duran, Graduate Student, Higher Education and Student Affairs

Exploring the Experience of Queer People of Color on Campus

"Sometimes it feels like I’m an outsider in a niche group… It feels like I’m not accepted anywhere.

With people of color, I’m gay. With gay people, I’m a person of color. I’m always different even when I’m around people who I’m supposed to be like. It’s hard to find your people."

- David Watson (pseudonym)

As I sat across from an undergraduate student that I was interviewing for a study on queer students of color, I could hear the raw vulnerability in his voice. In this moment, David (a pseudonym) described an experience that many queer people of color face during college. Identifying as a member of multiple oppressed groups, queer collegians of color frequently have a difficult time finding communities that embrace all of their identities, especially at predominantly white campuses (see Duran, 2018). Yet, when queer people of color (QPOC) forge bonds, these spaces can be empowering in beautiful ways. To show the multifaceted realities of being a queer individual of color in college, this article discusses some of the barriers that these collegians encounter while also illuminating their resilience at predominantly white institutions (PWIs).

As a queer Latino man myself, I regularly walk through campus and go an entire day without seeing someone who looks like

me. Keeping this in mind, OSU’s status as a PWI can make students feel isolated and as though they do not belong. Moreover, when an individual identifies as queer in addition to being a person of color, these sentiments are most likely amplified due to heteronormative beliefs that typically permeates societal discourses. In my own research on queer students of color at PWIs, participants have described this phenomenon as being “a rainbow bead in a sea of white.” In fact, in a recent study, Nicole (a pseudonym) took the following picture to depict how it felt to be a QPOC at her institution.What these beads showcase is that queer people of color are minoritized by nature of their race and sexuality.

Yet, Nicole also mentioned that this image functions in multiple ways. While it did describe her overall view on campus, it similarly communicated how she felt in queer spaces. Narratives from queer students of color indicate that these collegians can face oppressive environments in their own marginalized communities.

In other words, these individuals encounter racism in queer spaces and may confront homophobia in

communities of color. Therefore, these communities must question whose needs they are centering.

When queer student organizations, for example, do not intentionally think about the role that race plays in how some experience their sexuality, these groups can overlook and marginalize queer students of color. The same goes for spaces that center on racial equity.

However, it is imperative to highlight that barriers do not define queer people of color. In looking at LGBTQ history, it is oftentimes queer and transgender people of color (namely trans women of color) who have fought for liberation against a racist and heterosexist society. The resilience that queer students of color practice on campuses is notable. Furthermore, queer people of color frequently create bonds with others who embrace their identities, generating counterspaces on campus that value students’ individuality. Thus, colleges must address the barriers that queer students of color encounter, while also continuing to tap into their resilience and worldmaking.

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Multimedia artist Ben Cuevas created Knit PreEP, a sculptural work commissioned for the Visual AIDS trading cards series. It is a project intended to raise awareness around HIV/AIDS advocacy and promote safe practices. PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis. An antiretroviral, the blue pill is taken daily to prevent HIV infection.

Knit

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The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies recently invited Cuevas to campus. The artist discussed influences of feminist and queer theory in his works, and described the process of knitting through which he leaves "vestiges of his body," a racialized queer body of color, in the works that he creates.

PrEP

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image credit | bencuevas.com

“I leave my body in every stitch” Yolanda Zepeda Assistant Vice Provost Office of Diversity and Inclusion

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en Cuevas is a fascinating, multi-media artist whose works explore and challenge traditional notions of body, sexuality and gender.

Based in Los Angeles, Cuevas’ art forms span fiber arts, performance, and multi-media installations that incorporate photography, video and sound. His art is influenced by feminist, queer theory and notions of identity, specifically his identity as queer, male-bodied, Latinx, and HIVpositive: “I see my work as a reflection of the condition of embodiment: exploring the intersections of the mind and body, what it means to

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have a body, to inhabit a body, to be a body incarnated in, and interacting with this world. “ Cuevas learned to knit as a hobby, but he soon recognized the possibilities that the meditative practice offered for creative expression. Gendered notions associated with the craft and the intimacy required to create knitted garments, the sculptural possibilities, and the intricacies of stitching all provided rich inspiration for fine art.

Cuevas creates anatomically-accurate knitted sculptures that reference discourse on the body. For example, “Masculine/feminine” is a two-person, knitted bodysuit that masterfully intertwines gendered ideas while upending traditional, gendered expectations. The “feminine” side of the bodysuit is contoured for a female body, and the “masculine” side is contoured for a male body.

Both sides feature piecemeal designs and stitches that reference male and female anatomy. The artist explained in a recent lecture at Ohio State, “As persons we are all a patchwork of feminine aspects and masculine aspects.” Similar themes questioning gendered expectations are echoed in the performance piece, “Man’s Body, Woman’s Work,” a 40-hour, weeklong performance during which Cuevas

sat, nude, and knitted a flesh-colored body suit.

Notions of care and healing are also evident throughout Cuevas’ works.

His installation, “Hospital Room” displayed knitted sculptures representing the seven chakras, or energy centers in our bodies. The work contrasts soft, yarn bodies against hard steel and glass surfaces of the antiseptic hospital space. The “Waiting Room” includes distorted audio recordings from several medical waiting rooms where Cuevas sat knitting hearts. The hearts were then suspended in bell jars in the installation.

“Medicine Cabinets” features knitted sculptures of the five most popular psychoactive pharmaceuticals. They were presented inside of medicine cabinets/display cases with wallpaper backgrounds that were fashioned from the pattern of each drug’s chemical structure.

These are only a few examples of Ben Cuevas’s fascinating art.

Many of his works can be viewed online at bencuevas.com or his blog bencuevas.wordpress.com. For the knitters out there, visit the Official Ben Cuevas Store where you can support his work and get a pattern to knit your very own Mini Skulls.

The Soothing Power of Culture Evelin Nuñez-Rodríguez, undergraduate, English

Why in my nose?

What about the warning label?

Will it work?

My doubts never phased Má.

Used for heart break, bruised knees, or crippling cough, the prescription of the past is what works the best.

In a layer of Eucalyptuoil and Menthol, Má packs a prayer and a promise.

Con fe, siempre. image credit | thesupermomlife.com | remembering my childhood with vicks vaporub

When I was younger I hated being sick. I was scared to tell my mother about my symptoms because I knew what was coming. My mother would give me medicine and take me to the doctor when I needed it. She would be on me like clockwork and make sure I drank every drop. But for good measure she would always rub Vicks on me. It was a routine that I did not learn but knew. I would sit in front of her and let her baptize me. Now, I carry a small jar with me in my bookbag. It is a cure-all for everything. My love for Vicks grew when I left home and came to college. I remember the first time I was sick here at OSU. I was on the phone with my mother her advice before I even told her my symptoms was. “Ponte Vicks.” Desperate for relief from the nasty cold and homesickness, I listened. Looking back, I was being cured with the best medicine my mother could provide, faith and Vicks.

Evelin is a Young Scholar who will graduate in May with Research Distinction.

She looks forward to starting a master’s degree program in Higher Education Student Affairs this fall.

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LOS PODERES CURATIVOS DEL ARTE Arin Janae Perkins, Sociology Department

Trevon Martin. Sandra Bland.

Philando Castile. Todos son víctimas del poder del racismo fatal que está infiltrando la sociedad de los Estados Unidos. Arin Perkins puede ser el próximo nombre en esta lista porque nací con la piel negra y por eso no puedo callarme.

El silencio en este tema significa la muerte de muchas personas, más aún, no tiene sentido o un lugar en nuestra sociedad moderna.

Una manera para luchar contra

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el racismo y las injusticias, es a través del arte. El arte ilumina un problema que muchos ignoran, ya que es un modo creativo de transmitir sentimientos e ideas a otros.

Es obvio que el mundo tiene aspectos malos y buenos. En mi caso, con mis creaciones, yo muestro las situaciones malas para comentar y reflejar sobre ellas. Por ejemplo, pinté un cuadro que refleja las muertes de personas negras por la policía. En esta pintura hay un hombre negro con agujeros de balas y él está rodeado de las “razones” por su muerte. Si una persona habla de la opresión, podemos confrontarla. Creo arte con un propósito y mensaje, y recalco temas importantes como los problemas sociales. Además, este tipo de problema racial no sólo afectan a los afroamericanos, la comunidad latina entera tiene que

enfrentar las injusticias también. La experiencia del racismo no tiene límites, y es necesario entablar conversaciones de todo tipo— incluso a través del arte—para mejorar las vidas de todas de las comunidades de minoria.

Aunque pinto las injusticias de los afroamericanos, yo pinto la belleza también. En la cultura popular, muchas personas con piel negra no son representada, así que pinto para mostrar que nosotros somos bellos y somos más que nuestros problemas y estereotipos.

El arte es una buena manera para expresarse, yo lo uso para soltar mis frustraciones de vivir como una negra en los Estados Unidos.

Además, el proceso de creación calma mi ansiedad y funciona como un escape del estrés y el colegio.

Al principio pinté porque disfrutaba dibujar, sin embargo, ahora pinto para mí y otros. A veces, me piden que pinte algo para ellos, es decir, yo vendo mis pinturas. Me hace feliz cuando otros quieren mis obras. Pongo mucho tiempo y tengo mucho orgullo en cada obra y cuando las personas lo aprecian me siento alegre. Un ejemplo de eso es cuando mis pinturas estan en una galería en Columbus. Espero que en el futuro pueda asistir a más galerías y mostrar mi arte al mundo.

Pero no quiero que el arte sea mi primer modo de vivir. Hay una frase que dice: una persona debe tener un pasatiempo que le mantenga creativo, uno donde gana dinero y le mantenga en forma. Para mí, el arte hace dos de estas tres cosas.

photo credit | georgeoze.com

Finding My Home in Puerto Rico Victor Tenorio, Undergraduate, Health Sciences Program This past winter break I was able to experience something I never thought would be possible. I went on a week-long trip to the beautiful island of Puerto Rico with a group of amazing people. Both of my parents are Puerto Rican, but neither has been to the island that their parents were born on. Because of this, I felt incredibly grateful to be experiencing some of what the

island had to offer. My group stayed in a hotel located in Old San Juan.

This part of the island was so great for experiencing the traditional foods in my culture. On the first night, I went to a small restaurant where I ordered arroz blanco y habichuelas con chuletas. I instantly felt like I was back at home eating my mom’s cooking. Experiencing traditional foods in Puerto Rico was one of the highlights of my trip.

It made me feel connected to my culture and family.

I was able to learn more about the history of Old San Juan through a walking food tour. This provided me with a deeper understanding of how life was like in the past.

Also, it offered an excuse to eat more of the amazing foods.

I was able to tour historical sites, such as El Morro and El Yunque rainforest. Before my trip, my Abuela tried to explain to me what both of these sites were like, but nothing she said could prepare me for how beautiful these places were. El Morro was so rich in history and offered

amazing views of the ocean. El Yunque was simply breathtaking, everything was such a vibrant green. There was so much life in the forest even after Hurricane Maria. It offered multiple waterfalls and selfie opportunities.

Overall the course of the week, I was able to explore and experience so much that I fell in love with Puerto Rico. I understood why my tías travel back to the island so frequently.

There are no words for how it feels to be in a place that encompasses everything you were taught and experienced since you were born.

This experience has helped me become more comfortable with my “boricua-ness.” Now, I cannot wait to travel to Puerto Rico with my parents and siblings. I am certain they will fall in love with Puerto Rico, as well.

Victor Tenorio is a Young Scholar in his second year. He traveled to Puerto Rico with “Se Levanta,” the MUNDO Puerto Rico Experience 2018. MUNDO is a Residence Life initiative and student organization for students who want to learn about and become involved with social change at the local, national and global level using service, learning, and leadership. Tenorio is on the executive board for MUNDO, serving as the Action Team Leader. Learn more about MUNDO at http://involvedliving.osu.edu/mundo

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The scholarship was first awarded for the 20162017 academic year. Maria Barreras, studying Biology, and Luis Cardona, studying Finance, were the first two recipients. Laura Tavera, who Dr. Chema affectionately calls Laurita, is studying Animal Sciences and was the recipient for 2017-2018. This year, Michelle Ouviña, studying Biology, received the scholarship. All four students are incredibly grateful to both Dr. Chema and Dr. Cram for the opportunity they have been given and hope to give similar opportunities to other students in the future.

Carlos Berríos Polanco, Undergraduate, English

Giving Back: From Students to Scholarship Sponsors

achieve their dreams. Dr. Michael Chema founded the Dr. Marjorie Josephine Cram Chema Memorial Scholarship in hopes of creating new opportunities for graduating Puerto Rican high schoolers to attend The Ohio State University.

Dr. Michael Chema and Dr. Marjorie Cram’s love story is like a fairy tale. They met on a plane to Columbus when they were assigned seats next to one another. When he boarded, Dr. Chema found someone else was sitting in the seat assigned to him, but rather than move, he insisted on keeping the seat. The following decades were a love story for the ages. Marji, as Dr. Chema affectionally called her, was amazing to him. “She was a marvel,” he says, “a lover of horses and horse riding, a master gardener and a girlfriend who married me with a Cracker Jack engagement ring.”

From his adopted home of Puerto Rico, Dr. Chema cheers on his honorees in their endeavors. Marji watches over all of them, happy that they are reaching for their dreams.

This story highlights the necessity for Ohio State graduates to give back to their communities, to help those who might not have otherwise had the ability to attend. Through those opportunities, they create even more opportunities for a better, brighter future. ¿Qué Pasa? reached out to Dr. Michael Chema to get his perspective on the Dr. Marjorie Josephine Cram Chema Memorial Scholarship and the impact it has on the students it helps: "In the fall of 1969, Marjorie and I met on a flight to Columbus, both campus bound, dated and subsequently, in 1971, graduated with our BS Degrees from Ohio State and married. As we planned our financial future, both of us were determined and eager to help students afford an Ohio State education from Marjorie's home of Puerto Rico. Consequently, this scholarship not only honors Dr Marjorie Cram Chema but also highlights the joy created by helping other high school graduates from Puerto Rico experience the fantastic opportunities that are offered at The Ohio State University. I'm honored and love assisting our future Buckeye Alumni from my adopted home of Puerto Rico.

Dr. Chema always wanted to be a dentist, ever since he was a kid, and he chose The Ohio State University for his undergraduate studies. Dr. Cram was a microbiology student who applied for the dental aptitude test off an impulse and got in. Afterwards, they both gained their Doctorate of Dental Surgery Degrees from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Sadly, Paying Forward! O-H Dr. Marjorie Cram died of lung cancer in 2015.

The couple were always keen to help students -Dr. Michael Chema

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My Stone Lab Experience Adrián Rodríguez, Undergraduate, Psychology

I

first learned about Stone Laboratory while walking through my residence hall. There was always a poster right by the elevator talking about OSU’s island campus, and what an exciting and new experience it would be. I had always loved, and was fascinated by, all flora and fauna.

Initially, I put it off, but my sophomore year, I decided to give it a shot. Once I applied, and got in, then started the adventure. I made the long trip to PutIn-Bay Ohio, where I took several boat trips to finally make it to the famed island of Gibraltar. Shortly after, my classes began (I was taking evolution and ecology). They were intense, but I learned a lot nonetheless.

My favorite parts about Stone Lab, however, were the field trips. We would wake up early and take boat rides to different islands all over Lake Erie to find, study, and categorize animals and plants. Some included around twenty different species of birds, three species of salamanders, and over 15 different species of fish.

In addition, you were also able to

the research. I can safely say that, over the course of my time on Gibraltar, I made very strong friendships and shared in some unforgettable and novel learning experiences.

Personally, I can say that I got help your professors write down the very much out of my stay at Stone official information of each subject in Laboratory. Academically, I learned their data study, which was very cool. new information about topics I had only scratched the surface On top of this you also make long of, and I was able to take part in lasting friendships. On the island, real-world natural observation and you have the opportunity to meet categorization. I also learned new people of all different backgrounds, laboratory testing methods for various personalities, and interests. kinds experiments and was able to Essentially, you are on the island with enjoy nature in its truest, purest from. only these people (and faculty) for I can also safely say that I created the entirety of five weeks. However, relationships which have the potential every so often, we would get others to last forever. Stone Laboratory was on the island as well. For example, an incredible experience and I would every Thursday night, there were definitely recommend it to anyone guest lectures given by leading who has similar interests or would researchers of certain fields and of like the opportunity of making new different areas all over Ohio. I learned and exciting memories which will last new information and was able to hear a lifetime. it from the people actually conducting Spring ’19

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Ohio State SACNAS

Melisa Diaz is a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences (SES) and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She studies polar geochemistry, specifically surface processes of ice-free areas in Antarctica using stable and radiogenic isotopes. She is currently the President of the Ohio State SACNAS Chapter and the Treasurer for the SES Graduate Student Club. Originally from Massachusetts, Melisa is an avid juggler, a climber, and a lover of cats.

Miguel A. Lopez Jr. was born in Mexico City, raised in Los Angeles, and graduated high school in Newark, Ohio. He is currently the VicePresident of the Ohio State SACNAS Chapter, mentor for the Discovery PREP program, and a YALE Ciencias fellow. Miguel is starting his 3rd year in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program as a newly minted Ph.D. candidate. Miguel studies retroviruses, such as HIV, but more specifically he focuses on the integration step of the retroviral life cycle.

When not in lab, Miguel enjoys spending time with his family, enjoying the latest movie release, and cycling on Columbus’ bike trails.

Gaby Torrini is a third-year undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is double major in Astronomy & Astrophysics and Spanish. Her interests include science communication and education, solar physics, and planetary science. In addition, Gaby is a Morrill Scholar, the president of the undergraduate Astronomical Society, and the social media officer for SACNAS. Outside of class, Gaby enjoys listening to Crooked Media podcasts, reading Spanish language poetry, and getting hooked on the latest true crime series to hit Netflix.

"I met a diverse group of scientists from all STEM fields and different parts of the world at the 2018 SACNAS Conference.

My favorite parts were the poster sessions, where I talked with other students about their research. Talks ranged from becoming a resilient student to the ethics of authorship in research papers. Overall, the conference was an extremely positive experience for me and my career." Adolfo Calero

"Good morning Bucknistas and Twitter world! Today I'm taking over the Twitter LIVE from the Magliery lab. My name is Ally Langley and I'm a 4th chemistry PhD candidate, Manipulator of proteins, Student of biochemistry, and Lover of life.

No PPE required for this journey!"

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... in their words!

About our oďŹƒcers...

@SACNAS_OSU

ODI Team at U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute’s National Conference Lauren Lopez, Latinx Student Success Coordinator, Office of Diversity and Inclusion On Valentine’s Day, Thursday, February 14, 2019, ten students and two staff members from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion traveled to Chicago, Illinois for the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute’s (USHLI) 37th Annual National Conference. These ten students were chosen specifically based on their thoughtful leadership across the Latinx community at Ohio State.

Established in 1982, the USHLI Conference has become the premier Hispanic leadership conference in the nation. Conference participants attend from all over the country representing various levels of leadership within our community and coming from diverse Latinx backgrounds. Each year over 6,500 leaders convene in Chicago for four days over a common goal of uplifting the national Latinx community through leadership development and civic engagement.

This year’s conference theme was “Defend Democracy: Aqui y Ahora.”

It was an excellent opportunity for students and staff to meet recruiters, national policy-makers, and network with future employers.

The conference brought participants together to develop and strengthen their leadership skills. Participants heard nationally prominent speakers and workshop presenters such as Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke of Texas. Over the span of the four days, the students attended a series of forums, seminars, and workshops all focused on developing their leadership skills with a focus on civic and community engagement.

According to a survey of participants given by USHLI in 2018, it was found that 89% of participants were between 18-34 years of age, 63% were women, and 85% were

attending or had already completed college. Most conference participants are or will become influential Hispanic leaders of their generation and will help govern our cities, schools, states and, indeed, a nation that will become 25% Hispanic during their lifetime (Pew Research Center, 2017).

Throughout the conference, our group met each night to discuss the experience.

Many of the students shared sentiments of pride and appreciation, saying how exciting it was to be in Chicago and with so many Latinx individuals. Some even saying they had never been in a room of so many professionally dressed students and leadership who looked like them.

Isabelle Castillo-Anderson, Latinx Student Success student assistant and COO of the University-wide Council of Latinx Organizations (UCLO), has been excited since she heard about Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke attending on January 31, 2019. After she received the email, she immediately shared the announcement with the rest of the group attaching images of excitement.

Isabelle, who grew up in Texas, had been excited about Beto O’Rourke since his attempt at a congressional run earlier that academic year. When she came into the office later that day, she could not stop talking about how she was going to be ordering business cards and a new professional outfit so she could introduce herself to him at the conference.

Stories like Isabelle’s are what make trips to conferences like this so important for the students in the Latinx community here at Ohio State. Last year, we were only able to take two students to the USHLI conference and this year we were so fortunate to take ten. The Latinx Student Success team is looking forward to continuing this new tradition and helping our students find themselves in the extraordinary leaders of our nation.

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Institute on Teaching and Mentoring Reyna Esquivel-King, PhD Candidate, Department of History

This past fall I had the privilege to attend the Institute on Teaching and Learning, presented by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The Institute on Teaching and Mentoring “is the largest gathering of underrepresented minority Ph.D. scholars in the country. For over 24 years, the Institute has provided workshops, recruitment and networking opportunities to enhance the professional development of the Ph.D. scholars with effective tools to be successful as faculty in post-secondary institutions. The goal of the Institute is to provide a safe environment for doctoral scholars to share insights and survival tips for success in graduate work, build community among themselves and faculty representatives, and enrich their research and teaching strategies.” The Institute provides several workshops and other sessions geared towards all levels of graduate education, from applying to graduate

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school to negotiating your first faculty position. Faculty and staff from a variety of fields and positions head the sessions and are there to answer any questions the participants may have.

The Institute took place October 25-28, 2018 at the Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The first day consisted of registration and then orientation. It was wonderful to walk in and see so many academics of color especially women. For once, I felt like I belonged at a larger conference. Usually the history conferences and institutes I attend are made up of mostly white men. So it was great to actually fit in! Friday was the first day of workshops and sessions. Since this semester I am finishing up my dissertation and on the job market, I decided to attend “Negotiating Your First Faculty Position.” Being a first generation academic, I had no idea what to expect in the job-offering stage.

This session gave me valuable information on what questions to ask and what I could request from a university or college when negotiating the acceptance of a position. During the second day, I went to the “Notes from a Search Committee Chair,” which helped me understand the entire search process and how to provide a successful interview, both a web interview and in-person. I learned the proper questions to ask and how to impress the search committee. Again, very helpful for me!

The most important part of this conference; however, was the networking and socializing with other graduate students of color. In my department, I am one of very few minorities, so I do not see many other students like me in my classes or at department functions. It was wonderful to talk with other student of color and air my frustrations and accomplishments as a minority in academia. The other OSU students and I gathered out in the lobby of the hotel on Friday night and had a long conversation about being a person of color in academia and all the challenges we face. It was very therapeutic and refreshing to, finally, have people understand my frustrations. I learned I was not alone and I could make it through with the wonderful support of my colleagues!

Alpha Psi Lambda Celebrates Founder’s Week Ayanna Williams, Undergraduate Student, Social Work Alpha Psi Lambda National Inc.— the nation’s first and largest co-ed Latino fraternity— was founded at The Ohio State University in 1985 and is one of the longest standing Latinx organizations on campus.

The fraternity now has 33 Chapters and 7 Affiliate Chapters in 16 states with over 3,100 members. There is much pride in being a member of Alpha Psi Lambda National Inc., which was founded with the mission to promote continued personal and collective growth of our membership, success and unity through education, cultural awareness, and community service, as well as advocating for the needs and concerns of the Latinx students.

Alpha Psi Lambda National Inc. was founded on February 11, 1985 and in honor of its 34th anniversary, the undergraduate brothers and sisters at Ohio State hosted a formal Gala.

The Gala’s purpose was to bring together siblings from near and far, as well as family and friends, in order to celebrate the week that Alpha Psi Lambda National, Inc. was officially recognized and founded. It was truly a special night, as there was music, dancing, and most importantly, memories for a lifetime. This night also served as a

fundraiser for the members to host future events for other students on campus and to raise money to send at least two active members to our annual National Conference!

The Gala was a very important event to us, as one of Alpha Psi Lambda’s co-founders Juan Casimiro, agreed to attend the Gala and serve as a keynote speaker!

Juan Casimiro is someone who we are very proud to call our brother, as he has achieved and created so much after graduating with a degree in Social Work. He has helped create more than just our fraternity, as he has also created the Casimiro Global Foundation, a non-profit organization that fights for the empowerment and development of the youth through leadership, community service, and passion. Through this foundation, he has provided scholarships, internships, and leadership opportunities to many young adults.

He is also the founder of another youth empowerment program known as Biznovator. Biznovator is program that assists youth in gaining the skills to launch their own business or develop social innovation strategies. Through both organizations, he has helped more

than 500,000 children and young adults throughout the world. Mr. Casimiro’s visit was sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion which also hosted an open luncheon, giving other students a chance to meet with him and learn his secrets to success.

As you can tell, we are very proud of one of our many founders of Alpha Psi Lambda, and we are so happy that we had the honor to meet with him. Thank you to everyone who attended, and helped with our Gala, as we could not have had such a successful night without you!

Visit us on FB at go.osu.edu/ ApsiOSU

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OSU Partners with Ohio Latino Affairs for Latino Education Reyna Esquivel-King, PhD Candidate, Department of History

The Ohio State Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosted the 2018 Ohio Latino Education Summit on November 9, 2018.

Themed “Empowering Teachers, Building Pipelines for inclusive Education,” the Summit addressed strategies for diversifying the teaching pool in Ohio and for incorporating inclusive teaching practices in teacher preparation programs. Professor Glenn Martinez, Director of the Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Ohio State, delivered the keynote address.

Ana Sofia Alvarez-Mena First-year student, Special Education “As I was growing up, giving back to my community fulfilled me and inspired me to continue making a difference.”

Ana is the recipient of the 2018 Ohio Latinx Scholarship Award, a scholarship granted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) that grew out of collaborations with the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission.

Ana comes to Ohio State from her hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico where served as high school class vice president and excelled on her school’s swim team. Ana is pursuing a degree in Special Education, with aspirations to work with elementary to middle school children who have special needs.

Ana’s interest in teaching was ignited during her summers when she worked as a Teacher Assistant at a Montessori camp.

Her desire to pursue a career in education was reinforced by her deep passion for service to others. In high school, she served as president of Interact, a service club sponsored by the Rotary Club.

The organization encourages the development of leadership skills through meaningful service projects. Ana’s efforts included preparing and delivering monthly food packages to the homeless and fundraisers for particular causes such as providing school supplies for a child in Colombia.

Ana points to the value of personal integrity and demonstrating care for others that her experiences taught her, and she emphasizes her appreciation for individual responsibility and hard work. Her perseverance was challenged Hurricane Maria disrupted her college admissions plans, but Ana persisted and has made a successful transition to Ohio State where she is enjoying new friends, new challenges and lots of new accomplishments.

Two members of the Ohio State community were recognized at the event for their achievements supporting educational inclusion.

Ana Sophia and Lauren Lopez

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Dr. Patricia Enciso Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning THE PREMIO LA CUMBRE RECOGNIZES A CHAMPION FOR LATINO EDUCATION WHO

Dr. Patricia Enciso was presented the 2018 Premio La Cumbre (Summit Award), recognizing her distinguished record of research and advocacy. The award is presented annually to an education leader whose professional and scholarly works seek to remove barriers and create opportunities for Latinx empowerment in Ohio.

Yolanda Zepeda, assistant vice provost for diversity and inclusion, presented the award. “I have long admired and appreciated Dr. Enciso’s ongoing commitment to creating welcoming and supportive spaces for Latinx students and colleagues at Ohio State,” said Zepeda. “She has led and contributed ongoing support to our Latina/o Studies program, and has advocated for Latinx success through her work with Faculty Senate, the Hispanic Oversight Committee, and the ODI Executive Council. Ohio State is a

- Demonstrates a steadfast commitment to improving the educational attainment of Ohio’s Hispanic students - Creates a compelling vision for the future of education and helps others understand their role in achieving it - Inspires Latino students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn - Plays an active and useful role in the community as well as the school - Has the respect and admiration of students, parents and the community - Is committed to promoting culturally competent practices in the classroom

better place because of her.”

equitable relations and deeper

Dr. Enciso is professor of Literature for Children and Young Adults in the Department of Teaching and Learning. She also is affiliated with the Adolescent, Post-Secondary and Community Literacies; Dramatic and Arts-based Research in Teaching and Learning; and Language, Education and Society specializations. Her research and teaching grow out of a lifelong interest in the ways drama, the arts and literature contribute to more

understanding, across texts, among people and within institutions.

As a fourth/fifth grade classroom teacher and co-teacher/researcher in language arts middle grade classrooms, she has more than 20 years of experience in teaching literature in school settings. Her research focuses on youth and teachers’ understanding and practices of equity, imagination and engagement in literary reading and everyday storytelling.

Foulis joins Ohio Latino Affairs Commission

American Literature and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies. Her research and teaching interests include U.S. Latina/o literature, and Digital Oral History.

Dr. Foulis currently teaches courses in service-learning and Spanish for Heritage Speakers at Ohio State. Her articles explore Latin@ voices through oral history, oral history as participatory pedagogy in service-learning classrooms, identity and place through linguistic landscape and ethnography Dr. Foulis has over 16 years of as a useful tool in advanced heritage experience in higher education. She language writing courses. Dr. Foulis is holds degrees in Spanish and Latin Dr. Elena Foulis, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, was appointed to the Ohio Latino Affairs Board of Commissioners by the Governor of Ohio this autumn. The Board is comprised of aeleven members appointed to serve as liaisons to the community, bringing forward issues, concerns and needs of constituents while helping government to access the community to share their thoughts and services.

working on a digital oral history project about Latin@s in Ohio, which is being archived at the Center for Folkore Studies' internet collection.

Dr. Foulis joins Ohio State colleague Beth Guzman-Bowman on the board.

Commissioner Guzman-Bowman is Secretary of the Commission, and also serves as Senior Outreach Coordinator at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. For more information about the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission visit https://ochla.ohio. gov/ Spring ’19

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Congratulations to Dr. Juan Alfonzo, AAAS Fellow Dr. Juan Alfonzo, Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor and professor of microbiology, was elected this year as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Fellows are selected by their academic peers for this recognition. It is considered one of the most prestigious honors given to U.S. scientists. He was selected for distinguished contributions to the field of molecular parasitology and RNA biochemistry, using cellular and biochemical approaches to elucidate mechanisms of tRNA editing and modification.

Dr. Alfonzo also serves as director of Ohio State’s Center for RNA Biology. The Center houses the single largest group of RNA experts in the country – more than 200 faculty, staff, students and postdocs representing biology, medicine, agriculture, mathematics, physics and chemistry.

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Graduates

Autumn 2018 Associates Degrees Arredondo, Carmen. Associate of Arts Avila, Hannah. Associate of Arts Brown, Alyssa. Associate of Arts Carrillo, Manuel. Associate of Science

Clarke, Molly. Architecture

Zaragoza-Rivera, Yadetsie. Biomedical Eng

Colon, Katalina. Educational Stds

Zayas-Navarrete, Alina. Social Work

Corrado, Michelle. Master Business Administration

Zorrilla Rodriguez, Ane. Spanish & Portuguese

Crawford, Marcell. Educational Stds

Zuniga, Brenda. Genetic Counseling

Cuevas Santamaria, Sergio. Master of Fine Arts Davila-Martin, Liane. Master of Public Health

Doctoral Degrees

Delgado, Emilie. Social Work

Adkins, Alek. Doctor of Medicine

Escobar, Caty. Appl Clinical&Preclncl Rsrch

Aguilar, Rebecca. Doctor Veterinary Medicine

Espinales Correa, Tania. Spanish & Portuguese

Angel, Stephanie. Doctor of Medicine

Fernandez Puentes, Isabel. Electrical and Computer Eng

Badal, Bryan. Doctor of Medicine

Funk, Melissa. Educational Stds

Baum, Steven. Doctor of Medicine

Gilabert, Brittney. Social Work

Bisnath, Aaron. Doctor of Pharmacy

Godina, Sara. Master of Public Health

Carrier, Lauren. Doctor of Medicine

Gomez Ramirez, Ana Maria. Appl Clinical&Preclncl Rsrch

Caspary, Andrea. Doctor Veterinary Medicine

Grace, Evelyn. Educational Stds

Chaparro, Francisco. Doctor of Philosophy

Graiff Garcia, Ricardo. Political Science

Cherniavsky, Lisbet. Doctor of Dental Surgery

Granger, Sherwin. Social Work

Coles, Sara. Doctor of Medicine

Guzman, Joseph. Sociology

Corrado, Michelle. Doctor of Medicine

Hernandez, Abel. Master of Fine Arts

Cuollo, Eva. Juris Doctor

Hill, Ronald. Master Business Administration

Darnley, James. Doctor of Medicine

Armola, Samantha. Communication

Hodgdon, Barbara. Human Development and Family Science

Delacruz, Nicolas. Doctor of Medicine

Baneux, Julien. Finance

Holm, Federico. Environment&Natural Resources

Baro, Eddy. Psycology

Huling, Grant. City & Regional Planning

Bedee, David. Sociology

Irizarry, Arielle. English

Brantingham, Luke. Electrical and Computer Engineering

Johnson-Eusebio, Alejandro. Electrical and Computer Eng

Cahill, Jordan. Communication

Kender, Allison. Master Business Administration

Cameron, Alexis. Microbiology

Lamberti Nunes, Luana. Spanish & Portuguese

Cardenas, Maria. Bachelor of Arts

Lara, Benito. Master of Fine Arts

Castillo, Gloria. Political Science

Laurel, Mallory. Master of Fine Arts

Chahine, Christina. Finance

Leibas, Adrian. Nursing

Chavez, Francisco. Criminology and Criminal Justice

Leiva Soto, Andrea. Horticulture and Crop Sc

Clark, Alexis. Speech and Hearing Science

Lima Coelho Sampaio, Jacqueline. Portuguese

Colon, Tyler. Studio Art

Lopes Gemelli, Cesar. Portuguese

Coppler, Chelsea. English

Lucas, Erica. Nursing

Costa, Manuara. Industrial and Systems Engineering

Machado-Grajales, Alejandra. Social Work

Costilla, Caleb. Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Maginnity, Paul. Landscape Architecture

Cruz, Luz. Associate of Arts Fagan, Summer. Associate of Arts Gormley, Collin. Associate of Arts Martinez Guerra, Jessi. Associate of Science Orellana, Abby. Associate of Arts Pangalangan, Tabitha. Associate of Arts Ramirez, Joshua. Associate of Arts Romero, Julio. Associate of Arts Rosario, Erika. Associate of Arts

Bachelors Degrees Aguilla, Martha. Human Nutrition Ahumada, Francisco. Bachelor of Science Alvarez, Javier. Human Dev. & Family Science Arellano, Diego. Bachelor of Arts

Donatini, Kevin. Logistics Management Escobar, Karen. Finance Esquivel, Melina. Speech and Hearing Science Flowers, Richard. Sport Industry Frias, Rosaura. Nursing Garcia, Angela. Bachelor of Arts Georgi, Mayra. Nursing Hansen, Allison. International Studies Hartman, Natalie. Nursing Heinrich, Andrew. Finance Hejase, Bilal. Electrical and Computer Engineering Hernandez, Miguel. Bachelor of Arts Hettle, Natalie. Bachelor of Arts Hufnagel, Paul. Marketing

Martinez, Reece. Mechanical Engineering Medina, Andres. Physics Medley, Alexandra. Master of Public Health Meurer, David. Business Montoya, KC. Social Work Munoz Ruz, Sebastian Ignacio. Spanish & Portuguese Needham, Chelsie. Social Work Nunez, Erica. Nursing Osma Potes, Juan. Master of Laws Osorio-Sanders, Karen. Human Resource Mgt Pereyra Duarte, Rafael. Master Business Administration Perez, Brenda. Speech Language Pathology Puente Beccar, Esteli. Spanish & Portuguese Rangel Manrique, Emily. Spanish & Portuguese Rinehart, Jennifer. Appl Clinical&Preclncl Rsrch

Dwyer, Carolina. Doctor Veterinary Medicine Elizalde, Eliana. Juris Doctor Ferguson, Alexandra. Doctor of Medicine Flores, Carlos. Juris Doctor Francus, Andrew. Juris Doctor Freeman, Megan. Doctor Veterinary Medicine Galang, Kristopher. Doctor Veterinary Medicine Galo, Jason. Doctor of Medicine Hammons, Christina. Doctor Veterinary Medicine Hauff, Stacey. Juris Doctor Hindiyeh, Mohammed. Doctor of Medicine Keeton, Gabriela. Doctor of Medicine Kunkel, Deborah. PhD, Statistics Lee, Alexander. Doctor of Dental Surgery Leigh, Sara. Juris Doctor Lopez, Javier. Juris Doctor Massa, Natalie. Doctor of Dental Surgery Mendoza, Matthew. Juris Doctor Mescher, Jaclyn. Doctor of Medicine Morejon, Ruben. Doctor of Medicine Pabon Padin, Ruben. Doctor Veterinary Medicine Padilla Reyes, Ramon. PhD, Spanish & Portuguese Pankey, Brittnee. Juris Doctor Pineiro, Juan. PhD, Comparative and Veterinary Medicine Pinto, April. Doctor of Medicine Priddy, Blake. Doctor of Medicine Quinn, Kristen. Doctor of Medicine Rezende de Castro Moretti, Fernanda. PhD, Translational Plant Sciences Rivera, Paulo. Doctor Veterinary Medicine

Rinehart, Jennifer. Pharmacology

Rodrigues da Silva, Danielle Izilda. PhD, Translational Plant Sciences

Rivera Diaz, Natalia. Nursing

Romero, Christian. Juris Doctor

Rodriguez, Nicholas. Educational Stds

Rosa, Kedwin. PhD, Chemistry

Ruiz Nieto, Gabriela. Education

Saldaña, Michael. Juris Doctor

Santiago Vega, Kimberly. Specialist in Education

Salem Goncalves, Andrei. Business Administration

Shugart, Scott. Master Business Administration

Santos, Christopher. Doctor of Pharmacy

Soto, Brian. Nursing

Schaffer, Paige. Juris Doctor

Stallard, Matthew. Nursing

Scott, Jacob. Doctor of Dental Surgery

Swaim, Shannan. Social Work

Shnitzer, Jordan. Doctor of Pharmacy

Alanis Villarreal, Gerardo. Master of Laws

Syrus, Heather. Social Work

Shugart, Scott. Juris Doctor

Alcaraz, Melissa. Sociology

Thornton, Breanna. Music

Sotres, Magaly. Doctor of Medicine

Anders, John Paul. Kinesiology

Toro-Zapata, Jorge. Biomedical Sciences

Taveras, Vanessa. Doctor of Pharmacy

Batista Ronconi, Thais. Master of Business Administration

Utermohlen, Franz. Physics

Valenciaga, Anisley. Biomedical Sciences

Bedich, Joseph. Math Science

Vargas Loyo, Amilcar Jose. Plant Pathology

Victor, Aaron. Doctor of Medicine

Bello, Jason. Mathematics

Wolf, Nathan. Kinesiology

Viteri Mera, Carlos. Electrical and Computer Eng

Castellanos Giracca, Martin. Master of Laws

Woodfint, Rachel. Animal Sciences

Yanez, Ryan. Doctor Veterinary Medicine

Clarke, Molly. Master of Business Administration

Zapata, Martha. Environment & Natural Res

Ye, Luis. Doctor of Pharmacy

Jones, Aaron. Bachelor of Arts Judson, Mariyah. Psycology King, Michael. Economics King, Alexandria. Bachelor of Arts Labardee, John. Sport Industry Lara, Bryan. Welding Engineering Leal-Lopez, Stephany. Health and Rehab Sciences

Masters Degrees

Spring ’19

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