Spring Break
The Daily OrangeLatino studies program fails to make an impression on SU campus
By Joshua Alston
Posted: 9/19/05, 10:12 PM EST Section: Pulp
This separation between words and actions is unfortunately too familiar to Silvio Torres-Saillant, director of the LAS department. "There's a little bit of a tension between (students') desire to have this program and their willingness to actually take the classes," Saillant said of the program, which first found its roots in 1996 as a result of student pressure on the administration.
"The courses have to have enough of a demand from students for them to be considered viable," Saillant said. "But students are not always mindful of the importance of them taking these classes that have come about as a result of their advocacy."
However, the concerns that face the LAS department amount to more than merely student neglect. Another issue stems from the difficulty to satisfy the interests of many students, when their diverse backgrounds make the assembly of a curriculum with wide appeal challenging. The cultural experiences and the linguistic subtleties of students who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, Latin America and the United States can be dramatically different.
The remedy for this issue is to bring in more faculty members, but at present, there are around 15 LAS undergraduate majors, and dedicating manpower and expertise to a program with so few devotees is easier said than done.
As a result, the program tends to lean towards Latin American studies, due to the fact that the professors are not solely dedicated to the LAS program, but they participate because their interests and experience happen to overlap.
"You tend to find at universities that there is a Latin American studies program, but not many Latino programs, because the Latin American professors are already in place," Saillant said. "To start a Latino studies program, you have to hire new professors and that requires great expense."
Due to the department's loose construction, the program lacks the structure to be more of a distinct presence on campus.
"(The professors') involvement with us doesn't express itself institutionally," Saillant said. "There's nothing we can do in terms of reward or punishment; everything that affects their well-being is made in their respective departments."
"The courses have to have enough of a demand from students for them to be considered viable," Saillant said. "But students are not always mindful of the importance of them taking these classes that have come about as a result of their advocacy."
However, the concerns that face the LAS department amount to more than merely student neglect. Another issue stems from the difficulty to satisfy the interests of many students, when their diverse backgrounds make the assembly of a curriculum with wide appeal challenging. The cultural experiences and the linguistic subtleties of students who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, Latin America and the United States can be dramatically different.
The remedy for this issue is to bring in more faculty members, but at present, there are around 15 LAS undergraduate majors, and dedicating manpower and expertise to a program with so few devotees is easier said than done.
As a result, the program tends to lean towards Latin American studies, due to the fact that the professors are not solely dedicated to the LAS program, but they participate because their interests and experience happen to overlap.
"You tend to find at universities that there is a Latin American studies program, but not many Latino programs, because the Latin American professors are already in place," Saillant said. "To start a Latino studies program, you have to hire new professors and that requires great expense."
Due to the department's loose construction, the program lacks the structure to be more of a distinct presence on campus.
"(The professors') involvement with us doesn't express itself institutionally," Saillant said. "There's nothing we can do in terms of reward or punishment; everything that affects their well-being is made in their respective departments."
