Pulitzer winner addresses students
In an effort to alert people to the polarized issue of immigration and Latino’s in the United States, the theme for this yea’s Tanner symposium was “Celebracion: Lation Contributions to U.S. Culture.”
The symposium, held April 2-4, is put on every other year through money provided by the Tanner Foundation for a multi-disciplinary symposium, said Melody Graulich, who was over this year’s symposium. Graulich said different departments submit ideas for the theme each time, and, as such, they vary greatly. The American studies faculty thought this theme would be a way to intervene in the polarized debate on immigration effects on the U.S., Graulich said.
“People tend to forget Utah was once Mexico,” Graulich said. “We didn’t cross the border. It crossed us.”
Professionals from areas of popular culture such as music, film, media, art, folklore, history and poetry were brought in for the event, about 17 from out of the state and 15 in state, Graulich said.
“One of the things we’ve gained (from the symposium) is a sense of how intertwined the cultures of the U.S. and Mexico are. There’s not a cultural border,” Graulich said.
Reporter and author, Sonia Nazario, was one of the presenters examining just how connected Latinos and Americans are. Nazario won a Pulitzer Prize for her book, “Enrique’s Journey,” about a boy who traveled from Honduras by himself in search of his mother. Nazario said she became interested in immigration because she covers big social issues and, as a child of an immigrant, was naturally drawn to it. It is common for mothers who are unable to provide for their children in their native country to leave their children and come to America and send money back to them, Nazario said. She made the journey twice in order to get a sense of just what these children, some as young as seven, go through trying to find their mothers.
Nazario said since she has been doing presentations about her book, she has had many children come and tell her they have gone through the same thing. She said she hopes giving these presentations help other students understand just what this immigrant children go through.
Besides a presentation on her book and a question-and-answer session with high school students, Nazario participated in a panel discussion on Representing the Immigrant Experience. Nazario said there is a polarization of the issue by the media playing into people and their fears.
“Being inside the media, I feel there are some issues which have seen distortion,” Nazario said.
Nazario said she wanted to portray another side and that was where her book came into play. Portraying the children who make this journey or the lives of heroic border patrols was something Nazario said she felt needed to happen.
“I think what we need to see is people in the media questioning their bias,” Nazario said.
Nazario said she thinks this will bring more gray area into a very polarized issue.
-alison.baugh@aggiemail.usu.edu