Officials will finish this year’s OCU Talks program with a discussion panel about the Hispanic experience.
OCU Talks is a series of conversations on race relations started last year through the office of Student Engagement, Inclusion and Multicultural Programs.
The Hispanic experience panel will include Lily Bermudez, associate dean of students for OCU; Dr. Mark Griffin, professor of Spanish; the Rev. Carlos Ramirez, Village United Methodist Church pastor; and Bequer Gomez, Hispanic Student Association member.
The panel will be from 1-2 p.m. Tuesday in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center. Discussion topics will include immigration, employment, education, and healthcare. Snacks from Big Truck Tacos will be provided.
Russ Tallchief, director of student engagement, inclusion and multicultural programs, said the panel will be an opportunity for the campus and Oklahoma City community to talk about major issues facing the Hispanic communities.
“First, it’s important for us to communicate diversity among the Hispanic community,” Tallchief said. “Lily Bermudez is from El Salvador. She and her family face some of the same issues as other immigrants in the U.S., but she can also talk about issues unique to El Salvador.”
Gomez said he is optimistic about the impact of the panel.
“I believe the Hispanic Experience Panel is going to be a great opportunity to sit down and discuss current situations and create awareness on campus,” he said.
This discussion comes at a particularly important time because of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Tallchief said.
DACA allows minors who entered or stayed in America illegally to receive a two-year work permit without risk of deportation. President Barack Obama instated it through executive order in 2012, and President Donald Trump announced it would be phased out this year.
Officials will incorporate a film screening into the OCU Talks panel discussion. The film, Clínica de Migrantes: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, follows a year of activity at Puentes, an American health clinic providing healthcare to illegal immigrants, despite the political controversy. The screening will last about 45 minutes, beginning at noon and segueing into the discussion.
“When we stumbled across this film, it summarized clearly the issues that Hispanics are facing when they are trying to access healthcare. It shows the language barrier, access to insurance or lack there of and fear,” Tallchief said. “Once you become a patient somewhere, you are in a system, and systems right now are not working well for Hispanic people. Some people are flying under the radar because it’s the only way they can make it.”
The campus community is welcome to attend and go from the screening and panel at their own convenience, Tallchief said.
“OCU Talks is geared toward everyone,” he said. “We can all learn from the Hispanic students, staff and faculty and continue to educate ourselves on what’s going on in the world. It’s our responsibility as a university. We’re an institution of thinkers.”
Past OCU Talks discussions covered the Muslim, American Indian and African American experiences. Suggestions are welcome for next year’s discussions, Tallchief said.
For more information, email Tallchief at trtallchief@okcu.edu.
Editor’s Note: Associate Web Editor Emily Wollenberg is the treasurer for the Hispanic Student Association. She did not participate in the writing of this story.
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