Strong connections and the feeling of belonging among the Latino student community are two major topics Ball State students will discuss during the "Latino Population and Their Pursuit of Higher Education" presentation today.
Chin-Sook Pak, associate professor of Spanish, lead a team of 15 students to conduct studies on the Latino population on various university campuses throughout Indiana during a Spring Semester immersive learning class.
Pak said the discussion will be geared toward multiculturalism as well.
"We felt that critical mass is important," she said. "There has to be a significant number to make presence a distinction. Even though you're a minority, you're expected to just blend in."
Pak said the students collaborated with the Office of Admissions, the Multicultural Center and Project Stepping Stone, a non-profit organization based in Indianapolis that provides a free one-week college motivation camp to Hispanic high school students throughout Indiana.
Junior architecture major Alejandra Lagunas was one of the students that took part in the immersive learning course.
Lagunas said that they will discuss undocumented students enrolling in college, the different studies and conclusions that the class performed and came to, as well as interviews that the class conducted with various students.
Pak said one of the findings was that diversity is important for Latino students to stay in college.
"Once they came, they began to miss the connections that they had in their old communities," she said. "Once they arrived, having a close-knit sense of belonging became important."
Members from the Latino Student Union and professors who work with the Latino community will also be present at the discussion.
The discussion will be held at 3 p.m. in the Multicultural Center.
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