Western Carolina University is hosting the second annual Southeastern Latinx Student Leadership Conference (SL-SLC) from March 26 to 28. The conference is virtual and will be held on Whova, an app similar to Zoom.
The conference starts on Friday afternoon with Rumba Latinx with DJ Ode. Saturday consists of workshops and networking hour with the keynote speakers Angelica Becerra and Jack Caraves. Sunday will be the award ceremony. Check out the full program schedule.
Becerra and Caraves both work on a podcast called Anzaldúing It. Becerra defines herself as a pansexual Chicana artivist [activist/artist].” She is working on her doctorate degree and is an artist who uses her work to “preserve queer activist politics.”
Caraves is a Trans Latinx activist and they are an assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies at San José State University. Their research consists of people within the Trans Latinx in relation to social relationships.
This conference was created by the Latinx Appreciation Student Organization (LASO) three years ago. Ricardo Nazario-Colón, advisor of the student organization and WCU Chief Diversity Officer of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Programs helped guide the creation of the event along with WCU graduate Jenifer Montoya Velasquez ’19.
The first conference was in 2019 with around 200 people who attended the event on campus. Due to COVID-19 there was no conference in 2020. President of LASO, Andrea Romero Dugarte said they plan to have around 100 people attend this years event.
The organizers are using 2020 theme “Somos el Cambio” which means “We are the change” in Spanish. The full article on why SL-SLC was cancelled in 2020 can be found here.
This conference was created almost solely by students. “They [students] are really doing the day to day work,” said Nazario-Colón “and I think that is notable and important for people to understand the quality of work that our students are doing here at Western.”
The main goal of LASO is to create a comfortable environment, bring awareness of different Latin American cultures and empower students to become leaders. Romero Dugarte said that the organization shows the LatinX student population and what they are doing on campus.
“Western being a PWI [predominantly white institution] there is a need for students of color to feel like they are being supported for their identity,” said Romero Dugarte. She added that the organizations provides support for many of the Latinx students who are first generation students.
To register for the event visit the SL-SLC website. For WCU students who wish to attend email slslc@wcu.edu to obtain promo code to attend the event for free.
