Western to host third Hispanic & Latin America Conference

On Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. in the University Center, Western Colorado University’s Spanish program will host its third conference in which students, faculty and staff will have the chance to speak about the language, literature and cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. The event is planned to end at 3 p.m., with a recess from 12-1 p.m.

Attendees will listen to keynote speaker Marketa Zubkova speak about “the challenges our immigrants are facing today,” alongside the stories and ideas of many other speakers that day. Zubkova is a Department of Justice accredited immigration legal representative and community advocate. She currently works with the Hispanic Affairs Project to provide immigration legal assistance to low income families

Zubkova writes: “We all have to overcome daily hurdles in our lives. We all have to deal with everyday problems and sometimes try very hard to find a solution. But for our immigrants these small hurdles can turn into insurmountable walls, and simple tasks can turn into problems without solutions. What are these walls? What are these unsolvable problems? They are the everyday worries about the well-being of the family here and there, they are the concerns about the safety here and there and they are the fears about new government rules that would make the walls higher and harder to overcome.”

Story by Western sophomore Jamie Rivera.