Lecture attendees learn of immigration trends to SC
Brittany Parker
Issue date: 10/9/09 Section: Campus
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The Multicultural Advisory Board, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Department of Modern Languages sponsored the annual event, which had around 30 attendees. This year's national theme is, "Getting Involved: Our Families, Our Community, Our Nation."
"The FMU Hispanic Heritage Month Program uniquely describes the impact Hispanic Americans have made in our society," said Daphne Carter, the assistant dean of students.
Dr. Kristin Kiely, assistant professor of Spanish, spoke as the guest lecturer at the event. She talked about trends in Hispanic immigration to the U.S. and to South Carolina in particular. She also focused on the effects of immigration on the U.S. society.
"I think it's important because there really has been a large influx of immigration and South Carolina has one the highest numbers of Hispanic immigrants coming in," Kiely said.
Carter believes this program is important to use as an educational tool because it brings awareness of these issues to students.
"This annual event…inform[s] and educate[s] the campus community of the many contributions Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries have bestowed upon our nation," Carter said.
In her lecture, Kiely pointed out that there has been an increased need for interpreters in official positions who speak Spanish. Students may even receive awards or grants to take Spanish classes due to the heightened need. She also said that some police officers in other states are now required to learn the language. She doesn't think that South Carolina will be far behind in following this trend.
Kiely said that changing marketing strategies also indicate the influence of Hispanic culture.
"Just lately I noticed there was a local car company that had a commercial completely in Spanish," said Kiely.
She pointed out that newspapers, magazines, and billboards sometimes feature ads in Spanish, and the nutritional information on food is now being presented in Spanish in addition to English. Kiely also said that politicians must now recognize the influence of Hispanic voters in the country.
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