What does it mean to go to college through the eyes of a Latino, female, first generation student in today's American college and university system? That is the question that I will be trying to address through the sixteen week voice project. From the first voice project, I choose to create a blog and will continue to do so. The Internet is a great resource, if used correctly, and can bring information instantly to the blog format such as videos, research articles, music, and art. The later half of the summer sessions was when the peak of my research was conducted and rounding of my voice took place. I hope to feature immersive experiences earlier in my blog and continue these throughout the sixteen week process.
Choosing to be in the voice of a Latino woman was chosen because immigrants from Mexico and other Spanish speaking nations are some of the fastest growing constituents in America. Currently, society has to make changes in policy, education, and culture in order to accommodate for this rising constituency. Through this project I hope to be able to feature women, the family structure, spirituality, art, music, food, and the special needs of a college-aged Latino woman. Grounding my voice in theory, I hope to be able to tell first-hand accounts of developments that take place and progress to featuring the environment in which she occupies. I hope to conduct at least two interviews, in order to test my assumptions and to create a well-rounded view of today's Latino woman.
In order to start becoming an advocate for my voice, I have to share my opinions and stereotypes of Latino women. I have not had a lot of interaction with this type of person but books, movies, and other media has helped strengthen a view. From my perspective, Latino women are very family oriented people with several generations being a support group for the individual. Immigrants from Spanish speaking countries often times get jobs where they are around a large concentration of other Latinos. Many co-workers of mine in a past job have been annoyed or complained about the fact that Latinos refuse or apprehensive about communicating in English. They see the need for these people to become Americanized to this culture. They don't see the need to make accommodations for Spanish speaking cultures since this country's primary language of choice is English.
Media has always portrayed these women as very emotional, sassy, and fast-talking but compared to other negative stereotypes, are shown as strong-willed and passionate too. They seem to run the household and are the foundation for a family. The Latino population seems to be portrayed as two extremes. One is that Latinos are lazy or they are hardworking. In Westerns, such as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and the Magnificent Seven, Latinos are portrayed as the villains, creepy, and murderous. Towards the modern day, they are portrayed as trouble makers, low income, and general nuisances. I do not have a large amount of prior knowledge of Latino culture except that I enjoy the food and respect and find the works of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo as a testament to the struggles of their people and of the Latino woman. I can speak a little Spanish, due to a sister using me as a buddy for testing her Spanish, but strongly believe that institutions around the country will encounter a similar situation of helping and advocating for Latino women in America.
Media has always portrayed these women as very emotional, sassy, and fast-talking but compared to other negative stereotypes, are shown as strong-willed and passionate too. They seem to run the household and are the foundation for a family. The Latino population seems to be portrayed as two extremes. One is that Latinos are lazy or they are hardworking. In Westerns, such as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and the Magnificent Seven, Latinos are portrayed as the villains, creepy, and murderous. Towards the modern day, they are portrayed as trouble makers, low income, and general nuisances. I do not have a large amount of prior knowledge of Latino culture except that I enjoy the food and respect and find the works of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo as a testament to the struggles of their people and of the Latino woman. I can speak a little Spanish, due to a sister using me as a buddy for testing her Spanish, but strongly believe that institutions around the country will encounter a similar situation of helping and advocating for Latino women in America.
For the remainder of the blog, this woman will be called Maria. She is a first-generation college student who is Latino. With her parents originally from Mexico, they've immigrated to the United States when Maria was only a baby and have lived in a lower-class society for most of her life. She worked hard in school and has received several scholarships to alleviate the stress of finances, at least for the time being. She is the first one in her family to have the possible of receiving a higher education. She comes from a neighborhood with a high concentration of Latino men and women and the majority of her communication is done in Spanish and is the language of choice at home. She grew up as a Catholic and is regularly practicing her faith in the community. She enjoys cooking, dancing (traditional dances), and volunteering at her local hospital. She sees college as a chance to do something her parents could not and has selected a major as pre-medicine in order to become a doctor someday. I hope to explore her interests, take part in her religious practices and participate in like-experiences in order to see through the eyes of Maria.
Due to the structure of the environments class, I will follow Maria's journey from starting with her visiting colleges to starting her first year as a freshman. I hope to create a story that helps address the issues of the environment of higher education. Additionally, I want to explore the culture in order to deter stereotypes and create a knowledge base to educate students, faculty, staff, and parents about this wonderful side of the new American culture.
