 The Oberlin en Lorain program was developed in spring of 2005 largely through the efforts of then Latino/Latina Community Coordinator Nina Sanchez. The program sought to increase student, faculty, and staff communication and interaction with the larger Latino/a community in Lorain County. Latina/o students have frequently expressed their desire to continue to be a part of a larger Latina/o community similar to their home communities although not necessarily within a family structure and this program works to provide such opportunities and moments of collaborative interaction.
The program also believes that the rich history of the Latina/o community in Lorain should be a resource and an enriching supplement to curricular offerings. Consequently, this program seeks to facilitate the sharing of Oberlin College’s resources with those of local organizations serving Latinos/as in order to provide shared educational and community experiences as opposed to establishing a one-way relationship from which only students benefit.
Latina/o students from Oberlin College will have greater opportunities to participate in a larger Latina/o community thereby decreasing some of the isolation that they feel on Oberlin’s campus and in town. Furthermore, it will provide connections to community organizations in Lorain that they may be interested in participating in or volunteering for. Moreover, the increased interaction with the larger Latino/a community in Lorain County will provide inroads that will hopefully result with the increased presence of community members at on-campus La Alianza Latina (student organization) events. Wider publicity efforts surrounding Latino/a Heritage Month in recent years has proved that there exists a desire on the part of community members to attend and be supportive of Latino/a oriented events
For community organizations, this program provides a clear understanding of what resources are available at Oberlin College as well as the interest of Latina/o students. Moreover, hopefully students at Oberlin (Latino/a and non-Latino/a alike) will become a valuable source of community volunteers.
The first few events in this new community interaction initiative are as follows:
Alejandrina Torres, community activist, founding member and teacher at Pedro Albizu Campus High School, active member of the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War, and former Puerto Rican political prisoner.
Dinner: Wednesday, Nov. 15th, 2006, 6:00p.m. RSVP to tamara.serrano@oberlin.edu
Efrén Rivera Ramos, Dean and Professor of the University of Puerto Rico Law School, has written on the constitutional and political relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico and has dedicated his professional life mostly to public interest litigation and providing services to
low-income clients.
Lecture: Fri. Nov. 17th, 2006, 4:30p.m. - Wilder 101
“Not Enough Space”
An exhibition commemorating the 25th Anniversary of their Political Incarceration
Carlos Alberto Torres and Oscar López Rivera
Friday, November 17th – Saturday, December 2nd 2006
Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus
West Side Story Faculty Panel Discussion and Performance
“Sabór a mí: Performing and Representing Race, Gender, and Latinidad in Theater and Film.” A panel discussion open to the campus and local community of the varied meanings and legacies of West Side Story.
Panelists: Deborah Paredez, Professor of Theater and Dance, University of Texas-Austin; Caroline Jackson Smith, Associate Professor of African American Studies and Theater, Oberlin College; Jan Cooper, Associate Professor of Comparative American Studies and Rhetoric and Composition.
Saturday, February 12, 2005, Wilder 101, 6 p.m.
 More information on Not Enough Space
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