WESTFIELD- Westfield State University will host the 5th annual Cross-Cultural Symposium Friday at 9 a.m. at the Scanlon Banquet Hall on campus.
The symposium, titled ‘Beyond Our Borders’, will feature a number of speakers with a variety of subjects. The opening keynote speech will be given by Cathy Schlund-Vlals, a Professor of English and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut.
The nearly four-hour event will be dedicated to, “The discussion of immigration, cross-cultural interactions, and their influence on global cultures.” It will be followed by a social gathering with refreshments and music.
The symposium comes at a time of international debate over immigration. The United States Congress and President Trump are in a contentious political battle over whether there should be a wall at the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico. Among the speakers for the symposium is Macarena Hernandez, a journalist who has covered immigration and education throughout international border regions in both North and South America. Her speech is titled, “Fronteras: The Arbitrary Lines that Define the Borders of our Conversation.”
Another speaker, Reverend Vicki Kemper, is a pastor at First Church Amherst. Her talk, “Faith, Love, and Immigration,” will likely address her church’s experience with providing sanctuary to an undocumented immigrant. Lucio Perez, originally from Guatemala, has been in the U.S. for 20 years as an undocumented immigrant, according to the church’s website. He originally left his home country to get away from violence and poverty and has been going through legal efforts to remain in the U.S. in the meantime.
Perez first entered the church in October when his stay of removal was denied by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He is currently waiting for the Board of Immigration Appeals to see his case.
