Indiana University East will present writer and educator Amada Irma Pérez during its Hispanic Heritage Month. Pérez will present “The Bilingual Voice of a Writer and Teacher,” on Monday, October 22, from 4:30-5:30 p.m., in  Whitewater Hall Room 132. The event is sponsored by Mindful Explorations, courtesy of the William H. and Jean R. Reller Endowment.

Pérez will speak about her writing, involvement with the National Writing Project, and connections between teaching and learning. Pérez is the award winning author of several children’s books including My Diary from Here to There (Mi diario de aquí hasta allá) and My Very Own Room (Mi propio cuarto).

IU East’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration is September 15 to October 22 with several events and activities offered by the World Languages and Cultures department and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

“If you look around you or read the latest census figures, it is easy to see how from our classrooms and curriculas to our town, region, state, and nation understanding “Hispanicity” has become an endeavor of increasing importance,” said Dianne Moneypenny, lecturer of Spanish World Languages and Cultures Program. “We wanted to offer these events and activities as a way to focus on a national celebration of Hispanic heritage.”

Moneypenny added that IU East students will complete service-learning projects with organizations that reach out to Hispanic populations in the community, including Amigos and Richmond Community Schools’ ELL programs.

“In the classroom, language students will complete cultural projects that invite community attendance and participation. We will meet our neighbors and celebrate their rich cultural heritage and thereby, continue to foster our strong campus-community relationships,” Moneypenny said.

The month-long celebration begins with WCTV airing poetry recitations of students in the Hispanic Poetry course. Students will discuss their favorite poem, the author and recite an English translation. These poems will circulate the WCTV airwaves during the month as a public service announcement about Hispanic Heritage Month and a connection to the “One Book, Many Voices” project at IU East. The poetry recitations will air on WCTV September 15-October 15.

IU East welcomes the community for Hispanic Campus on Thursday, September 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eighth-graders from Richmond Community Schools will attend the event. There will be various stations that focus on Hispanic heritage and opportunities for study of Hispanicity, including study abroad and service-learning, at IU East.  There will also be a Campus Library tour that points out foreign language resources in the collections.

On Wednesday, September 26, IU East Spanish students will travel to  Richmond elementary schools for Huevos verdes y jamon (Bilingual Storytelling). IU East students are studying the works of Amada Irma Pérez and the process of bilingual storytelling. They will create short bilingual books based on these ideas and will take a field trip to Fairview Elementary and Elizabeth Starr Academy. They will read their books in the classrooms and speak about Hispanic Heritage Month.

A Day of the Dead Altar Building Competition will be held October 3 from 5-5:30 p.m. in the Campus Library Atrium. Spanish classes will create altars for Day of the Dead. The classes will present their altars and speak about Day of the Dead. The campus will vote for their favorite altar.

An outdoor movie will be shown on Thursday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m., on the IU East Quad. Julien Simon, associate professor of World Languages and Cultures, will present on the film La misma luna (Film on the Lawn). Attendees are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs. A brief question and answer session will follow the film.

“IU East supports diversity in its many forms. Our mission statement itself states that our institution, ‘values a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and intellectual perspectives among its faculty, staff, and students and in its contributions to the cultural and economic development of the communities it serves,’” Moneypenny said. “To help bring IU East’s mission into fruition, our goal is that World Language and Culture students, via their coursework and service, become ambassadors of Hispanic culture to Richmond and their respective communities. We have every confidence that those experiences and their impact will last more than the month allotted to celebrate Hispanic heritage.”

List of Hispanic Heritage Month Events at IU East
•    Hispanic Poetry Recitations on WCTV: September 15-October 15 on WCTV
•    Hispanic Campus: Thursday, September 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., IU East buildings and quad
•    Huevos verdes y jamon: Bilingual Storytelling, Wednesday, September 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Fairview Elementary and Elizabeth Starr Academy
•    Day of the Dead Altar Building Competition: Wednesday, October 3, from 5-5:30 p.m., Campus Library Atrium
•    Cine: Foreign Film on the Lawn (La misma luna): Thursday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m., IU East Quad
•    “The Bilingual Voice of a Writer and Teacher” Amada Irma Pérez, Monday, October 22, from 4:30-5:30 p.m.,  Whitewater Hall Room 132