March 21, 2008

The César E. Chávez Legacy Week celebration at California State University, Fresno begins Monday, March 24 and includes the annual garlanding of the Chávez monument in the campus Peace Garden and a two-day conference focusing on literacy issues for Latino youth.

The university will close March 31 to observe the state holiday commemorating the birth in 1927 of the founder of the United Farm Workers union. Chávez died in 1993. Observances are held throughout the nation as part of National Farm Workers Awareness Week.

Chávez visited the Fresno State campus several times where he found student and community support in the UFW’s campaign to improve conditions for farm workers and open doors to higher education for their children.

The university celebration, which is free and open to the public, begins Monday with art exhibits depicting the history of farm workers. The César Chávez Exhibit will be on display 10 a.m.-2 p.m. daily in the University Student Union Pavilion and the Free Speech Area.

The annual César Chávez Education Conference, sponsored by the Kremen School of Education and Human Development, will be March 28 and 29 in McLane Hall, Room 121.
Dr. Barbara Flores, president of the National Association for Bilingual Education, and civil rights leader Dr. Gary Orfield, will deliver addresses on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The conference brings together parents, students, educators, policymakers, community leaders and researchers discuss educational reform that incorporates equity, democracy, academic excellence and social justice.

On March 28, activities in the Free Speech Area include Los Danzantes de Aztlan, Fresno State’s Mexican folkloric dance troupe; a talk by Sarah Reyes, chief of staff for Assemblyman Juan Arambula; and the U.S. and Mexican national anthems. Winners of essay and poetry contests also will be announced followed by “Prayer of the Farm Workers.”

A procession at noon from the Free Speech Area to the Chávez statue in the Peace Garden will lead to the garlanding and flower offerings. The tribute is a Fresno State tradition led by Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, founder of the Peace Garden, a friend of Chávez and a professor emeritus of social work education.

At 5:15 p.m. March 28, in McLane Hall, Room 121, the Cineculture series will screen three films about immigration enforcement raids, followed by a panel discussion.
At 7 o’clock, the new Telemundo Scholarship Ceremony will be held in the Satellite Student Union. Five Fresno State students will be awarded $3,000 scholarships by Telemundo, a Spanish-language television network.

Fresno State’s 2008 Chavez observance doesn’t end until April 11, when representatives of Fresno State Latino student organizations will travel to Bass Lake for a two-day leadership retreat featuring State Sen. Richard G. Polanco, D-Los Angeles.

Fresno State sponsors are Associated Students, Inc., University Migrant Services, Trabajadores de la Raza, Gamma Zeta Alpha, Chicano and Latin American Student Academic Association, MEChA , Sigma Omega Nu, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), First Nations, Mu Chi Omega and Dr. Kapoor.

For more information about the education conference, contact Dr. Laura Alamillo at 559.278.0280 or visit: http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2008/03/CesarChavezConf.htm.

For information about the weeklong observance, contact Raul Moreno at 559.278.5750 or Ambar Alvarez at 805.264.5202.

For more information contained in this release, please go to the following Web site(s):
UFW: www.ufw.org