COLUMBUS -- Tango dancing, Latino cuisine and Hispanic-related discussions and events are among the highlights of The Ohio State University’s 23rd Annual Hispanic Awareness Month in April. “Stepping into the Millennium with the Traditions of the Past” is the theme for this year’s celebration.

According to the 2000 census, the national Hispanic population has increased nearly 60 percent during the past decade. The month-long calendar of events is designed to create awareness of this growing population and to celebrate the Hispanic culture, according to Carmen Alvarez-Breckenridge, coordinator of Hispanic Student Services.

“These events are important because they are designed to educate the community on the Hispanic culture,” Alvarez-Breckenridge said. “It is an opportunity for us to share the diversity inherent in the Hispanic world.”

The schedule for April’s Hispanic Awareness Month is as follows:

APRIL 2 – The Role of Hispanics in Higher Education, 9 to 11 a.m., Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center, 153 W. 12th Ave. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Héctor Garza, founding president of the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP), based in Washington, D.C., will speak.

-- Bridging the Gap in Health Care for Latinos: A Community Forum, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Room 100, Thomas E. Rardin Family Practice Center, Northwood-High Building.

APRIL 9 – The Successful Models of Progress for the Retention of Hispanic Students, 9 to 11 a.m., Hale Black Cultural Center. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Adolfo Bermeo, assistant vice provost for access and diversity and director of the Academic Advancement Program at the University of California in Los Angeles, will speak.

APRIL 10 – HIV/AIDS in the Latino Community – Listen! Learn! Live!, 4 to 5:30 p.m., Memorial Room, 2nd Floor, Ohio Union. Attend a presentation on how HIV and AIDS continue to affect Latinos at disproportionate rates, presented by Annie Camacho, psychiatric counselor for Ohio State’s Counseling and Consultation Services.

APRIL 18 – The Role of Hispanic Women in Higher Education: Making it to the Top, 9 to 11 a.m., Hale Black Cultural Center. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Nancy “Rusty” Barceló, associate vice president for academic affairs and chair of the Chicano Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, will speak.

APRIL 21 – The Annual Women’s Leadership Forum. This forum provides an opportunity for women to attend an event designed by women, for women, to help facilitate their desire to take leadership positions throughout their lives. For more information, contact Women Student Services at 292-8473 or wss@osu.edu, or visit the Web site at www.osu.edu/units/ir/sgss

APRIL 26 – Setting the Framework for Hispanics in Higher Education for the New Millennium, 9 to 11 a.m., Room 4, Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Manuel Pacheco, president of the four-campus University of Missouri system, will speak.

APRIL 26 – An Evening with John Quiñones, 7 to 9 p.m., Rhodes Hall Auditorium, 450 W. 10th Ave. Quiñones, an ABC anchor and recipient of six Emmy Awards for his work on “PrimeTime Live,” “Burning Questions” and “20/20,” will give his presentation, followed by a question and answer session.

APRIL 27 – Decolonizing Chicano History, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Room 1015, McPherson Laboratory, 140 W. 18th Ave. Emma Perez, associate professor of history at the University of Texas in El Paso, will discuss her recent book, Decolonial Imagery: Writing Chicanas into History (Theories of Representation and Difference).

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information about Hispanic Awareness Month, see the Hispanic Student Services Web site at www.osu.edu/ethnicstudents/hss

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