Conversations regarding an event that would mobilize Hispanic and Latinx students at Muhlenberg to vote in the upcoming presidential election began with a discussion between Program Director of Spanish Studies Erika Sutherland, Ph.D., and Comunidad President Zayon Cordova Febres ‘25. Cordova Febres expressed his worries about the fact that many Hispanic and Latinx students did not seem to be registering to vote, so the two began to brainstorm about what action they could take to make a difference. As a result, The Hispanic & Latinx Vote at Muhlenberg panel was held on Sept. 24.
The panel was sponsored by Comunidad, the Office of Multicultural Life and the Departments of Languages, Literatures & Cultures and Political Science. Hosted by Sutherland, the event welcomed five panelists, who are involved in civil engagement and activism among Latinx communities, including Cordova Febres. Sutherland began with a presentation slide that stated their goals for the event, including to inform, inspire and invite attendees to keep talking about the ideas expressed.
She said, “Our goal is that everyone who can vote should vote,” which was complemented by the fact that they had registration forms as well as people to assist with them at the event itself. Each panelist contributed a specific set of information regarding voter registration and mobilization of Hispanic voters to increase understanding about how these conversations can be turned into action.
“Pursuing a better life? You shouldn’t be locked up for that.” – Deputy Organizing Director of Make the Road PA Armando Jiménez ‘22
The first speaker was Cordova Febres himself, who provided more background information about the inspiration for this event and also revealed insight regarding Comunidad’s plans for the semester. He began by speaking in Spanish which was then interpreted by Sutherland for the audience. Cordova Febres expressed one of his hopes for this event that Muhlenberg students from New Jersey or New York would be compelled to vote here in the swing state of Pennsylvania where their vote may have more of an impact.
He also shared Comunidad’s plans to work with the Hispanic community in Allentown due to the fact that they count for the majority of the city’s population and that this activism should not just stop within Muhlenberg. His goals of working with communities outside of those within the College resulted from his personal experiences as well, as he stated “I come from Reading, and in Reading the rate of voter registration among Hispanics is less than five percent.”
Cordova Febres also shared more information regarding Comunidad’s thought process for organizing this event, saying “At first we were trying really hard to just recruit more and more people, but then we realized, ‘actually why don’t we just work with people who do come to our meetings, who do come to our events, and let’s focus instead on organizing a really big event to capture the attention of a lot of people, like this event, and let’s also continue to work evermore with the community in Allentown.”
The panel continued on with Director of the Carolina LatinX Center at The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill Josmell Pérez ‘05, who joined virtually. This portion of the event consisted of accounts from Pérez regarding how the College has changed in terms of representation over the years as well as his experiences working in the field of an academic community engagement center, particularly for Hispanic students.
“What is it that you care about? Is healthcare important? Is getting a driver’s license for every body important? Having that conversation will help you make a better decision for who you vote for.” – Executive Director of the Governor’s Commission on Latino Affairs
He began by showing pictures of his college years featuring both himself as well as his peers, and he noted that the pictures clearly demonstrated how there was very little representation of Latino or BIPOC students attending Muhlenberg in his college years. While acknowledging the struggles of under-representation, Pérez also expressed gratitude for his experience at Muhlenberg and attributed the positive changes that have been made since his time here to student leadership and advocacy.
At the Carolina LatinX Center at UNC, Pérez noted, “We are required to create co-curricular activities for students that take them outside of the classrooms and into our communities.” One of these activities included a campus wide celebration of Hispanic and Latino identities used by colleges around the country.
Executive Director of the Governor’s Commission on Latino Affairs (GACLA) Olga Negrón spoke next with a presentation of state resources meant to make voter registration more accessible. These resources can be found at vote.pa.gov/r2y and include information specific to demographics such as college students and senior citizens in English, Spanish and Chinese. She went over common mistakes made when sending in a mail-in ballot and presented examples of instructional commercials aimed at senior citizens in multiple languages to help them with this task.
Negrón also recognized common reasons for indifference towards voting and provided advice for how to become more in tune with personal political beliefs: “Sometimes you hear people say, ‘I’m not gonna vote, it doesn’t really matter’ or ‘how is that going to make a difference?’ Well, if you think about issues, have a conversation with people about issues: What is it that you care about? Is healthcare important? Is getting a driver’s license for everybody important? Having that conversation will help you make a better decision for who you vote for.”
Armando Jiménez ‘22 ended the panel by expanding upon the ideas expressed prior by encouraging students to think beyond elections in terms of gathering community resources and organizing around issues of importance to Hispanic, immigrant and Latinx populations. He stated, “We know there’s always going to be elections, but how do we organize the comunidad? When we think campaigns, we think of elections, but how do you talk about campaigns and issues?” J
iménez is the deputy organizing director of Make the Road PA, a community organizing group that advocates for a variety of social justice movements such as education, immigration, housing, climate change and equality of voting opportunities. He spoke about projects he has worked on as part of Make the Road PA to educate students on how they can take their advocacy further. For instance, there was an immigration detention center in Berks County, Pa. utilized for detaining migrants, but Make the Road PA pushed the White House and government officials to close it down through organizing in Reading and in Allentown. He said, “They were detaining families there, little children as young as months old and women… for pursuing a better life? You shouldn’t be locked up for that.”
The concepts and discussions raised by the panelists at The Hispanic & Latinx Vote at Muhlenberg event brought attention to what the Muhlenberg community could do to make a change both in terms of registering to vote and advocating for Hispanic and Latino communities.
Samantha Tempkin ‘25 is a theatre and media & communication double major and is thrilled to be joining the Weekly’s staff as an Assistant News Editor! She is also the co-president of KPC, Muhlenberg’s K-Pop club. When she is not writing for the paper, Sam loves singing, dancing, listening to music, seeing Broadway shows, watching Marvel movies, and hanging out with friends!
