Victor Mora
Qué Pasa is a magazine that has been on the Ohio State University campus for approximately ten years. It was created to keep Latinos on campus connected to each other and inform them of events outside the college. It provides a source of activities in a central location.
New issues are published quarterly and contain some success stories of Latinos attending OSU, overviews of activities that have recently taken place, organizations in the community, information for future graduating students and advice for students who are searching for careers. The magazine also touches on some issues or race and ethnicity that other Latinos can relate to.
The summer issue of Qué Pasa is dedicated to out reach and recruitment. It focuses on the quality of the OSU academic program, organizations for Latinos, tips on adjusting and growing in the environment and resources helpful to the development of the student life, such as an advisor or other Latinos in the community.
In an interview with Victor Mora, executive producer of Qué Pasa, he stated that many parents in the Latino community are monolingual; therefore some of the magazine is written in Spanish to help with translation and also efforts and interest in the education of Latinos. The parents also want to know what it is that Ohio State University can offer their children. They want their children to have a sense of community and to know that they will not be all alone. Advisors are readily available to the students for any questions the student or the parent may have while attending the university.
While attending the university it is important for the family to be involved. The parents of the student are more interested in what the future holds for their child and getting their moneys worth compared to other universities while the student may be more concerned with the social life involved in being a student. There is a need to recruit the family and not only the student because many people want to keep their children close to home. Recruiting faculty must be open and truthful about the program so there are no big surprises while their child is attending school.
Some other functions of the magazine mentioned by Victor Mora are to let others know of Latino achievements and faculty members. The professors are internationally recognized and very competitive in their field. Each issue dedicates a section to mentioning the graduates of the quarter.
An important issue that Victor Mora also touched on was the demographic growth of Latinos in the country. There has been a 13.5% Latino total population increase therefore it is important for business and industry to cater to the increase. The Spanish language is now becoming more important for communication. Since the Latino population is so young it is important to instill the importance of no only a high school education but a college education as well as career and life goals.
Currently a large number of Latinos are doing physical labor: construction, restaurant (fast food), ect; and it is important to create an opportunity to get them out of the back and into a profession such as owning their own business.