BSW Student Association and IU School of Social Work help with tributes to Cesar Chavez

     March 28, 2008 - The Bachelor of Social Work Student Association, along with the Indiana University School of Social Work is helping with a tribute to farm worker activist Cesar Chavez and to the issue of international civil rights.

     The tributes and discussion began Friday at the Indiana State Museum where 300 students were expected for “Cesar Chavez Day,” to learn more about Chavez and to learn how they too could become agents of change in their communities.

       Chavez was born March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Ariz. He was a farmer who became famous for leading the fight to improve the lives of migrant workers.

      Craig Campbell, the Labor Studies Student Services Coordinator, was at the state

museum with information about the Labor Studies program and the School of  Social Work as part of a “Signs of Protest,” exhibit on the museum’s first floor.

     On Sunday, March 30, the action shifts to the IUPUI Campus Center for a semi-formal dinner honoring Chavez, hosted by the BSW Student Association and the Latino Student Association.

      The guest speaker at the dinner will be Baldemar Velasquez, an international civil rights activist, who is expected to discuss immigration issues. A flyer for Velasquez’s appearance includes a quote from Chavez: “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”

     The BSW Student Association was able to obtain a $2,500 grant from Campus Community Life to help bring Velasquez to IUPUI.

     On Monday, March 31, Velasquez will discuss the immigration issue during an appearance at the Multicultural Center Common Area (previously the UC food court) from 12:00 p.m. to 2 p.m.      

Craig Campbell, Labor Studies Student Services Coordinator