Latino students blend cultures

PROVO — The second annual Latino Leadership Conference on Friday was high energy and a blending of two cultures.

Students danced mariachi and to hip-hop, spoke in Spanish and English, and were taught to value their heritages while embracing the American dream.

"Oh my gosh, it's awesome," said Libni Benitez, a sophomore at Provo High School. "It was very fun. Very entertaining."

More than 600 students from Utah, Juab and Sanpete counties attended the conference at Provo High School. Speakers discussed pending immigration reform legislation in Congress. Students were encouraged to stay in school and attend college. Numbers from the Utah State Office of Education show that nearly 40 percent of Hispanic students drop out before graduation.

"Get things rolling for your school," said Jorge Aguero, a high school representative for Stevens-Henager College, one of the conference's sponsors. "Get yourself in more activities. Get yourself in clubs."

This was the conference's second year.

"It was more focused on education this year," said Zoran Quintana, a junior at Provo High. "There was more (information) for us to get (college) scholarships."

Students at the conference wrote letters to Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, although they did not march to his Provo office as was originally planned.

The letters, which are to be delivered to Cannon's office by Provo High students, opposed a House bill passed in December that makes illegal immigrants subject to felony prosecution.

"America will not benefit from a bill that breaks up families, creates discrimination, hate and further pushes undocumented immigrants into the dark corners of American society," the letters state.

Cannon voted for the bill, his spokesman, Charles Isom, said. Cannon hopes the Senate will pass immigration reform legislation and key members of both the House and Senate negotiate a final immigration reform bill.

"We're looking forward to reading (the letters)," Isom said.

The conference was scheduled to end with a march to Cannon's Provo office, but school administrators did not obtain a permit.

School administrators told the city they wanted to close nine blocks of two downtown streets from 11 a.m. to noon for hundreds of students.

"We told them we are glad to work on another arrangement but the high volume and the peak hours" made closing streets impossible, said city spokeswoman Raylene Ireland. Friday was convocation for Brigham Young University graduates.

School officials opted instead to deliver the letters to Cannon's office by school bus.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com