GILROY
– Gavilan students will celebrate Mexican Independence Day
Tuesday by focusing on democracy and voting rights with members of
the Gilroy community.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Gavilan students will celebrate Mexican Independence Day Tuesday by focusing on democracy and voting rights with members of the Gilroy community.
The Gavilan College Associated Student Body is hosting the “16 de septiembre,” or September 16, event, which will be held in the student center on campus from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes food, music and dance. Sept. 16 marks the day Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1810.
“The theme is … that independence and being informed are necessary in a democracy,” said Jan Bernstein Chargin, Gavilan’s public information officer.
The day’s events will begin with a forum on Proposition 54, which would prevent the collection of racial data. Speakers will argue both for and against the initiative prohibiting state and local governments from classifying people based on race, ethnicity, color or national origin.
“Students will be able to get information and be able to make an informed decision on this issue,” Chargin said.
Attendees can visit a voter registration booth starting at 10 a.m. to ask any questions related to the voting process or to register to vote. The Gavilan College Foklorico dancers and the band Somos will perform.
Additional speakers include mayoral candidate and former city councilwoman Lupe Arellano and community activist John Perez. The two will discuss the upcoming elections and the importance of voting in a democracy.
Gavilan’s ASB representatives said the event will focus on independence for all people.
