Four undergraduates are winners of '00 Latino Studies research awards

By Franklin Crawford

The Latino Studies Program has announced the winners of its first undergraduate Latino Studies Research Grant Program. The following seniors (listed with their majors and project titles) each will receive $500 awards:

• Nadia Huancahuari, Spanish literature and biology: "Depictions of Female Interpretations of the U.S. Experience";
• Michelle C. Perales, city and regional planning: "Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS) and Mexican-American Community Empowerment";
• Cassandra Ramirez, urban and regional studies: "Colonias in South Texas"; and
• Alvin Antonio Velázquez, government: "Puerto Rican Migration to Chicago and Gentrification."

Applications were reviewed by a panel of two Latino Studies Program (LSP) students and two faculty members. The grant program will strengthen the LSP's academic mission by "expanding the opportunities for students to undertake Latino-related research," said Pedro Cabán, LSP director.

"The availability of the grants may also encourage more students to undertake independent research projects," he added. "Finally, the grants are a way of recognizing the academic endeavors of very gifted students and rewarding them for the significance of their research."

Cabán also said LSP would like to expand the number of grants and obtain instructional resources to conduct workshops on undertaking research in Latino communities.