The 45th president of the United States Donald Trump was sworn in Friday morning while supporters tuned in to watch and protesters walked the streets.
One UTEP group, Convivencia, decided to turn the conversation back to the community by hosting an open mic, a tabling event and a documentary watch party during the same time the inauguration celebrations were being aired on television.
Students gathered in Centennial Plaza at 11 A.M. to hear each others thoughts on the future of the country, their lives and college careers.
“It’s always important to promote democracy,” Dr. Irasema Coronado, moderator at the open mic, said. “It’s an opportunity for inclusion.”
The open mic lasted until noon where students were able to speak for three minutes each and participate in a supportive environment where they could exchange ideas and issues that are prevalent to their lives.
Convivencia: A Community in Action also hosted the “Round Tables and Community Connections” after the open mike, inviting speakers, UTEP and city based organizations to set up tables in the Tomas Rivera Conference Center.
The Raindrop Turkish House handed out baklava, while the UTEP Black Student Union spoke about the movement “Black Lives Matter.” With lively music in the background and more than twenty organizations tabling at the center, the El Paso and UTEP community informed one another on issues they fear will affect them negatively in the future.
“My main focus is education,” Tasha Perez, an education major said at the Black Student Union table. “It affects all of us as parents and teachers.” Perez, a mother of three, says the recent nominee for the Secretary of Education is a concern for the immediate future.
Professor Sandra McGee Deutsh, a history professor, also encouraged student’s voices to be heard outside of the university. In one table in the Tomas Rivera Center, she gave students the opportunity to write constructive letters to the new President of the United States, to which she would mail them straight to the White House.
“We must spend more time talking to one another- getting to know each other’s stories, experiences, hopes and dreams,” Dr. Ann Horak, English and Religious Studies professor told Communications Manager, Lauren Macias-Cervantes. “We also need to be in service to causes larger than ourselves, working together for the good of all on our campus.”
The Convivencia ended with a documentary screening “Beyond Borders” at the UTEP Union Cinema.
For three hours, the Convivencia committee gave students the tools and space to make their feelings, fears, dreams and voices be heard amidst what some fear to be shaky future.
