Diverse Campus Debates Women and Immigration
4/2/2008
College to Hold Forum on the Legal Status of Immigrant Women
Riverdale, NY – The Women’s Studies Program at the University of Mount Saint Vincent will host a panel discussion on women and immigration on April 7, 2008. The forum will examine the legal and social status of immigrant women from several standpoints. Sr. Claire Regan, the Sisters of Charity Coordinator of Justice Effectiveness and Corporate Responsibility as well as Myriam Jaidi, Immigrant Rights Attorney, and Maria Muentes, Co-Founder of Families for Freedom are three of the speakers of note. Sr. Regan will focus on Sisters of Charity’s work in issues in immigration while Myriam Jaidi will focus on questions of gender and immigrants’ rights.
“Questions surrounding immigration are very much in the news these days, and we thought it was important to hold a campus-wide discussion on immigration and immigrant issues; this forum is our attempt to initiate such a discussion,” says Dr. Opler, assistant professor of the department of History. Dr. Opler, along with Dr. Heather Alumbaugh head the women’s studies program. “The matter takes on even more importance when we remember that a fairly large percentage of our student body either have parents who are immigrants or are immigrants themselves.”
The debate over immigration in recent years has been heated on all sides with calls to Congress to pass tough new laws. Some proposed measures could make life more difficult for immigrant families and for women in particular.
The Women’s Studies Program was founded last year by Dr. Alumbaugh and Dr. Opler and consists of both a minor in women’s studies and a series of forums which tackle issues important to women. Their first forum held in November 2007, focused on the subject of women and religion and drew a crowd of over 200 people.
The panel discussion will take place on the college campus in the President’s Reception Room in the Administration building on Monday April 7, 2008, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. For more information about the event, please contact Dr. Heather Alumbaugh at (718) 405-3275 or Dr. Daniel Opler at (718) 405-3235. The event is open to the public and free parking is available on campus.