The Pan American Student Forum, a training ground for Good Neighbors in the Americas.
Description:
The Mexican American Experience, a radio program produced by the Longhorn Radio Network, includes interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns. Program summary: Host Alejandro Saenz interviews Eddie Aurispa, the Deputy Director of the Texas Good Neighbor Commission, on the Pan American Student Forum and its efforts to promote respect and awareness for all nationalities and languages in the Americas among students in Texas. The program was created in 1927 to further cultural understanding and respect among students in the Americas. In the 1970s, the program counted over 10,000 members and almost 200 chapters in Texas. The Pan American Student Forum, which is funded by the Good Neighbor Commission, offers various projects and services, including scholarships and immunization programs in Mexico and Central America. For example, la Buena madre, a girl's orphanage in Pachuca, is majority funded by the PASF. The students raise funds for each of the projects and each chapter's local activities, which are publicized by the organization's state-wide newspaper, The Pan American Times. Aurispa explains that the role of the Good Neighbor Commission in administering the program, but stresses that students elect their officers and sponsors. He says that PASF helps students develop an understanding of Latin America that they can use if they choose to study or work there. He notes that while mostly Mexican Americans participate in the organization, in the larger cities a number of Anglo students are also involved. He hopes the program will be able to expand beyond Texas and develop new projects. Keywords: Amigos de las Americas, Anglo Students, Bilingualism, Business, Cake Sales, Car Wash, Chicano Students, Dallas, Department of Education, Foreign Service, High School, Houston, Immunization, Junior High School, La Buena Madre, Myrtle Tanner Scholarship, Orphanage, Pachuca, Mexico, Pan American Student Forum, Pan American Times, Panamericanism, Participatory Citizenship, PASF, Pesos for Braces, San Antonio, Spanish, State Representative Bill Clayton, Student Exchange Program, Student programs, Terms:, Texas, Texas Good Neighbor Commission, Transnational Movement, Voluntarism, Youth Culture. Broadcast date not recorded.
Creator/Contributor:
Longhorn Radio Network (creator), Saenz, Alejandro (host), and Aurispa, Eddie (interviewee)
Date Created/Date Issued:
6/2/1977
Owning Repository:
Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin