Panel of Community Outreach Leaders Discusses Educational Issues of Local Youth

BY: TAYLOR BURTON – Event Story

SALT LAKE CITY – A panel-led discussion following a KUED-sponsored screening on Tuesday, October 15 of an upcoming film gave community members insight into educational challenges faced by local Hispanic youth.

Held in the Post Theater at Fort Douglas, the free screening of “The Graduates/Los Graduados” was open to the public.  The film, comprised of short episodes, tells the stories of individual Hispanic youth overcoming obstacles to succeed in education.  The panel, organized by KUED, led a discussion on the role gangs play in the educational challenges of Hispanic youth in America, issues shown in the three episodes selected for screening.

Members of the panel included: Tutti Millan, CEO of the Utah Council for Crime Prevention; Dr. Jose Enriquez, founder and director of Latinos in Action; Annie Brewer, a social worker within the Salt Lake City School District; and Detective Ezekas Afatasi with the Unified Police Department of the Greater Salt Lake area.

Addressing several questions upfront regarding gang mentality in youth, the panelists shared their answers with local insight.  Brewer observed that in the absence of an established support system, a gang often comes along to serve the outstanding needs of the youthful students, a sentiment shared by Enriquez.

“The kids at the gangs on the streets are there for troubled youth,” said Enriquez.  “At school, they are fighting a bureaucracy of sorts, a system upon system upon system.  Our kids need to feel welcome, to have a stage to showcase their talent.”

“What if our public system administrators and gang members were swapped?” asked Afatasi.  He implied that  educators would do well to consider the appeal of gangs and identify and provide the needs that are so often filled by them.

The panel was quick to voice its concerns about the moderator’s suggestion that higher graduation rates might signify that the issues being discussed are waning in severity.  Enriquez warned that such a mentality, while seemingly well intentioned, downplays the continued existence of the issues.

“The reality is that there is still a big achievement gap,” said Enriquez.

Becky Huff, a teacher at Horizonte Instruction and Training Center in Salt Lake, attended in hopes of being able to bring back best practices to her classroom.  Motivation, she says, is the everyday battle she and her students wage against complacency.

“One of the challenges I find with my school’s population is how to instill hope in their futures, confidence in their abilities,” said Huff.  “They have strength, they have resiliency, but they just don’t realize it because so many people and situations in their lives have told them otherwise.”

Regarding opportunities in combating these issues in the community, the panel offered both specific examples and some broader visions.  Millan spoke of the need for persistent and consistent message from the schools, the officers, the church groups.  Unity, agreed Afatasi, is crucial to the effectiveness of any effort.

“If we can come together as a community, put away our differences and pride, we can achieve a much better result,” said Afatasi.

Event attendee Glynnis Clark, whose husband serves as chairman for the Utah Council of Crime Prevention, echoed the importance of familial and societal involvement in today’s youth.

“Education is important to us.  We’ve worked with children in church and in our family.  It’s a problem we all need to worry about,” said Clark.

Rachelle Anderson, the KUED coordinator for the event, hopes more people will seek out these community outreach events.  “We plan to have one to two a month, and choose events we believe will be beneficial to the community,” said Anderson.