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Vol. 38, No. 18 |
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2-4-2009 More than just another classSpanish 689 students build bridges to central Ohio Latino families
The fact that all five victims were Hispanic did not go unnoticed. Less than three months before the tragedy, a fire safety and prevention video called “Proteja a su Familia Contra Fuegos” was released by the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs. Directed by an Ohio State student named Gabriela Linik as part of her Spanish 689 service-learning course, the Spanish-language video was specifically created to deliver easy-to-understand safety information for non-native speakers. “We wanted Latino parents, families and children to understand how to prevent fire emergencies at home, what to do if there is a fire and, most importantly, how to reach out for help when needed,” said Linik, who now works at the Columbus Metropolitan Library as a Spanish language programmer. “Although these things may seem simple to the general public, they can be challenging when you do not speak the language or understand how the Emergency Services function in the community.” Linik wasn’t always such an expert on fire safety and prevention. It was only as she was searching for a final project for her Spanish in Ohio course, taught by Associate Professor Donna Long, that she hit on the idea for the video. “Jaime Sierra with the Columbus Department of Fire has been a supporter of our program for many years, and he always gives a talk about his work with the Latino community,” explained Long, who has been teaching Spanish 689 since 1996. “He does fire prevention workshops with children and gives presentations at community events. He often has projects my students can work on, and he and Gabi came up with the idea for the video.” With only a month to put the video together, Linik read every fire safety brochure and resource Sierra gave her, hammered out a script, conducted interviews with Spanish speaking residents and recruited her own family members to perform on camera. Station 17 on the West Side, Sierra’s own home base, provided the setting for firehouse shots, while most other scenes were filmed at her own home. “It turned into much more than a class project,” Linik said. “It took a lot of personal time, but I think it turned out to be something useful.” Indeed, the video continues to enjoy exposure on the Columbus Dispatch Spanish language site, dispatchespanol.com, as well as on the Que Pasa OSU Web site, quepasa.osu.edu. The OCHLA sponsored the production of 1,000 DVDs to be distributed free of charge across the state. “I also distributed a few copies in my hometown of Defiance, which has a significant Latino population, and they have never been exposed to this type of life-saving education in Spanish,” said Sierra, who looks forward to working with more students in this quarter’s Spanish 689. For Long, this kind of feedback about the course and its impact on the Spanish-speaking community in Ohio is exactly why she continues to teach it. Most students who take the course are Spanish majors and speak both languages fluently; a major goal, Long said, is to show these students how many opportunities for careers and community service there are for bilingual speakers in central Ohio. “We try to give them a really broad introduction to career opportunities they might have in their own backyards and to find out how rewarding community service really can be,” she said. The service-learning aspect of the course accomplishes both objectives and also points up the importance Ohio State places on giving back. “The university has done a really good job on emphasizing community service in recent years, not just to the Spanish-speaking community but across the board,” she said. “I think this course fits nicely into that mission.”
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