July 13, 1998
Contact: Kathleen Robles, (619) 594-0704
Learning about Latinos: Answers Depend on Who,s Asking the Questions
Understanding the cultural barriers that have resulted in a relatively small body of data on a rapidly growing segment of society is the goal of a unique academic program that gets underway today at San Diego State University.
Fernando Soriano, director of the National Latino Research Center at SDSU that is hosting "Hispanics and Drug Use: A Training Conference for Hispanic Researchers, said gathering reliable data on such a culturally diverse group presents a challenge to scholars.
"The answers to a great many questions depend a great deal on the person asking them, he said. "The term Latino includes people from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba, among others. To ensure the data collected is valid, it is imperative that the research be conducted by people with the ability to understand the same dialect, the same cultural orientation to American society. We,re promoting that environment here at the Center, and we,re hoping the scholars that attend the conference will go back to their institutions with a new perspective on their work.
The international group of scholars attending the four-day conference represent institutions including Yale, UC Berkeley, the University of Puerto Rico, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Soriano said the gathering is a big step toward better understanding of a group that represents a growing portion of the American population.
"Researchers throughout the country are making significant contributions to our understanding of Latinos, he said. "The more information we are able to collect, the less ignorance there will be about Latinos, and less ignorance means more of an opportunity to address the dominant social and health issues of Latinos, and in so doing help make a great contribution to American society.
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To arrange an interview with Dr. Soriano, or for more information on the National Latino Research Center, please call Kathleen Robles at (619) 594-0704.