IU Northwest to host 2002 National Conference of Puerto Rican Women

‘Environmental Justice or Injustice? Our Children at Risk’

By Michelle Searer

The theme of the NACOPRW convention will address one of the most salient issues facing communities today, “Environmental Justice or Injustice? Our Children at Risk.”

Convention presentations and panels will take place in the Savannah Auditorium on the Gary campus Friday, Nov. 8, from 2:30-5 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 9, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The convention also will feature a youth program on Friday morning at 9 a.m. where local youth will engage in activities oriented toward promoting awareness of conservation and protection of the environment.

Conference participants of the environmental problems the communities are facing; to inform participants how these problems might affect them physically, mentally, socially and economically; to explore ways in which conference participants can protect themselves and their children from environmental risks; and to help conference participants understand how they can actively participate in protecting the environment.

Conference highlights include a Friday afternoon panel of legal, scientific and community activist specialists in environmental justice addressing how local environmental justice issues affect the “natural world” and “all living things.” Highlighting Saturday activities will be a presentation by Zenaida Mendez, who was the coordinator for the recently completed National

People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit II. Summit I is often credited for initiating the environmental justice movement.

Later there will be panels addressing the relationships between the environment and children’s health and childhood cancer and the environment. There will also be a presentation on the environmental impact of U.S. Navy bombing on the island of Viequez, Puerto Rico, and a panel on “A Case Study of Environmental Injustice: The East Chicago Confined Disposal Facility.”

For more information, call Arelis Santiago, chair of NACOPRW’s Northwest Indiana branch, at 219-962-1865 or 219-887-5281, extension.287, or E-mail arlosan@aol.com.