Student organizations at the University of San Diego are coming together to pay homage to farm workers on Sunday, April 24.
The Filipino Ugnayan Student Organization, Association of Chicanx Activists, and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán are uniting to commemorate these generations of farm workers who have not yet received over the years.
Mia Tabladillo, Filipino Ugnayan Student Organization Co-Community Liaison, says that this event hits home on a personal level for her, having grandparents and many other relatives who at some point in their lives were working hard in arms under the hot sun.
"I have family that is part of this movement, I have grandparents and uncles that would pick in the fields. Some of my aunts and uncles would go to the fields after school to help family as well. It was more about creating a better space for those hardworking individuals out in the fields." said Mia Tabladillo.
The event will be starting off with Mass at the Founder's Chapel at 11am, before then getting started with Commemoration & Luncheon at USD's University Ministry at around noon.
During Mass hour, there will be the act of blessing upon the letters that students on campus have written to farm workers, along with blessings the rosaries that will be given to families of students who have participated in any farm work in the past or currently.
The farm workers movement will also be recognized during mass, where their faith-based hard work will be highlighted and honored through songs, readings, and prayers.
And then the celebration continues.
The luncheon will begin at 12pm, where there will be student performances taking place, and an exhibit of stories being shared involving the farm workers movement over the decades.
There will also be special guests during this event, in particularly special appearances from big names such as United Farm Workers president Teresa Moreno, and the legendary civil rights activist and co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, Dolores Huerta.
This big celebration arranged by these USD student groups is being organized with the objective of highlighting and thanking past and current farmers
Samantha Leon, Publicist for the Association of Chicanx Activists (AChA), says that their main objective in this event is to thank all the past and current farmers for guiding their families into a hard-working standard of life.
Because without the relentless and resilient qualities these past and current farmers sustain, the current and future generations wouldn't be where they are today.
"We want to thank them for their hard-working tenacity, the whole respect that we all have for those who came before us, honoring and thanking them for their hard work and getting us to where we are now," said Leon, AChA publicist. "Knowing more about our history so that we know a little more about ourselves," she added.
