Swarthmore College Introduces Spanish Translation Of Graduation Ceremony

PHILADELPHIA — Deivid Rojas, a senior at Swarthmore College, has waited four years to hear the congratulatory remarks that will come with receiving his degree from the elite liberal arts school.

Now, his Spanish-speaking father will be able to understand them as well: "Felicidades a los recien graduados!" (Congratulations to our new graduates!)

Swarthmore is offering a live, simultaneous translation of Sunday's commencement, where guests will be able to listen to a Spanish version of the ceremony using wireless headsets.

Many universities, including Swarthmore, have long offered sign-language interpreters or closed captioning at their graduations for the deaf and hard of hearing. But translation into foreign languages appears to be uncommon.

Rojas, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia when he was 7, said his father is among several relatives he expects to use the service.

"He's someone that's not perfectly comfortable with English," Rojas said. "I don't think he'd be able to enjoy it as much."

Some Hispanic advocacy groups expressed surprise when told of Swarthmore's endeavor, calling it an unusual and welcome development for the nation's growing Latino population.

"They're investing now in creating a campus culture that's inviting and supporting of Latinos," said Deborah Santiago, vice president for policy and research for Excelencia in Education. "I think that it's really going to pay off for them down the road."

About 13 percent of the 20.5 million college students in the U.S. are Hispanic, up from nearly 10 percent a decade ago.

Among Hispanic-serving institutions, defined as those with at least 25 percent Latino enrollment, there is no data on colleges using Spanish translation at commencement, according to the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities.

Schools including Columbia University and the University of Southern California supplement their main graduations with secondary ceremonies specifically for Latino students. Both events are bilingual.

Swarthmore's student body has grown from about 8 percent Latino a decade ago to 11 percent today. Overall, it enrolls approximately 1,500 students on its leafy campus about 10 miles outside Philadelphia.

Among them is the 22-year-old Rojas, who grew up in Miami and attended Swarthmore on a full scholarship. The progressive school with Quaker roots was the perfect place for him to nurture his commitment to social justice, he said.

Still, he and other Latino students were concerned that their Spanish-speaking parents could not understand communications from the college, on topics from admissions to financial aid. He did not want that to be the case at commencement.

So Rojas approached Maurice Eldridge, vice president for college and community relations, with the translation idea.

Eldridge was immediately receptive. Though the expected need among the 350 graduates was not overwhelming, offering the service embodies the private school's mission and ethos, said Eldridge.

"It was a reasonable extension of services to make such a significant event in the lives of our students and their families more accessible to them," he said.

Swarthmore already had some of the necessary audio equipment and spent about $12,000 to buy the rest, Eldridge said.

Professor Aurora Camacho de Schmidt, who teaches Spanish and Latin American literature, will translate the ceremony on site.

Despite her fluency and previous experience as a translator, Camacho de Schmidt said interpreting on the fly is hard. She hopes to have copies of some speeches ahead of time.

"I have to work at it and I will have to practice," said Camacho de Schmidt. "But it is something that once you have done it, it is a skill that stays with you, like riding a bicycle."

The audio equipment has the capacity to add channels, and next year the school may provide Korean or Chinese translations as well, said Eldridge. The college will also continue to offer American Sign Language interpreters.

___

Online:

http://www.swarthmore.edu

Comments

[janetnet38]

01:19 PM on 05/30/2011

Swathmore College's undertaking to accomodate the families of primarily Spanish-speaking
students speaks to the growth in US population of Hispanics - both immigrant and multi-generational. It also brings to questions whether the "official" language of the US is still English. I, personally, do not believe that this is the case. I also don't reject the concept of the US having two "official" languages if these reflect the true demographics of the country. If this becomes the case, then higher education and other institutitions may take the next step of providing dual-language ceremonies as a matter of course as opposed to a unique exception.

[deputykelley]

11:36 AM on 05/28/2011

and his education was probably free, while the guy next to him has about 50 grand in loans, and he was actually born here......

[Jasel]

04:00 PM on 05/29/2011

What on earth makes you think his education was free??

[deputykelley]

04:16 PM on 05/29/2011

many years ago, right out of high school, i was dating a beautiful young lady that just happened to be hispanic....not illegal or anything, they were the whitest mexican family ever. we both decided to start taking classes at our local community college together. we both went up to the school and found the financial aid office and picked up all sorts of applications for grants, blah blah blah.... i told you that story to tell you this story...

both of our dads worked and both of our mothers did not. My dad made about 50,000 dollars a year at the time, and her dad made about 85,000 a year. we joked about how there was no way she would get any money but I would.....several weeks later when we recieved our replies, I was approved for $0 and her whole semester was nearly paid for.....

need I say more ?

[Tracieann]

10:09 PM on 06/08/2011

"Among them is the 22-year-old Rojas, who grew up in Miami and attended Swarthmore on a full scholarship. " That pretty much says it. Fifteen years in the US and his dad is still not comfortable with English. :/

[kankakeekennedy]

12:05 AM on 05/28/2011

What a great way to ensure that Deivid's parents can share in his special day.

[Jasel]

11:32 PM on 05/27/2011

That's pretty cool

[bma83]

11:29 AM on 05/27/2011

Yet another reason for immigrants (legal and illegal) not to learn English. Deivid Rojas's family came from Colombia 22 years ago. Isn't that enough time for his father to have learned English?

[TclurFancy]

12:21 PM on 05/27/2011

No it's not. For some people, English is a complicated language to master. It's like no other language in the Germanic family and there are people whose first language is English - American English - and they can't even speak it. It's not so simple to say that immigrants don't want to learn English. That's assuming cultural norms that are highly problematic and reinforce the egocentrism of US citizens. We are one of very few countries where only one language is spoken and we are entitled to expect everyone will learn English to accommodate us. As an alumnus of this school I commend them for taking on the challenge and realizing there are more ways of telling the story.

[bma83]

02:40 PM on 05/27/2011

I respect your p.o.v, but disagree with it wholeheartedly. Twenty-two years is more than enough time to learn a language, no matter how hard it is, if (and that’s a big if) the person wants to learn the language and puts forth the effort to learn it. I live in New York and I encounter many Spanish speaking people who only speak Spanish or speak English poorly, despite living in this country for years. Why? My only guess is that many feel they don't have to learn English. And why should they when there is no reason for them to learn? Why when their ignorance is going to be catered to? And excuse me, but it has nothing to do with “egocentrism of US citizens.” If I move to Mexico or Spain, I’m going to learn Spanish and I will not for one second expect the Mexican or Spanish people to accept my ignorance of their language. Especially after living among them for 22 years.
I too would commend the school for this undertaking if it offered more than one language interpretation instead of just one for those who feel they don’t have to learn English.

[Tnuocca1]

08:43 PM on 05/29/2011

Come on, if you live in a country for 22 years, you are going to pick up the language. I visit family for a month and pick up arabic. To say the US is one of the few countries where only one language is spoken is outrageous. Please list all the countries with two official languages? Yes, the US should expect their citizens to learn how to read and write in English, it's the official language.

[epistemenical]

06:13 PM on 05/27/2011

You're assuming a lot of things here.

- Deivid's family didn't immigrate to the US 22 years ago -- it says in the article it was 15. But beyond that, his family could have moved back and forth (as many do), or his parents could be separated.

- That his father doesn't speak any English at all. It says in the article that he doesn't understand it well enough to really understand intricate financial aid documents, or to understand and enjoy speeches that will probably use some big words in the commencement address of an elite liberal arts school. That's a far cry from not knowing enough English Roger by in your daily life.

Especially given that Swarthmore serves many international students, the fact that this will improve the experience of a large group of people at no disadvantage to anyone else beyond a very small amount of money should definitely outweigh the complaints you have.

[gevan]

08:18 AM on 05/27/2011

Seems unfair to discriminate against Brazilian or Quebecois students.

[epistemenical]

06:15 PM on 05/27/2011

This doesn't make them any more discriminated against than they were previously. Spanish is a logical first step, and after Mandarin and Korean, French is probably the next language to add.

[gevan]

10:17 PM on 05/27/2011

Swarthmore is in Pennsylvania so Pennsylvania Dutch (German) would seem a logical choice.