Las Cruces - March 20, 2012 - On this edition of PUENTES, Emily Guerra bridges the community with Dona Ana County Commissioner, Billy Garrett. He is also the Co-Chair of the "8th Annual J. Paul Taylor Social Justice Symposium." The first symposium began in 2005 at New Mexico State University in honor of J. Paul Taylor’s lifelong commitments to the community. Scholars, students, community stakeholders, and policy makers from across the state and region come together each spring to explore, learn and work in unity on strategies for justice and reform. Some of the themes in past conferences have been on justice for youth, women, children, immigrants, and the environment. Garrett says, “The focus for this conference will be on issues that affect the quality of life, such as poverty and the environment.” He says, “the objective of this whole effort is not just to study things, but to actually understand them and then to do something about it.”
The two-day conference will be held on Sunday afternoon, March 25th from 1:30 to 5 at the Court Youth Center, 402 W. Court; and on Monday, March 26th at NMSU’s Corbett Center Student Union Ballroom from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is free and advance registration is required. For more information, contact Martha Trujillo at (575)525-5868 or visit the Symposium website at jpts.nmsu.edu.