As the fastest growing minority group in the nation, Latinos’ voices are becoming increasingly important in elections.

Amanda Berenguel, senior in child, adult and family services, said Latinos’ votes are especially important in swing states like Iowa.

“If we could just educate ourselves, we could be a huge part of making the election go one way or another,” she said.

Although each issue is important, education is a primary focus, particularly for Latino students.

For Marcus Camacho, senior in communication studies, education — particularly English-only education and whether that law will be repealed — is a central issue in this year’s election.

“I believe that’s one of the strongest issues that Latinos have,” he said.

“We need to be teaching our children that it’s OK to grow up in a multicultural household.”

Camacho said Spanish has been pushed aside in some respects as kids are taught to focus on English.

He said although having good English skills is important, so is learning the language of their heritage. Language is an important part of culture and children should be able to learn Spanish as well as English.

Not allowing students to learn in a language other than English is like saying the language is inferior and unacceptable, he said.

“That’s a very powerful statement about who is American, and that’s wrong,” Camacho said. He said people in the United States need to embrace the idea that being bilingual is advantageous.

Berenguel also said education is the biggest issue. She said she likes John Kerry’s plans for education. He supports cutting tuition for college students, as well as increasing study abroad and exchange programs with tuition waivers for students participating, she said.

His proposal is to increase head start programs, increase funding to special needs programs and raise teacher salaries.

Immigration policy is also important to many Latinos, Berenguel said.

The candidates’ stances on legalizing immigrants that have been in the United States for a long time are being watched by Latinos, she said.

Some issues are important to all Americans, not just Latinos, Camacho said.

“What’s going on in Iraq is very important to us as well, but that’s universal,” he said.

As a member of the armed forces, Camacho is watching closely to see what happens in the war and the actions of the commander in chief.

The economy is important to the Latino community. Outsourcing is a concern for many of those working blue collar jobs including many Latinos, Camacho said. Workers want to know if their jobs are going to stay here or move to another country.

Overall, Latinos will probably vote Democrat, both Camacho and Berenguel agreed.

“I would definitely say they’re leaning more towards Kerry,” Berenguel said.

Camacho said he’s fairly sure he knows which presidential candidate will get his vote, but there’s still time for him to change his mind.

“Election Day isn’t here yet,” he said in an interview Sunday. “I’m still trying to formulate the pros and cons of both.”