Speakers at the Conference of the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute encouraged students to become activists and to vote in the upcoming presidential election.

Four ISU students attended the conference, which ran from Thursday to Sunday in Chicago. The conference focused on teaching Latino students to make their voices heard in their communities as well as nationwide.

David Romero, senior in biology, said the conference facilitators stressed voting especially hard this year because of the upcoming elections

“You saw it everywhere. The whole thing was vote,” he said. “‘You should vote.’ ‘Your voice matters.'”

Brenda Vargas, junior in animal ecology, said the speakers went beyond promoting just voting to promoting a presidential candidate. She said many speakers endorsed John Kerry because Latinos tend to vote for the Democratic candidate.

“[We] can change what is happening to us; all we need to do is raise our voices,” Vargas said.

Both Vargas and Romero agreed the surprise speaker was a highlight of the conference.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke to participants Sunday morning and sent her husband’s regrets, Vargas said.

Clinton spoke about the importance of obtaining an education and being aware of what is happening in the world.

She also reminded the students that young voters and the Latino community are important political voices in the United States, Romero said.

“It’s important for us to realize we have political power in this country,” Romero said.

President Bush has been invited to the conference for four years, though he has neither attended nor sent a letter acknowledging the invitation, Romero said. He said Democratic leaders have been more supportive.

Vargas said former President Clinton made appearances at two past conferences, and, this year, Kerry sent a video complimenting the conference.

“I think it’s great because we’re getting their support,” she said.

Another aspect of the conference was workshops dealing with Latino issues.

Vargas said these workshops were inspirational.

“They just motivated you so much,” she said. “They made you feel like you can do anything.”

Vargas said her favorite workshop was “Sister power: Women of color leaders, looking to our cultural legacy to maximize our leadership” because it was so motivating.

“All of us came out like, ‘Wow, we as Latina women can do anything,'” Vargas said.

Romero said he, too, felt the workshops were valuable.

“There were two workshops that I really loved,” he said.

The “What’s in your backpack?” workshop focused on ways to find success in life. The facilitator gave advice by using personal experience of what has worked for him. He encouraged students to have confidence in themselves, Romero said.

Romero said the main theme of the workshop was “Throw your doubts away.”

“If you want it, go for it,” he said.

Vargas and Romero agreed the session “How to market yourself and your group” was helpful.

Participants discussed ways to make organizations stand out. Vargas said the speaker taught the group networking skills and how to use enthusiasm to bring people into an organization.

Networking and swapping ideas with other students sparked new thoughts on reaching organizational goals at Iowa State, Vargas said. They will pass the knowledge they’ve gained to the future leaders of the student groups as they encourage them to be activists, Romero said.

“I want them to realize that,” he said. “It’s important for them to step up and become leaders.”