Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson addressed the future of Latinos and Latinas in Iowa Wednesday night.

Pederson spoke to a crowd of about 75 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

Pederson said she understands what it means to be different and not represented by government because of her son’s autism. She believes there is not a broad representation of people in Iowa’s government.

Pederson stressed quality education for children because Iowa now has more students from diverse backgrounds in schools.

“[We] have to be able to help students in some way,” she said.

Venture capital legislation has been passed to help “create opportunities to many young people” by providing resources to start businesses and create jobs. The venture capital legislation is targeted to minorities, she said.

Pederson announced the inclusion of Gov. Tom Vilsack on a Latino coalition in Washington, D.C. Five Republican and five Democratic governors were chosen because they “have the most promise to help Latinos,” said Pederson.

Jerry Garcia, assistant professor of history, questioned Pederson about the English-only law Iowa recently passed.

Pederson said the bill was passed instead of vetoed to prevent a “very divisive campaign into our state by people who are anti-immigration.”

When asked about the lack of minority representation in the legislature, Pederson said the government will “have to be proactive in recruiting to fit the profile needed.”

Pederson also touched on the issue of overrepresentation of African-Americans in Iowa’s prisons and said Iowa needs to “create the right kind of support system for young people who don’t have any other choice.”

Iowans have the “opportunity to change the face of our legislation,” Pederson said.

Brad Klein, sophomore in pre-business, said it was nice of Pederson to address Latino issues.

Michael Horn, senior in political science, said he expected the speech to focus more on Latino issues, rather than on the Democratic platform.

“[Pederson] did not mention Latinos until 7:24 p.m.,” he said. The presentation began at 7 p.m.

Horn said he was disappointed because the first fifteen minutes of Pederson’s speech sounded like a campaign commercial.