Only around 5 percent of college professors nationwide are Latino/a/x and at CSULB it’s higher around 9 percent. But this is still low when almost half of the student body is Latino/a/x.
Author Archives: Teresa Puente
Teresa Puente has spent her career reporting on immigration and Latino issues in the U.S. and has also reported extensively from Mexico. Previously, she was a staff reporter at the Chicago Tribune and was on the editorial board at the Chicago Sun-Times. Early in her career, she worked as a reporter for the Press-Telegram in Long Beach and The Orange County Register. Her recent journalistic work has been published in TIME, Newsweek, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, The Hill, The Miami Herald, Latino magazine, In These Times and more. Puente also is a senior facilitator, coach and mentor with The OpEd Project, a social venture that helps promote and publish underrepresented voices in the media.
Puente, an assistant professor at California State University, Long Beach, teaches News Reporting and Ethics, Social Media Communication and Bilingual Magazine Reporting & Production. Her students publish the Spanish-language magazine Dig En Español, the first magazine of its kind in Long Beach.
Puente received the Studs Terkel Award from Public Narrative for her coverage of Chicago’s diverse communities. She has served on the board of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the California Chicano News Media Association and JAWS – Journalism & Women Symposium. She is a past president of the Chicago Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Puente holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago and a bachelor’s degree with a double major in journalism and political science from Indiana University-Bloomington. Before returning to Long Beach, she taught journalism for 10 years at Columbia College Chicago. She was also a visiting assistant professor in the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and taught journalism and communications at the Tecnológico de Monterrey campus in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Posted inEducation, Opinion
COLUMN: Half of Latinos may soon see their student debt forgiven
Among undergraduate students who began in 2012 (the latest data available), 51% of Latino students borrowed to pay for their undergraduate or graduate education, according to Excelencia in Education.
The initial $10,000 of federal student loan forgiveness will allow about half of all Latino borrowers to have their entire debt forgiven, according to Excelencia.
Posted inJustice
COLUMN: Stop killing journalists in Mexico
The government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said the government does not attack journalists and the crimes are being committed by criminal groups.
It’s naive to think that some of these crimes against journalists, or against the citizens of Mexico, have nothing to do with government actors such as police, the military or elected officials.
Posted inJustice
COLUMN: Bad Bunny, the Apagón and power failures in Puerto Rico
There’s been a recent privatization of the electric company and huge rate increases, which led to residents protesting this summer in San Juan. There also are concerns about gentrification of the island with mainlanders coming in and buying up property.
Posted inOpinion
COLUMN: Support Afro-Latino journalists in U.S. media
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, which represents many working journalists and editors and joined forces with the National Association of Black Journalists to host their national conventions together last week in Las Vegas, is working to support Afro-Latino journalists.
Posted inPolitics
COLUMN: LULAC leadership appears to be in a state of disarray
There was a LULAC election slated for Saturday but that was stalled after a lawsuit was filed and a judge in Texas ordered Friday the suspension of the election. LULAC’s president García then reportedly left the island on Friday.
Posted inCulture
FERNANDO LÓPEZ JR., Oaxacan heir, proprietor of LA’s La Guelaguetza
The owners of La Guelaguetza, the ward-winning Oaxacan restaurant in Los Angeles, tell us why they love Oaxaca.
Posted inPolitics
COLUMN: We are NOT tacos
The First Lady and the Democratic Party should know better. The fact that she and her team, which includes Latinos, wrote and reviewed that speech illustrates just how disconnected some Democrats are from the diverse Latino community.
Posted inCulture
COLUMN: “Father of the Bride” remake is #Latinossowhite
There are no Brown or Black Latino leads in this film and that is disappointing. This is the same criticism that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s movie version of “In the Heights” received, rightfully so. But the whiteness of “Father of the Bride” is even more stark.
Posted inPolitics
COLUMN: Abortion rights overturned. Turn anger into action!
It’s time to channel our anger over the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade into action. It’s time to take to the streets, organize, mobilize, donate, write, speak, protest, do whatever you can to support women who need access to an abortion.
Posted inJustice
COLUMN: Rep. PETE AGUILAR works on House Select Committee to hold Jan. 6 attackers accountable
Politics is akin to a sport but what transpired on Jan. 6, 2021 was not a game. It was an assault on our democracy and the ring leaders, including President Donald Trump, should be held accountable. At the third hearing held Thursday morning a California Latino Congressman figured prominently. U.S. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., represents the 31st district that includes the Inland Empire and parts of San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland. He is the only Latino on the committee.
Posted inGovernment
COLUMN: Mexican president snubs the U.S. at the Summit of Americas in LA
Latin America has not been at the top of the foreign policy agenda since Biden took office and it should be given priority. Rather than give a cold shoulder to those we disagree with, we should try to negotiate and work with them to strengthen human rights and their economies. The Summit of Americas is an opportunity for the U.S. to improve relations with our neighbors to the south. Hopefully, enough of them will show up to have a meaningful dialogue.