Talk Redefines Borders, Human Experience

Several Westmont faculty and staff members will explore issues about immigration and migration in a free panel discussion, “Redefining Borders: From Political to the Personal,” on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 5:30 p.m. at University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St. No tickets are required; the limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please call (805) 565-6051.

The three Westmont panelists are Cheri Larson Hoeckley, professor of English, Christian Hoeckley, director of the Gaede Institute, Liz Robertson, resident director of Emerson Hall, and moderator Cynthia Toms, Westmont kinesiology and global studies professor.

The panelists participated in a five-day Border Immersion Faculty Seminar last May at the Tucson/Nogales crossing site.

“As globalization connects our lives across borders, the issue of immigration and migration remains a defining topic of our time, Toms says. “But the many voices shaping the issue in political rhetoric often neglect the most important dimension: humans. As a result, the people whose lives are altered, displaced and even lost as a result of immigration are silenced.”

The panelists will share personal encounters with people shaped by these issues and discuss how the journey transformed their own lives.

The talk is part of Westmont Downtown: Conversations about Things that Matter, which is sponsored by the Westmont Foundation. The foundation and local businesses sponsor the President’s Breakfast, which features General Stan McChrystal, a bestselling author, popular college teacher and one of the most revered military officers of his generation on Friday, March 3, from 7-9 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Fess Parker: A Doubletree Resort by Hilton. Tickets cost $125 per person and go on sale Friday, Feb. 3, at 9 a.m. on the Westmont website. Seating is limited, and tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.