Adjusting to a foreign place without knowing the spoken language can be difficult for immigrants.

But Jorge Chapa, director of the Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society, said he and the ten professors who came to a panel sponsored by the center on April 25 are working to address these kinds of issues.

Chapa also mentioned health care as a major issue for immigrants.

“It’s a question of access. Health care is expensive,” Chapa said. “Plus, these immigrants are afraid to talk to doctors they don’t know.”

Mary Vancleave, employee at the Mills Breast Cancer Institute, said Latina women have a 2.7 percent higher chance of having breast cancer than women of other races. Vancleave also said Latina women are more likely to get stage four breast cancer and are two times more likely to have an aggressive tumor than white women. This may be because over 2,000 Hispanic women do not have acess to health care in the United States, she said.

Lydia Buki, associate professor in Latina/Latino studies, said Latina women are also prone to breast cancer and the isolation they feel tends to hinder them from receiving health care.

Buki added that Latina immigrant women in particular feel isolated because many of them do not know anyone beside their families.

Carla Paciotto, associate professor in the department of educational and interdisciplinary studies at Western Illinois University, said the reason these immigrants feel isolated is because of the language gap.

At the conference, she brought up the idea that immigrants should enroll their children in dual language programs, which are made up of 50 percent English speakers and 50 percent Spanish speakers. She said the only dual language elementary school in the United States is in Beardstown, Ill. a town northwest of Springfield, and that many Hispanics move there so their children can attend.

Julia Bello Bravo, extension specialist for the University’s Office of Extension and Outreach, said if more elementary schools had dual language programs, it could lead to less Latinos dropping out of high school and more applying to colleges.

“Many enroll, but too few graduate high schools,” Bravo said. “Forty percent of Latino children live in poverty.”

Bravo added that the reason more Latinos do not apply for college is that they are not informed enough about it or can’t afford it.

Chapa said the center has hosted many panels about issues relating to race and diversity in the past. With this panel, he said he simply wanted people on campus who have an interest in this area to come, learn, and get to talk about Latino issues.

“Latinos work harder than most Americans,” Chapa said. “We are committed to helping them get access to knowledge and services on campus and learn to integrate into society.”