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Latin American Heritage Month, celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15, is a time to celebrate the vibrant cultures, histories, and contributions of Latin American communities. The Pura Belpré Award for children’s and young adult literature aligns well with these goals. The award, established in 1996, honors authors and illustrators who portray and celebrate the richness the Latin American culture. 

The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Puerto Rican librarian in the New York City public library system. She was known for her dedication to storytelling, cultural preservation, and advocating for bilingual literature in libraries. She was also an author as well as a collector and translator of folk tales, including her first story, Pérez and Martina, a tragic love story between a cockroach and a mouse. Both her library and literary work laid the foundation for a growing appreciation of the importance of cultural representation in books for young readers. 

At its heart, Latin American Heritage Month is a celebration of unity in diversity. This is true also of the Belpré award. By uplifting works that reflect the multifaceted experiences of members of Latin American communities, the award ensures that children see themselves, their culture, and their heritage represented in the books they read, while also building empathy and understanding among readers of all backgrounds. For a sampling of Belpré award winners and honors, please check out the book display on the Library’s first floor.

Banned Books Week began in 1982 in response to a surge in the number of book challenges – that is, attempts by a person or group to remove or restrict certain titles from a curriculum or library collection. For over forty years, this week has served as an annual celebration of the freedom to read. The week also helps raise awareness about banned and challenged books and supports those who have faced adversity for writing, sharing, or reading these works. 

Perhaps the simplest way to commemorate Banned Books Week is to read a challenged or banned book. The American Library Association (ALA) has lists of the top 100 most challenged books per decade and a sampling of these are on display on the Library’s fourth floor. This year also offers the unique opportunity of attending the dedication of Dubuque’s new banned books mural, The Forbidden Bookshelf. This event has been planned by one of Loras’ Honors Program groups. 

What began as a general interest in the impact of public art and then more specifically in the murals in Dubuque, eventually led the honors group to reach out Sam Mulgrew, president of Humanities Iowa and one of the five directors of Voices Productions. Since 2016, Voices Productions has helped create almost 50 murals in and around Dubuque. Mulgrew expressed interest in working with the honors group on a banned book mural and they jumped at the chance. The group agreed on the importance of highlighting this issue, especially given the great increase in book challenges around the country in the last few years. 

The honors group has worked to help secure other community partners, specifically the Multicultural Family Center, River Lights Bookstore, Carnegie-Stout Public Library, and Dubuque Jaycees – the Jaycees building at 890 Iowa St. will be the location of the mural. The group has also helped plan the dedication of the mural on Wednesday, September 25 from 6-8pm which will include a presentation at 7pm by Steven Drahozal, an Iowa State Public Defender and first amendment advocate, called Banned Books: Lessons from Law and Literature. Following the mural dedication the honors group will turn its attention to hosting banned book book clubs throughout Dubuque. Look for information on the first one to be held at the end of October at River Lights Bookstore. 

The importance of this mural project has been recognized by the National Academy of Design which has awarded Voices Studios, The Abby Mural Prize, for its role to serve as a catalyst for cultural conversations that propel society forward. This seems particularly fitting given that this project supports literary artists doing the same thing. As Judith Krug, inaugural director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, stated, “People don’t challenge materials that don’t say something to the reader. If you look over the materials that have been challenged and banned over the years, they are the materials that speak to the condition of the human being, that try to illuminate the issues and concerns that affect human beings. They’re books that say something, and they’re books that have meaning to the reader. Innocuous materials are never challenged.”

The National Constitution Center’s annual Constitution Day celebration is the biggest Constitution Day celebration in the country—and a great way to kick off the academic year! On September 17, 1787, the framers signed the most influential document in American history, the U.S. Constitution. Every year, the National Constitution Center commemorates that historic occasion.

The Loras College Library is celebrating by giving away free pocket constitutions. Stop by the library service desk to pick up your copy!

Beginning with the words “We the People,” the U.S. Constitution is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.

Want to learn more?

In the National Constitution Center's Interactive Constitution, learn about the text, history, and meaning of the U.S. Constitution from leading scholars of diverse legal and philosophical perspectives.

Each year, around the world, the International Day of Peace is observed on September 21 in order to strengthen the ideals of peace. In conjunction with this day, Loras’ Peace and Justice Week highlights the work of campus groups working for peace and justice. This year the week focuses on environmental justice, particularly ethical consumerism. We welcome guest blogger, Kate Cain, Peace and Justice Student Intern, to share more about this theme. 

The International Day of Peace is dedicated to building relationships across divides, ceasefires, and finding solutions to the problems that impact individuals as well as global institutions. Loras College’s Fr. Ray Herman Peace and Justice Center commemorates the International Day of Peace by hosting a full week of events called Peace and Justice Week. During this yearly tradition the Loras community comes together to engage in dialogue and activities centered around the issues we face as a society today.

This year’s theme is environmental justice, which is the active effort to end climate change, pollution, poverty as a result of environmental damage, and more through activism and making “green” lifestyle choices. This issue is immensely important as our daily lives are increasingly changed as a result of harm to the environment, such as hotter heat waves and colder cold stretches, more frequent severe weather events, higher utility bills, and so much more. The environment in which we find ourselves today is very different from that of the generations preceding us. Therefore, it is important that we, as college students, learn and participate in environmental justice to heal our shared home, the Earth.

We all have a part to play in furthering the efforts of environmental justice, and events of Peace and Justice Week provide many opportunities! Learn how fair-trade coffee helps preserve water and reduce waste as you enjoy a cup in Spiritual Life. Listen to Grace Adams from the Catholic Purchasing Alliance discuss ethical purchasing and talk with leaders from Jerusalem Farm about urban farming and the importance of sustainability in community service. Attend the International Day of Peace keynote panel to engage in dialogue about environmental activism, ethical purchasing, and more. Advocate for refugees, whose lives are particularly impacted by environmental issues, by participating in the solidarity walk for refugees. Finally go to Wild Church, an inclusive spiritual outdoor gathering led by Eric Anglada of St. Isidore Catholic Worker Farm, to experience nature and spirituality in a new way. Checkout the details for these events here. Your voice, ideas, and presence can enact real change in the world, so begin your peacemaker journey with Peace and Justice Week!

To learn more about ethical consumerism, please visit the book display on the main floor of the Library. 

September is National Suicide Prevention Month and September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. To raise awareness on this important topic, we welcome guest blogger, Italee Castellon from the Loras College Counseling Services. 

As we enter September, it’s important to recognize issues facing our community – our Loras community but also our global community. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), suicide is a major public health crisis, with more than 700,000 deaths each year across the world. In the United States, more than 49,000 people died by suicide in 2022 which is equivalent to one death every 11 minutes. Suicide is a leading cause of death for all ages, but for people between the ages of 18-25, it is the second leading cause. Yet the people who have died by suicide represent only a fraction of those who consider or attempt suicide. In the United States in 2022, 13.2 million adults had serious thoughts of suicide, 3.8 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.6 million attempted suicide (CDC). Looking at specifically college students, the 2023 Healthy Minds Study found that 14% of students admitted to having suicidal ideation in the past year. 

What can be done? Understanding the issues around suicide and mental health, helping others in crisis, and changing the conversation are important steps in preventing suicide. This is why the WHO has declared the theme for World Suicide Prevention Day to be “Changing the Narrative on Suicide” and asking the public to “start the conversation.” This is a call to action that encourages everyone to challenge the stigma and culture of silence around suicide and instead foster a culture that pushes for openness, understanding, and support for those affected. WHO states, “Every conversation, no matter how small, contributes to a supportive and understanding society.” This is also a call to action at the macro-level, emphasizing the need for policies that prioritize suicide prevention and mental health.

As part of the Loras community, it’s important to keep an eye on each other, check in with each other, and make time for each other. Be aware of your support on campus and off campus. Hold space for love and openness when someone discloses hard feelings and stay with them until appropriate support arrives. Take advantage of the resources available to you in the Loras Counseling Center, as well as your trusted RAs, faculty, and staff. You might also contact the Dubuque chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or call 988, the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. No one should have to slip through the cracks and feel alone and if you yourself are feeling alone, please contact someone.

If you’d like to show support for suicide prevention, NAMI will hold a Sunset Community Walk on Sunday, September 8 at 6pm at the University of Dubuque Track & Field. For more information on suicide prevention, please check out the book display on the Library’s third floor.