By Jaida Dent
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the Immigrant Student Success Office (ISSO) hosted the “Frames of Remembrance” event to celebrate Día De Los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”). Provided with frames and paint, the event allowed students to decorate frames and bring in pictures of loved ones who they have lost to honor them.
“With this event, it was to honor the Day of the Dead. Día de los Muertos, which is a celebration to honor our past loved ones. People were able to bring pictures, either pictures or color, another picture of something that symbolizes a loved one,” said Diana Reyes, the Program and Community Building Fellow for ISSO.
Día De Los Muertos is a two-day holiday that occurs at the beginning of November. The holiday serves as an occasion to honor loved ones who have passed. During the holiday, the families will create “ofrendas” (“offerings”)–altars that have flowers, candles, food, drinks, and pictures of the deceased. The ofrenda is a way to welcome the spirits back to honor and celebrate their lives.
The event allowed students to process their grief for their loved ones while also being able to create frames that can honor them. For Maria De La Cruz, an administrative assistant at ISSO, this event allowed her to honor her aunt and use the creative skills she learned from her to do so.
“I think it was a perfect experience in terms of grieving. I lost her three years ago, and I got all of my art skills from her. Being able to incorporate that and paint her favorite flowers on her frame, made me feel a lot better. I do art because she taught me how to paint and draw,” De La Cruz told The Vanguard.
While grieving can be hard for many, the event promoted a healthy way to confront those feelings and allowed students to open up about their lost loved ones. Conversations were held about the people they were creating frames for.
“With any event like this, you expect people to be a little closed off about it. But you see that a lot of people really brought photos. People had conversations regarding who may be the person that they’re celebrating today,” said Sergio Leon Hidalgo, the Research and Data Reporting Fellow for ISSO.
Through the shared feelings of loss, the event was able to foster community between everyone who came, which is something ISSO strives to do. ISSO’s role is to provide undocumented and first-generation students with services like personal counseling, academic advisement, and legal services, according to its mission statement. In addition to these resources, the office aims to make sure that students have a space on campus they feel safe and supported.
“A lot of what we see in the numbers is that students always come in for academic advisement. But most importantly, we’ve realized that students really come for lounging and what that looks like is community building,” said Hidalgo.
The Frames of Remembrance event is just one way ISSO aims to build community. The event was much more than just celebrating a holiday: it was a chance to bring together students from a range of backgrounds to pay their respects artistically.
“It was important for us to continue building and fostering those safe spaces for people to come discuss, meet people, and collaborate,” said Reyes. ”I think it also goes to show how diverse our community of students can be and are throughout the semester.”
Outside of their events, ISSO will continue to serve the students of BC by providing support no matter their background.
“I just want to ensure that students know that the Immigrant Student Success Office is here regardless of your immigration status, regardless of what major you’re taking, or what year you are,” said Hidalgo. “We’re here as an office to support students, all of these students.”
For those interested in learning more about ISSO, visit their Instagram @issobc or visit their website https://www.brooklyn.edu/dosa/student-support-services/isso/.