Published: April 25, 2001

More than 300 Chicano, Latino and black high school students from the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Valley School District will gather at the University of Colorado at ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ for the fourth annual Latino Youth Conference on Wednesday, May 2.

The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the University Memorial Center. Participating schools include Arapahoe Ridge, ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ High, Broomfield High, Centaurus High, Fairview High, Monarch High, Nederland High and New Vista High.

Keynote speakers Ramon del Castillo and Warren Brown will highlight the life experiences of Chicano and Latino youth through the use of music, history, poetry, drama and interactive exercises. Because their appeal crosses ethnic and racial lines, a special invitation was extended to black students in the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Valley School District this year.

The theme of this year's event is "Juntos Con Orgullo" which means "Together With Pride."

The conference is intended to be a meeting ground for Chicano and Latino youth from the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Valley School District. The event was initiated by several students from Centaurus High School who sought the opportunity to form friendships, develop leadership ability and encourage the pursuit of higher education.

The conference is sponsored by the participating schools, CU-ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, StorageTek, the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ County Commissioners, Sun Microsystems and Seagate.