A total of more than 70 students, staff and community members attended a round table discussion on immigration at Georgia Highlands College’s Floyd campus. The event was held April 2 in the auditorium of the Lakeview Building.

Co-sponsored by the Six Mile Post and the Floyd campus Political Science Club, the event was intended to facilitate discussion on the issues of immigration and immigration legislation.

Refreshments for the event were provided by the Floyd campus Political Science club.

The discussion featured a panel of four community figures, all of whom had some special insight on the subject of immigration. The panel members were Jim Linos, chair of the world languages committee at Darlington Schools; Mark Greger, assistant professor of Spanish at GHC; Wendy Davis, member of the Democratic National Committee; and Scott Akemon, assistant professor of history and political science at GHC.

“I believe the discussion that took place was a good step forward not only on this issue, but also towards a better understanding of who we have been and ought to be as Americans,” Linos said.

Akemon’s Domestic Issues class studied the issue of immigration in February and, out of the opinionated discussions in the classroom, grew the idea for this event.

Greger said, “Understanding immigration is essential to understanding the Latino experience. The immigration round table was a unique experience to discuss an issue that does not get much exposure in northwest Georgia.”

“I thought that we had a very lively and well-rounded discussion of some of the issues surrounding this important topic. I am hoping that we can have more discussions like this in the future.”

Recently, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has been working toward a solution for the problem of immigration in America. There is currently no timetable for future legislation on the issue.