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CORVALLIS - To serve the region's growing Hispanic population, Oregon State University will be offering its first-ever bilingual campus orientation program this summer for Spanish-speaking families.

"START bilingue," set for July 10-11, will be offered to first-year OSU students and their parents, said Kris Winter, interim director of the university's Student Orientation and Retention program.

The summer advising, registration and orientation program is designed to welcome families to the university and provide tools to assure students get a successful start in college life.

"This is a special offering paired with a general orientation session," Winter said. "We will be holding an orientation program on campus for first-year students, and START bilingue is an extension of that program to meet the needs of some of our student population.

"Obviously, our students speak English, but START bilingue will present a number of relevant parent sessions in Spanish, as well as provide translation for keynote speakers," Winter said.

Bilingual guided tours of campus will be offered and staff and faculty members will present information about their departments in Spanish.

"We want to make sure we are taking care of families as well as students," Winter said.

The concept has merit, said Melinda Veliz, Woodburn High School Community Schools Outreach Coordinator.

"I think the Spanish session for the summer Start Program is an excellent idea," Veliz said.

"In Woodburn, we have so many students that speak English, but their parents do not. Many times the student serves as an interpreter for their parents. In the Woodburn School District we make it a point to have all of our information in three languages, English, Spanish and Russian. It is a must to include the parents in their student's educational plans."

The move shows that the university is being culturally sensitive to the Latino population, Veliz added.

"For many Latino families it is hard to let their children move away from home to attend a university. I believe that one of the main reasons for the hesitation is because they are left out of the loop and do not understand the process. With the Summer Start Program being in Spanish, this will alleviate some of their concerns and parents will understand the process."