In an effort to promote Hispanic culture and contributions, members of the Hispanic student council say they will present a syndicated journalist as the keynote speaker for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Harriet Wilso Barlow said Roger E. Hernandez, who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba and is now a successful journalist, was chosen to speak Thursday night about current topics and his life experiences.

Barlow said she hopes everyone, not just Hispanics, will learn something from the lecture.

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I hope they learn something they didn’t know before, she said. Hernandez was born in 1955 in Havana, Cuba. His family left Cuba in 1964 and settled in West New York, N. J.

He graduated from Rutgers University in 1977 with a bachelor of arts in Journalism. After graduation, he became involved in broadcast television and has self-produced a documentary concerning political power of Hispanics in New Jersey.

Hernandez has recently concentrated on print journalism. His weekly columns appear in newspapers such as the Washington Post and Miami Herald. Magazines that have published his articles include Reader’s Digest and the Washington Journalism Review.

Louis Muralles, president of the Hispanic Student Council, said Hernandez was chosen to speak because he immigrated to America from another country and can give insight about the U.S. from a nontraditional perspective.

Hernandez was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States, he said. People who have immigrated here see things different than others who have always lived here.

Hernandez is a well-established individual, and set himself up in a politically chaotic country. His story can help lead by example.

Barlow said she hopes Hernandez will get the audience to think about issues such as Proposition 187, a California referendum that could affect Hispanics and other minorites.

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According to the proposition, illegal aliens in California may no longer attend public schools. Wendy Korny, executive secretary of the chief clerk of the California State legislature, said Proposition 187 was passed by a referendum, but the California Supreme Court may veto it.

Hernandez will speak at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the University Museum in Faner Hall. The last event for this month’s festivities will be the presentation of the movie My Family on Thursday, Oct. 17.