SLCL Students and Faculty Advocate for Humanities in D.C.
Clara Bosak-Schroeder, and Lázaro García Angulo
By Dania De La Hoya Rojas - Originally published April 30, 2025
The humanities play a critical role in helping us better understand the world—and each other.
That was one of the key messages four SLCL students and faculty members shared with members of Congress as part of Humanities Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. this spring.
On Humanities Advocacy Day, state-based delegations meet with members of Congress and their staff to make the case for federal funding for the humanities. Participants advocate for funding for several key agencies, including Title VI, Fulbright Hays, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“The work we do in the humanities is not only useful and important: it is absolutely essential,” said Lázaro García Angulo, a graduate student from the Department of Spanish & Portuguese (and current HRI fellow) who served as part of the University of Illinois delegation to D.C.
The trip was organized by the Humanities Research Institute, which funds humanities research at Illinois—through fellowships, internships, and programmatic support—and provides a forum for “tackling big questions and imagining bold, human-centered approaches to working for change.”
Along with García Angulo, the delegation included Mariselle Meléndez, director of SLCL; Clara Bosak-Schroeder, a professor in the Department of Classics (and past HRI fellow); and Hafsa Faruqi, an undergraduate student majoring in Spanish and psychology (and past Prindable Intern at HRI). Read the full story