The Chronicle Grows Its Spanish Language Section With the Guidance of New Bilingual Faculty Advisor

The Columbia Chronicle Faculty Advisor with Students in a MeetingPhoto via The Chronicle c/o Lizeth Medina. Bilingual faculty advisor Fernando Diaz meets with students from The Chronicle
Columbia's bilingual students at The Chronicle gain invaluable guidance working with a newly appointed bilingual faculty advisor.

Recently, the Hispanic Association of College and Universities identified Columbia as a Hispanic Serving Intuition (HSI) for the first time. This designation is based on the fact that 25.8% of students identified as Hispanic in the Fall 2022 National Center for Education Statistics data. To support this growing cohort of students, Columbia commits to leveraging this distinction to elevate its student success and equity and inclusion goals.  

There are a number of student-led initiatives in the works to better serve Latino and Latinx families at Columbia. Starting with the school’s student-run newspaper, “The Columbia Chronicle,” which launched “La Crónica” in the Spring of 2023 as a Spanish-language extension to the newspaper. In its first year, “La Crónica” continues to grow under the guidance of a newly appointed faculty advisor and journalism alum. Fernando Diaz ’04 is the bilingual co-advisor for “The Chronicle” and has an extensive background in Spanish media, including his role as former editor at "The Chicago Tribune’s" now defunct Spanish daily newspaper, “Hoy.” 

Diaz describes “La Crónica” as a space for Columbia students to explore and practice their Spanish language journalism. This semester students have primarily translated English language stories for “The Chronicle” as well as produced original work in Spanish, including a photo essay and two stories for “La Crónica.” 

Doreen Abril Albuerne-Rodriguez is a journalism senior who works as a bilingual news copy editor for “The Chronicle.” She produces the Spanish news digest, “Cafecito Con La Crónica” as a weekly recap for Spanish-speaking parents and families of Columbia students.  

Growing up in a primarily Spanish-speaking household, Albuerene-Rodriguez learned to speak Spanish in an informal setting at home with her parents. Albuerene-Rodriguez says her Spanish literacy has gotten stronger since joining the newspaper staff as a copy editor. 

“That was one of the hurdles I had to overcome when I joined ‘The Chronicle,’” says Albuerne-Rodriguez. “It was a bit difficult in the beginning but now I’m getting stronger with my formality and my writing thanks to Fernando.”  

Prior to Diaz joining as a faculty advisor, “The Chronicle” didn’t have a bilingual advisor on staff. Students, including Albuerene-Rodriguez, have found his guidance invaluable. Diaz primarily works with them to help summarize English-language stories and produce original work for “La Crónica.” 

“I’m just very fortunate to be here after it was already created,” says Diaz. “The students who launched ‘La Crónica’ really did the important work of laying the foundation, creating support and awareness for it, and now the students and myself are inheriting the infrastructure.” 

“La Crónica’s” audience is geared towards parents but also first-generation students. This is an important part of Columbia’s dedication to serving its Hispanic student population and keeping Hispanic media alive throughout the city and Chicagoland area. The work that Diaz and other faculty, staff, and administrators are doing to create a space for Spanish-speaking Columbia students to explore and practice their Spanish language is ongoing.  

Diaz recently led a special project this semester with a group of students from “The Chronicle” as an opportunity for students to get real-world translation experience. Several students, including Albuerene-Rodriguez, spent three weeks translating the Injustice Watch “Check Your Judges” judicial guide into Spanish ahead of the upcoming retention elections in Cook County.  

“Injustice Watch is meticulous about their journalism because the margin for error on a project like this is zero,” explains Diaz. 

This undertaking was a great opportunity for students to gain experience working on an impactful project tied to educating Hispanic voters ahead of the election. Connecting Columbia students to real-world opportunities is part of Diaz’s passion, opening doors for students who want to get experience in their future careers. 

“It becomes a very practical way for students to develop these bilingual reporting and writing skills that are not unique to Columbia but is a very rare and valuable opportunity,” says Diaz. 

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