Harper cancels Cinco de Mayo event amid flu worries

Harper College has canceled its Cinco de Mayo celebration in the wake of the swine flu outbreak.

About 250 students and chaperones from Lake Louise School in Palatine and Lakewood Elementary School in Carpentersville were scheduled to be on campus for the Tuesday afternoon event.

"We looked at the potential risk given it was such a large group of young children," Harper spokeswoman Erin Brooks said, adding the decision was made last week.

The Cinco de Mayo event was set to feature a mariachi band and Latin dance performances by students from the Palatine community college's Latinos Unidos organization. The holiday, which celebrates Mexican heritage, was also going to be discussed.

The two elementary schools had planned a field trip to Harper as part of No Excuses University, a nationwide initiative aimed at getting school kids excited about college. Once Harper chose to cancel the field trip, the Cinco de Mayo activities were called off, as well.