Photo: Jessenia Martinez
“Your community needs you,” said the stranger I’d just met at a party my freshman year. As a kid that had come to college from a part of the country where almost everyone was Latino, I was initially apprehensive about joining a culturally based organization.
A part of me knew she was right, but another part of me wanted to branch out and experience different cultures. I decided to give a couple organizations a chance, and it didn’t take long to realize exactly what she was talking about.
Latino Student Organizations provide a place for college students to build social networks, develop leadership skills, promote the Latino culture, and a family away from the familia that Latinos so greatly cherish.
Organizations range from political, professional, social, and Greek. There are many organizations that only exist at their respective campuses, but there are also national organizations like Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting that have chapters across the country.
In addition, Latino student organizations host regional/national student conferences that bring students from different campuses together to, as Joaquin Valdez, Co-Chair of the Latino Leadership Summit at the University of Texas, said “motivate, educate, and empower students on various issues affecting the community.”
Stephanie Landaverde, President of the Hispanic Student Organization at the University of Georgia, sees her organization as a liaison between the university and the Latino community on campus. “The university wants to know if [Latino] students’ needs are being met and how they can get the most out of their experience.”
Although Latino enrollment in two- and four-year colleges has spiked in the last few years, Latinos still lag far behind the national average of adults with college degrees. Additionally, less than half of Latino students that enter college leave with a degree. The problem isn’t always getting into school, it’s leaving it with a degree.
This is where the most important, and often overlooked, role of Latino student organizations comes into play: their role in student recruitment and retention. Research shows that Latino students involved in student organizations are more likely to stay in school.
Given the role of Latino students in maintaining and fostering diversity, it is important that university administration help support the growth and development of these student organizations through funding, recruitment and retention of Latino faculty, and academic programs, something that may not always the case. There isn’t a university in this country that does not desire to attract and retain a racially diverse student population. But, for all their efforts (or, maybe, lack thereof), it is the students involved in culturally based organizations that do much of the “grunt work” that makes (and keeps) their respective universities diverse.
As I look back, I wonder if I would have graduated without that support system from the Latino student organizations. While these student organizations may have needed me, I think I was the one that really needed them.
About Cristopher Rubio
This is a wonderful article. The Latino Student Union (La Union de Estudiantes Latino) at my college, Bowling Green State University, helped me immensely in college. It was a place where I felt safe and a place where I knew I belonged. I was fortunate enough to be elected secretary my sophomore year, and vice president my junior and senior years. The leadership skills I learned from LSU are the reason I am successful today!
@mlvlatina
I completely support this! I founded the Hispanic/Latino Association at the University of the Incarnate Word in 2003. At the time there was such a large Hispanic student population, but there was not an organization that reflected who they were or served to their needs.
we totally support this!
The society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (shpe.org)
has been supporting Latinos for the past 35 years, thru student and professional chapters provides scholarships, internships, academic and professional advice at major universities and local colleges nation wide.
The moral of the story is we all need each other. However, let’s not gather to complain and commiserate. Instead, let’s gather to develop new ideas, implement change, and move forward one and together. Exciting things can be accomplished by one individual, and miracles can occur if we share the journey together. What is it that you want to achieve? Let me know here: _______________________________
MEChA doesn’t speak for me or others Latinos. During my college days I never met a bunch of thuggish malcontents as these.
An important topic when it comes to the overall success of Latinos in higher education. Latinos seek out community whether it be in college or in the workplace. It’s this support system that helps Latinos overcome barriers often not faced by other groups. An important aspect of this article is that Latinos lift as we climb. To provide support to other Latinos either through the college or professional resource groups identified in this great article. Thanks for sharing it!
I realized that I incorrectly wrote ‘Hispanic Student Organization’ in regards to the organization at the University of Georgia. It should read ‘Hispanic Student Association.’ My apologies to the great students at HSA! Also thank you everyone for your comments.
As for MEChA, I cannot speak for them since I am not a member, but in my interactions with several MEChistas, I can say that they are willing to do and say things that many in our community are not, typically for those that do not have a voice. While I would not expect every person to identify with their political stances and/or methods, I personally respect their efforts.
Hey, that’s me in the picture! Well, first of all, I want to say that I am a huge family person so going to a school that is three and a half hours away from home was so hard for me. But finding an organization that was primarily Latino was so helpful. I was able to find a place where I fit in and I practically found a second family.