Wolofbamanaigbo Ovimbundumakua, a graduate student at Oregon State University, right, is one of few non-Hispanic students who belong to MEChA club. Here he participates in a regional MEChA conference. (Photo by Motoya Nakamura)
Posted on 02/29/2008 8:51:07 AM PST by Incorrigible
By CASEY PARKS
Wolofbamanaigbo Ovimbundumakua, a graduate student at Oregon State University, right, is one of few non-Hispanic students who belong to MEChA club. Here he participates in a regional MEChA conference. (Photo by Motoya Nakamura) |
|
PORTLAND, Ore. — For much of the past 40 years, the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan — or, Movement of Chicano Students of Aztlan — has been criticized as racist and radical. Members sparked riots. Key philosophies, such as "For the race, everything; for those outside the race, nothing," even rejected non-Mexicans.
But in 1999, the group declared Chicano a philosophy, not a nationality. All people are potential Chicanos or Chicanas, the national group decided at a conference in Phoenix, Ariz.
Since then, many MEChA clubs have remained largely Mexican-American — but now, high schools and colleges in places like Portland are not only embracing non-Latino students, they're recruiting them.
Members admit the process is slow, but they're co-hosting conferences with other races and inviting non-Latinos to weekend events such as hip-hop concerts.
Students say diversifying the club will ease racial tensions and teach others about Mexican history.
Victor Castellon catches people in the halls. On MySpace. Or after school, at other meetings. "You coming to MEChA?" he asks.
A few years ago, the previous Sam Barlow High School MEChA president asked only Latinos to come to the club gatherings. But Castellon? He asks everyone. When he became president last year, one of his main goals was to diversify the club, to bring in African-Americans and Asians and whites.
"I want to bridge the gap," Castellon says. "There's a lot of problems going on between the white community, the black community and the Latinos."
And those radical methods? They've changed, too. Local clubs now focus on community service and getting members into college.
But combating the past is hard, says Portland State University MEChA co-coordinator Monica Morillas. Critics still point to radical activities, such as a May 1993 riot at UCLA, that members started. They caused heavy financial damage to the Faculty Center after the university administration rejected the creation of a Chicano Studies program.
But the changes have come nonetheless, Morillas says. Portland State's MEChA membership includes Hawaiians, Peruvians, Asians and Caucasians.
Routinely, leaders hold a retreat for new members and explain where the club has been and where it's going. Without that face time, other students and the community often don't understand MEChA, Morillas says. Instead, they call members thugs or terrorists.
"This happens a lot," she says. "Just check Google."
Castellon wants people to know, to trust that he is a good person, that other Mexicans are good people. Turning MEChA into something positive and diverse is a first step.
Two years ago, when he moved to Troutdale, Ore., from a Los Angeles suburb, Castellon felt out of place. He was angry. His shaved head makes him look so tough, he says, that people expected him to be a gangster, not an honors student. His grades — formerly straight A's — started dropping.
But MEChA gave him a purpose. At meetings, he talks through those frustrations. He spends his free time doing community service — collecting food for the homeless, mentoring younger students — with the group.
His grades rebounded. His self-esteem grew. Suddenly, he had time to think about the bigger problems at the school. At Sam Barlow, everyone experiences racism, Castellon says. The Latino senior even admits to having been racist himself. MEChA helped him ease his tensions — maybe it could help students of other races, too, he thought.
The club's change process is slow. At a regional retreat at Portland State this month, only a few non-Latino faces appeared. Organizers asked non-Latino students to come, they said, but only a few responded.
One of those was Wolofbamanaigbo Ovimbundumakua, an African-American student at Oregon State University. Ovimbundumakua grew up in Alabama and noticed Latinos and African-Americans often live in the same conditions, face the same problems, he says.
MEChA's push to diversify is spilling into other aspects of his campus, he says. In May, the Latino club will co-host an event with the African Student Association to bring the two groups together, he says.
Castellon hopes similar intertwining will permeate Sam Barlow soon. This year, he says, an Asian student said to him, "I wish we had a club like that."
His response?
"MEChA can be yours, too."
(Casey Parks is a staff writer for The Oregonian of Portland, Ore., and can be contacted at caseyparks(at)news.oregonian.com)
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
A warm fuzzy from MECha for you.
Wolofbamanaigbo!
Where do they find the idiot writers? No mention of the agenda here, or even the realization that there IS an agenda. This sounds like it was written by a 15-year-old with a cognitive disability. And the newspapers wonder why they are sinking into the buggy-whip manufacturer category. Next week: armed bandits are people with feelings, too. No, no, nevermind, that would be the Washington Post.
Well...at least they didn’t use his middle name.
"A synopsis of El Plan stipulates: 1) We are Chicanos and Chicanas of Aztlán reclaiming the land of our birth (Chicano and Chicana Nation);
2) Aztlán belongs to indigenous people, who are sovereign and not subject to a foreign culture...
4) Chicano and Chicana nationalism, as the key in mobilization and organization, is the common denominator to bring consensus to the Chicano and Chicana Movement;
5) Cultural values strengthen our identity as La Familia de La Raza; ... There you have it, sedition, rejection of the American Constitution and U.S. sovereignty. I don't see anything about including African immigrants with preposterous names in this, either.
Calling for growth of the Sturmabteilung.
We have a few followers of the MECha mindset right here on FR.
Opportunities abound!
Amigo, then hah-come you speakin' Spanish? (Take many courses in conversational Toltec?)
This ain't a university. It's a daycare center.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.