Rudy Fuentes

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Template:TOCnestleft Rudy Fuentes

Ethnic studies

In October 1986 ASSU representatives of the Peoples Platform, a coalition of minority and progressive student organizations at Stanford, launched a campaign to expand undergraduate ethnic studies and to establish a community service board within the ASSU. According to ASSU senator Ben Garcia, who is setting up a task force on ethnic studies, the University is offering only two courses on Chicano studies this quarter and nothing in Asian American and Native American studies. Stanford claims to educate its students for their future roles of leadership, Garcia said. However, the University's method of education is "antithetical to its ideals— It does not teach people how to be leaders in our diverse, multicultural society." A Chicano studies department, for example, could offer courses analyzing the labor struggles of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers union, Garcia said.

Carolyn Lougee, dean of Undergraduate Studies, agrees that the programs in ethnic studies need to expand. "I don't think we do nearly as good a job as we can in multi-cultural education. That is what the Western Culture issue is about," she said. Lougee urged, however, that critics of Stanford's course offerings not overlook the current accomplishments of the ethnic studies program. While Stanford may not have many courses in ethnic studies, the classes it does offer are of high quality, Lougee said.

Currently, it would also be hard for the University to establish an Native American studies program since it does not have any professors in the field on its faculty. "We really feel the need for an ethnic studies program," said Debbie Phillips, former council co-chair of the Stanford American Indian Organization. American Indians study in an educational system that essentially ignores their historical contributions, and a program focussing on minorities would bring attention to these cultures, she said.

Another project, a community service board, is essential to the minority community and to other service organizations, according to ASSU senator Felix Cuevas. The constitution of the Peoples Platform states that community service "is particularly important for students who come from ethnic backgrounds, for these disadvantaged communities are not-so-far removed from our reality." Rudy Fuentes, a member of the ASSU Council of Presidents, said the Program Board does not satisfy the funding needs of the University's extracurricular programs. While the Program Board funds the cultural, social and political programs that benefit the Stanford community, it does not cover the full financial demands of community service organizations, he said.

The community service board, however, would focus solely upon community service-oriented projects in which the people directly benefitting from the programs are not necessarily Stanford students, Fuentes added. According to Megan Sweezey, staff coordinator for the Stanford Volunteer Network (SVN), there has been in the past a myth circulating through the ASSU that student groups located in Owen House get funding from the President's Office.[1]

MEChA discontent

A group of Latino students announced December 3 1987 that they intend to form a new student organization that will speak "more accurately" for Stanford's Latino community than MEChA. At a MEChA forum called to discuss MEChA's role on campus, the dissenting movement's leader, senior Rudy Fuentes, spoke in favor of the creation of a broader Latino organization to gain "an open vehicle for people to voice their opinions." Fuentes, a former MEChA leader, said that the problem with MEChA is that although "it has never been voted on, it, by de facto, represents the Chicano community, which is a problem in itself." MEChA supporter Sandra Viera disagreed, saying that MEChA has "had community forums to get input. . . . We do want more input from people. We are open to different stances. Tell us what they are; we'll work on them." Over 40 concerned students, about evenly divided between MEChA supporters and the dissenting group's supporters, packed Casa Zapata's lounge for what Resident Fellow Cecilia Burciaga called "the most attended (Latino) community meeting (in Casa Zapata) in seven or eight years."

According to Fuentes, MEChA planned last night's forum only three days ago in order to pre-empt a meeting of the dissenters' planned for Saturday, which was scheduled to discuss the possibility of forming an alternate group. Fuentes 1 fellow dissenters argued that a new organization is necessary because MEChA has been unwilling to respond to internal dissent. Sophomore Valentin Aguirre criticized MEChA for not respecting all points of view in Stanford's Latino community. He asked, "Will you listen to what I say? You'll let me say whatever I want, but that doesn't mean that you'll act on it."

Longtime MEChA member Lucky Gutierrez, a senior, agreed that some changes in the organization may be necessary, but he argued that changes should be made within the existing MEChA structure. "MEChA has a lot of resources and can do a lot of things," Gutierrez said. "Strengthen MEChA and make it broader." Another controversial topic discussed at the forum was the issue of official University representation. Beckie Flores, siding with Fuentes, argued that it isn't possible to unite the Latino community under the present MEChA structure. She said, "It's not fair to MEChA and those who don't agree with MEChA for MEChA to be the only voice. MEChA should not be forced to compromise. I don't want MEChA to be my voice."

Junior Julie Martinez, a member of MEChA and the El Centro Chicano staff, contended that MEChA is often mistakenly seen as the only voice for Stanford's Latino community. "Organizations like The Daily call and ask MEChA for comment and refer to us as 'MEChA, Stanford's Chicano organization.' We are not the Chicano organization. MEChA speaks for MEChA, not for the whole Chicano community." Fuentes said his main complaint is that MEChA has no formal leaders, which results in a lack of accountability to the community it is seen to represent. "Who can we point to as being responsible?" Fuentes said. "No one is there. We never know who does what." MEChA elects no leaders and has no executive committee. MEChA member Gina Hernandez, a junior, countered Fuentes, saying that MEChA acknowledges its lack of structure, but is working on the problem. 'MEChA has no real structure: that's a given," Hernandez said. "But we're attempting to get structure and personal accountability." Both sides agreed that MEChA has done considerable good for the Latino community and the University community as a whole, citing its work supporting the grape boycott and the Rainbow Agenda, a coalition of ethnicminority groups that last spring called for improvement in minority life at Stanford. Former MEChA member Neil "Chili" Rojas attempted to bring both sides together by saying, "We can grant that MEChA is good. The question is, how can we make MEChA better?" The meeting ended with both sides agreeing to reconvene and discuss the issues Jan. 14.[2]

"What bad checks has Stanford given students of color?"

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"What bad checks has Stanford University given to its students of color?"

"What We are Fighting For What We are Working Toward?"

Otero Lounge, Tues. Jan. 26, 6:15 a one-hour panel discussion in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.[3]

References

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  1. ↑ [ The Stanford Daily, Volume 190, Issue 19, 23 October 1986 ]
  2. ↑ [The Stanford Daily, Volume 192, Issue 48, 4 December 1987]
  3. ↑ [The Stanford Daily, Volume 192, Issue 65, 26 January 1988 ]
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