 "Photo:")
Whether you consider yourself to be Latino/a, Chicano/a, Mexicano/a, or Hispanic one thing you can count on is having a support group at UCD. Unidad, comunidad, gente, educación y éxito. todas estas son palabras que describen las organizaciones de Latinos de UCD. Unity, community, the people education and success are all words that describe the Latino organizations at UCD. Unity and togetherness are two of the most powerful values that are held within Latino families and communities. The same stands true for the Latino organizations on campus. It is groups like UMAS MEChA and Lambda Theta Nu Sorority who live out the definition of unity. Although the two organizations differ, in some ways they are more alike than not.
UMAS MEChA or United Mexican American Students Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan is an organization that has dedicated itself to the advancement of the Chicano community since its inception in 1968. MEChA began with a vision of nine Chicano/as at CU-Boulder. These determined Chicano/as recognized the existence of common barriers faced by the Chicano/a community. They became convinced that there was a need for an organization of their people in higher education. Since then, MEChA has been actively involved in the advancement and achievement of higher education among their "gente" and within their "barrios, colonias and campos."
Aside from providing a network of support for students in higher education, they also strive to better their community through mobilization of barrio youth. In an effort to sustain these goals MEChA promotes programs such as the La Raza Youth Conference, which carries the theme of "How to Make College your Barrio," the Cesar Chavez Celebration and the Auraria Campus Cinco de Mayo celebration. They also host an annual Easter egg hunt, as well as their upcoming Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest in the local Denver community. Through these social gatherings Mechistas find the opportunity to influence the youth within their communities toward "self-determination and not self-destruction."
"It's a good opportunity to grow as a person, but it's really about helping our people get ahead in life" says Mechista Lynn Cordova about her organization. Although she is only one Mechista, it isn't hard to determine that she speaks for the organization as a whole.
Lambda Theta Nu Sorority is another Latino/a association at UCD. This organization began in 1986 at California State University when a small group of Latina women were at odds with campus life due to ethnic and class barriers. From this, they began "searching for something to enhance their college experience." What they found were other women who were feeling the same type of alienation. This disarray of women eventually grew into an organization of common cultural beliefs with a focus on education in the Latina community. The primary focus of the Lambdas is on helping the Latina women in higher education to achieve academic excellence.
They don't stop there, however. Another primary goal for the Lambdas is to help open doors to the Latino/as in the community. This is one way the Lambdas differ from the more traditional sorority. Although the women of Lambda Theta Nu do socialize regularly, their sorority dose not revolves around socialization. "Most of us join because we want to be involved or need something more than just going to school," says Natalie, a Lambda, about the motives for most Lambdas when joining.
Together, these women work as a united "sisterhood" to promote the advancement of Latinas in their community. They advocate for the women in institutions of higher education and within their community through a number of campus and community service events. Among the various activities they participate in are Hands for Hope, and Putting the Beds to Bed. They also participate in the Diabetes Walk and recently devoted their time to the Auraria Cares fundraising efforts. They hold frequent informationals to inform the Latinas at Auraria Campus that they are here and will offer their support in any way possible.
Be the first to comment on this article!