Summer 2014

MECHA DE STANFORD ALUMNI NEWSLETTER Issue 1

MEChA de Stanford

Alumni Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE

After an exciting 20 year MEChA de Stanford Hunger Strike reunion this spring, we were motivated by the passionate alumni spirit that we saw to create a new network of connection between Stanford MEChistas that are current students and those that are past students (but MEChistas for life!). Our hope is that this newsletter will keep you informed about what we are up to here on campus and create a collaborative support system between current students and alumni.

The twenty year reunion also featured a strategic planning session for the next twenty years of MEChA at Stanford and a lot of great ideas were formulated about possibilities for the future of MEChA. As current MEChistas we always appreciate alumni input and wisdom and were very appreciative for this chance to

sit down and discuss MEChA de Stanford's past, present, and future.

However, not all of our alumni voices were at the table for that strategic planning session. Our hope is that this newsletter will be the first step in creating a stronger MEChA alumni connection so that we are in constant communication with all our alumni.

While MEChA is now structured with rotating co-chairs, the contact information for current co-chairs will be posted in each newsletter and on the MEChA de Stanford website. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us to say "Hey!", give us some advice, or offer words of wisdom.

We are all looking forward to keeping in touch through this newsletter and having the chance to connect with our awesome alumni!

2013-2014: Year in Review.....................2

Borders and Barriers Week................2

Raza Day 2014...................................3

20 Year Hunger Strike Reunion..........4

Strategic Planning.................................5

MEChista Spotlight...............................6

¡Bienvenidos!

Summer 2014

2014 Year End MEChA Dinner

MECHA DE STANFORD ALUMNI NEWSLETTER | Issue 1 2

The 2013-2014 school year is now in the books. We had a great time last year putting on events and contributing to the social justice community on and off campus. As we look forward to another

productive and fun year here at Stanford, we wanted to give our alumni a look back on a few of the important events that we were able to lead last year. We have included wrap-up summaries of Borders and

Barriers Week 2013, Raza Day 2014, and our Twenty Year Hunger Strike Anniversary that took place this spring.

Borders and Barriers Week

This year, MEChA de Stanford hosted their first ever Borders and Barriers Week in mid-November. Borders and Barriers Week was inspired by Santa Clara University’s MEChA chapter mock wall display & related events. MEChA strove to shed light on the prevalence of borders and barriers, both physical and institutional, that are the focus of social justice movements today and throughout history. Every day of the week-long event had a theme: education, immigration, prison justice and international affairs. For the theme of education, Tommy Lee Woon, Associate Dean of Educational Resources/Director of Diversity and First Gen Programs, Mark Gutierrez, Assistant Director of Center of Excellence at the Stanford School of Medicine, and student speakers discussed the challenges of accessing higher education. The next day, a panel of student speakers shared their immigration experiences and challenges of acquiring a visa and/or citizenship in the United States by legal means. Then, grassroots and community organizations shared insights about injustices of the prison system and discussed their efforts to address mass incarceration. The week ended

with a global view on the impact of borders and barriers. Students and organizations shared their research on international struggles of the past and present, illuminating the similarities and differences between challenges faced by the U.S. and other parts of the world. For students and faculty caught in the Stanford bubble, MEChA de Stanford set up a mock wall in the middle of White Plaza to represent the physical and institutional barriers that hinder the lives of many. The wall provided a historical context by displaying a timeline of the rise and fall of the most important international physical borders. At the kickoff event for the mock wall, students came to share their personal stories. They told of

families separated by borders, border injustices motivating students to act on international affairs, discovery of identity through an understanding of territorial conflicts, barriers to higher education faced by undocumented students and more. Collaboration with fellow student activist groups like Stanford Asian American Activist Coalition (SAAAC), Stanford Students for Reproductive Justice (SRJ), Pilipino American Student Union (PASU), and Students for Palestinian Equal Rights (SPER) helped make the weeklong event a success. MEChA would like to once again thank all those groups and individuals for their contributions and support.

Mock Wall in White Plaza during Borders and Barriers Week.

2013-2014 Year in Review


Raza Day 2014

Derechos, CHE, FLIP, SOLE, Stanford Admissions, and East Palo Alto’s Mural Music & Arts Project (MMAP) and Youth United for Community Action (YUCA) led workshops regarding the steps needed for careers in health, law, engineering, politics, public service and art. The most unique workshops led by MMAP taught students how to do graffiti art, lyrical poetry, and mural painting. Through the mural painting workshop emerged El Centro Chicano’s second Raza Day mural, which will be hung this Fall 2014.

Students were then kept energized and entertained during lunch with free food, a performance by Mariachi Cardenal, and DJ music that got them dancing. Students also enjoyed

campus tours and free time to wander around.

At the end of the day students listened to guest speaker Beatriz Cuevas, a rising senior studying Biology, talk about how her passion for building bikes in high school helped her get to Stanford. Finally, Jessica Sabogal, another renowned artist and activist, inspired students in her closing keynote speech by talking about her own life story and the non-traditional route she took. She left the students off with this well-received message:

Be proud of who you are and what you do. Don’t hide behind your gayness or your straightness, your light skin or your dark skin, your femininity or your masculinity, or your love of art…Be the lighthouse, be the boat. But either way, be visible. Be brave, be bold, and be proud. Be the imposter and the real thing. Now go to it.

Overall, this year’s Raza Day Conference was a huge success with a registration number of over four hundred students. MEChA de Stanford worked extremely hard to make it perfect, but there is a lot more that could be improved.

We hope to invite you all to witness and take part of our 25th Annual Raza Day Conference, which is ensured to be even greater!

Speakers Jessica Sabogal (top) and Favianna Rodriguez (bottom) presenting in Cubberley Auditorium at Raza Day 2014.

On April 5, 2014 over three hundred students from all over the Bay Area stepped onto the Stanford campus for the 24th Annual Raza Day Youth Conference. They lined up in Cubberly Auditorium since eight in the morning in anticipation for what MEChA de Stanford’s Raza Day Committee had prepared for them revolving the theme, ¡EducARTE!

Favianna Rodriguez got the auditorium clapping in her opening keynote speech after advising students to seek their passion.

Afterwards, students dispersed to various workshops that Comunidad members had prepared. El Centro Chicano Staff, Ballet Folklórico de Stanford, Lamda Theta Nu, Gamma Zeta Alpha, Barrio Assistance,


20 Year Hunger Strike Reunion

Hunger Strike 20th Anniversary event, it was the first time that we had been in contact with MEChA alumni, the first time we learned about the role MEChA played in Stanford history. During the panel discussion, we understood former MEChA organizational structure, the issues MEChA alumni focused on, and what was effective and ineffective action on campus. This facilitated conversation between MEChistas of different generations and enabled us to ground ourselves in previous efforts and struggles. This dialogue was also a spark of inspiration for MEChA members today. It is as recent graduate Najla Gomez says, “We have been re-inspired after learning all the hard work that went into planning & executing the Hunger Strike.” Najla also explains the importance of our history for the future of MEChA de Stanford, “Learning about the struggles they went through puts our own experience in perspective and gives us all the more reason to work harder in every aspect.” Amidst the alumni’s giggles that arose naturally after seeing themselves on the big screen, it became clear to all of us there that we are one, and that one day we would also return to El Centro to laugh together, and learn from each other.

boundless impact on our comunidad. In order to honor the MEChistas’ accomplishments, our MEChA core organized the 20th Anniversary event this last Spring quarter on Sunday May 4th. Among the alumni attendees were MEChA hunger strike organizers Eva Silva, Elvira Prieto, Tamara Alvara, and Julia Gonzalez Luna. This event was also open to the wider Stanford community, among those who attended were professors Al Camarillo, Paula Moya, and Ramon Saldivar. The day-long event we planned consisted of a panel in which MEChA hunger strikers answered questions from the attendees, a strategic planning session, and a viewing of the hunger strike archives. For some of us who attended the

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the MEChA Hunger Strike. After a hostile year for our community in 1993-1994, MEChistas camped out in the center of Main Quad to protest the administration's evasion of their demands, which included the rehiring of Cecilia Burciaga, the establishment of a Chicano Studies major, a campus-wide ban on grapes in solidarity with the UFW, and the building of a community center in East Palo Alto. MEChista’s valiant actions ultimately led to the creation of Chicana/o Studies at Stanford and the establishment of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE). The MEChA hunger strikers’ legacy lies not only in the tangible creation of these academic programs, but also in their

MEChA Alumni return to El Centro Chicano to remember the 1994 MEChA Hunger Strike.


Strategic Planning

One of the highlights of the MEChA Hunger Strike 20-year Anniversary was the strategic vision brainstorming session, where MEChistas from various generations were able to share their current and past experiences as MEChistas de Estánfor. Even though MEChA has undergone changes over the past decades, the continuity of the organization’s core ideas has enabled MEChA alumni and current students to relive the past, discuss the present, and envision the student group’s future at Stanford and beyond. One of the recommendations that MEChA alumni gave to current students was to promote the organization early during the school year in order to raise the campus community’s awareness of the goals and activities of the student group. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, MEChA alumni highlighted the importance of close relationships between MEChistas - current and former - on the one

hand, and MEChA members and university faculty on the other hand. In order to foster these relationships, the alumni suggested, for instance, implementing a Madrina/Padrino program or establishing a close partnership with graduate students, for example through a “Grad MEChA Night” event. In addition, this new newsletter is a means of keeping current and former MEChA members connected. Both current members as well as alumni agreed that the issues of immigration, education, the prison system, and race and class should remain some of the core issues that MEChA is focusing on. Some of the suggested university-level initiatives include increased collaboration between students, workers, and staff in order to foster a sense of coherence among all members of the wider campus community and to promote the consideration of workers´ issues on campus. Finally, the MEChA students and alumni were interested in examining the

effects of the falling admission rate at Stanford on minorities, especially Chican@s/Latin@s. For this upcoming school year, the current group of MEChA students plans to organize, among other things, early member recruitment and flyering, the production and distribution of MEChA accessories such as buttons and bumper stickers, increased activity on social networks such as Facebook and Instagram, and a strong presence during New Student Orientation and Festival Latino. Some of the group’s members have already made connections with incoming freshmen at local send-off parties. AIso, in order to facilitate the planning of this year’s MEChA events, the group intends to go on a retreat early on during fall quarter. We look forward to a successful year as we build on the lessons learned and wisdom gained from our Strategic Planning session.

Remember these shirts?? Estánfor shirts are back and ready to be

ordered!

Shirts are being ordered in limited quantities so place your order today!

Shirts are $15 each and can be purchased from our Financial Officer, Kevin Martinez, by email ([email protected]).


MEChista Spotlight

Each newsletter will feature a spotlight on two current MEChistas so that you are able to learn more about the people behind this newsletter and all of the MEChA

happenings on the Stanford campus. We have enjoyed getting to know MEChA alumni at various events and would like to give you the chance to get to know us better as well. Each

spotlight will give information about each MEChista as well as why they chose to join MEChA and a short story of their favorite MEChA memory.

Daniela Parra

My name is Daniela Parra. I’m a senior majoring in Product Design. I came to Stanford from Hagerstown, MD (read: middle of nowhere), but I’ve moved around enough to simply be from the east coast. Most people don’t know that I came from predominantly caucasian schools, where being Latina made a target of bullying and racist pranks. So I joined MEChA to meet fellow Latinas/os who experienced similar struggles and expand my understanding of social justice to feel empowered. MEChA has been such a great experience that I can’t really pinpoint one MEChA memory as being my favorite.

Oscar Carvente My name is Oscar Carvente. I was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. I am now entering my senior year and majoring in public policy with a concentration in education policy.

I initially joined MEChA because it was affiliated with El Centro and Mexican American students. I wanted to be among students from similar backgrounds and dedicated to social justice. The group as I soon would realize was much more than a comfortable cultural space.

While some of us share similar struggles, we all have different backgrounds and experiences. In spite of this, we all share a passion for social justice and uplifting oppressed communities. I believe it is what has made MEChA unique and enjoyable to be a part of during my time at Stanford.

Organizing Raza Day is my favorite part of the year. In particular, I enjoy talking with students and their parents during lunchtime. It is an opportunity to listen to their stories and for me to share my own. These moments are incredibly empowering for the parents, students and myself as we share our struggles and encourage each other to continue fighting and find ways to surpass them.

...follow me on twitter and instagram...

Summer 2014

Documents

Transcript of Summer 2014