Latin American students express desire for more campus representation

T'Nerra Butler, Multicultural Editor

Latin American students revealed how diverse the campus is through their perspective.

Some said the campus is evenly spread and others provided instances when they felt like the only Latino on campus.

Gladys Valentin, a senior elementary education major, said often times she felt lonely being the only Latin American in class. She said when looking around, she does not see many Latin American students on campus.

“Sometimes, it would make me feel uncomfortable because they would ask me for my opinion because I’m Latina,” Valentin said. “I didn’t have anyone else to really relate to, and people didn’t understand why I felt shy.”

Valentin said the only person she could relate to was her roommate, who was Latina.

Valentin said she eventually met people through class and joined the Latin American Student Organization so her sense of culture would not fade.

Joshua Casillas, a senior kinesiology and sports studies major, said he sees African American students more than any other ethnicity.  He said the campus is diverse, yet separate and many times it is because people refuse to step out of their comfort zone.

Casillas said if he were to base the number on appearances, he would think only 150 Latin American students attended Eastern.

“Sometimes it’s just people not being able to afford college and experience something like this,” Casillas said.

Alberto Garcia, a senior family and consumer sciences major, said another reason the Latin American student numbers are scarce is because after high school, some students lack a strong support system. He said support helps the student move on to college.

The current number of Latin American students enrolled this fall is 471 students, which is 27 more than last semester.

Garcia said the Latin American community often faces different obstacles if they want to attend college.

“We have financial aid, and that’s awesome, but sometimes it’s not enough. In my case, it’s not enough,” Garcia said. “Even a language barrier could be a problem for people.”

Students wait for others to gather so they can pose for a picture in honor of Latin-American Heritage Month, Saturday in front of Old Main. One topic the students talked about was being the only Latin-American student in their class. Alma Alvarado, a senior kinesiology and sports studies major (center) , said “I’m not a stick to what you know kind of girl.” Alvarado said she wants to be immersed in the different cultures on campus.
T’Nerra Butler
Students wait for others to gather so they can pose for a picture in honor of Latin-American Heritage Month, Saturday in front of Old Main. One topic the students talked about was being the only Latin-American student in their class. Alma Alvarado, a senior kinesiology and sports studies major (center) , said “I’m not a stick to what you know kind of girl.” Alvarado said she wants to be immersed in the different cultures on campus.

Alma Alvarado, a senior kinesiology and sports studies major, said she sees a larger amount of Latin-American students this year.

“You can distinguish the cliques between the cultures,” Alvarado said. “You tend to stick to what you know.”

Alvarado said she is not uncomfortable with being the only Latina in her class, but she wants to experience and be exposed to the different cultures around campus.

Alvarado said coming from a predominately Latin American high school to a diverse campus was a shock, but with time she looked past it.

“I’m not a stick to what you know kind of girl,” Alvarado said. “We, as students, separate ourselves though, rather to get to know each other.”

Jose Esparza, a freshman applied engineering and technology major, said Eastern does push to have a more diverse campus.

He said he was surprised when Eastern President Glassman showed up to one of the LASO meetings.

“The president actually came to one of our meetings hoping to get diversity and more Latinos into the community,” Esparza said. “We know that there’s someone in our administration pushing for us that’s there to support us if we ever need it.”

 

T’Nerra Butler can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]