MAS Retreat Puts Emphasis on Leadership

U.H. Daily Cougar
Tuesday January 30, 1990

MAS retreat puts emphasis on leadership

by Ben Alcalá
Daily Cougar Staff

 
Tatcho Mindiola, Jr., director of the Mexican American Studies Program (MAS) at UH, is concerned that only 8 percent of the Mexican American population have college educations, compared with 19 percent of the Anglo population.

Since college graduates have the greatest probability of being leaders, this means there are proportionally fewer Chicano leaders, Mindiola said. This also means Hispanics enrolled in college must be en encouraged to recognize and develop their leadership skills, he said.

With this in mind, the MAS Program sponsored a Student Leadership Training Retreat in Galveston, Jan. 27-28. Mindiola and Lorenzo Cano, assistant director of MAS, gave workshops on leadership and public speaking skills.

Sylvia Medina, MAS recruiter/counselor, spoke on the role of female leaders and the obstacles they face. Consuelo Arbona, a UH assistant professor of educational psychology, spoke to the group about the decision-making process.

Guests included Robert Rivera, director of the Metropolitan Organization, who discussed meeting and organizational strategies, and Maria Jimenez, director of the Immigration Law Enforcement Project of the American Friends Service Committee. Jimenez made a presentation on the social, economic and educational issues confronting the Hispanic population.

Dr. Mindiola, State Representative Roman Martinez and UH Freshman Alma Rocha talk during the Student Leadership Training Retreat in Galveston this past weekend. Photo by Ben Alcalá

Richard Longoria, a UH graduate and an executive producer at KTRK-TV, gave a talk on strategies for gaining media access, publicize critical Hispanic issues.

State Rep. Roman Martinez was the featured speaker. Martinez spoke on the growing need for Hispanic political leaders in the '90s. He stated his confidence that an accurate census would produce a Hispanic congressional district in Houston and possibly a successful challenge to the method the city uses to elect its city council. The at-large council seats currently dilute Chicano voting strength in Houston, he said.

Houston presently has one Hispanic council member, equivalent to seven percent of the council. Since Hispanics presently make up an estimated 25 percent of the population of Houston, this disparity may violate the Voting Rights Act, he said.

Student reaction to the retreat was positive. Mario Reta, a sophomore in political science, felt the retreat was an "innovative idea" which was overdue. Alma Rocha, a freshman in communications, said she was glad she had the "opportunity to expand (her) views and knowledge of the important issues discussed."

Adolfo Vasquez, a junior in political science, thought Hispanic students needed to "accept the fact that we have leadership qualities and must work to develop those qualities in order to successfully lead our community."

 

Originally posted Monday, February 02 2004 @ 10:45 PM UTC