Hispanic Students Needed At All Educational Levels

U.H. Daily Cougar
Friday, April 13, 1990

Hispanic students needed at all educational levels

by Ben Alcalá

 
NOTE: I wrote this article after attending the National Association of Chicano Studies conference in Alberqurque, New Mexico:

Several different labels are used to describe American citizens of Mexican ancestry in the United States. The most widely heard labels include Hispanic, Mexican-American and Chicano, which are interchangeably used by people of Mexican descent.

Hispanic is currently in vogue, but it is a general term which is overly broad. Hispanic lumps all people of Hispanic descent together into one group. It does not take into account the different national histories that cause cultural differences, and will not tell you if the person is Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, or from Central or South America.

Mexicans choosing to stay in conquered territory absorbed into the United States under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 became American citizens. This was only in theory, because Mexican-Americans became victims of violence, segregation and discrimination, and for years were treated as second-class citizens by the dominant Anglo-American society. During this period they were known simply as Mexicans.

Mexican-American, with its overt use of the hyphen-American, was used in an attempt at gaining better treatment by stressing loyalty to America. Mexican-Americans stressed accommodation and assimilation into mainstream American culture, often at the expense of the Spanish language and Mexican culture.

Chicano was preferred by activists of the '60s. Its use emphasizes the fact that Chicano culture is a synthesis of American culture and Mexican culture. Chicanos want to participate in mainstream American life without having to give up the Spanish language or Mexican culture which makes them a unique people.

That is the philosophy behind the National Association of Chicano Studies. The members take pride in being Chicano and utilize a community activist perspective in research. I asked several individuals attending the annual NACS conference what they perceived as the major problem facing the Chicano community in the '90s. Almost everyone felt that education was the most pressing problem directly affecting the future of Chicanos.

Carol Finis, who was finishing her masters degree in public administration at San Fransciso State University, was planning to open an alternative school for Chicano children, which would educate children about Spanish and Mexican-American culture, as well as English and American culture. When asked why she did not try to change the system, she said the system will attempt to co-opt in individuals, which makes it "practically impossible to change the system from within." She felt ensuring proper education for Chicano children was a matter of "self-preservation" for the Chicano community.

Seeing all the problems Chicanos are having locally with the Houston Independent School District, it is evident that Chicanos nationwide share the problems of unresponsive educational systems. The next step for Chicanos is to organize and mobilize the community to try to do something about the problem. Lorinda Carr had a unique perspective on the proceedings. As an Afro-Chicano, she is active in the Council of United Ethnic Students at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She feels a university should be "responsible to the 'actual' demographics of the city it serves" and is attempting to get UTSA to be responsible to the city San Antonio.

This is a problem at U.H. also. While the percentage of Hispanics is a respectable 9 percent, estimates of the Hispanic percentage Houston range from 15 to 18 percent. U.H. should be more responsive to the needs of Houston, the city it serves, as part of its mission. As part of this response U.H. should make a larger effort recruit Chicanos for graduate school. While the high school dropout rate is of major concern Chicanos, the shortage of Chicanos in graduate school should also addressed.

Much of the problem stems from retention problems. Chicanos who begin college have a much higher rate of not finishing college than their white peers. Another major problem is economics. Many Chicanos simply cannot afford to go to graduate school, as it is very difficult financing even an undergraduate education. While the Chicano community still has many problems facing it, the future is bright. Chicanos are continuing to try to gain access in the power structure which has shut them out for years. Increased political activity will mean more Chicanos on local school boards, ultimately giving Chicanos more input in the formulation of educational policies affecting the future of the Chicano community.

 

Originally posted Monday, February 02 2004 @ 10:48 PM UTC