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Over 350 Latina/o high school students from Portland and the local suburbs attended the 6th Annual Educate Conference at Portland State University. David Molina, CEO of Bilingual Hire delivered the Keynote speech that prompted the youth to use their creativity to tackle the problems that surround our everday society.
“When I first walked into the room it felt so alive and inviting. There were a few hundred students who attended and still it didn’t feel disconnected, it felt like one big family.” stated Lakeisha Holloway, a student of CHL-202 “Chicano Latino Studies at Portland Community College, who attended the conference as part of her class assignments.
She went on to state in the paper she wrote up for her class, ” I thought that the brief introduction with guess speaker David Molina, and the incorporation of workshops was both a successful way to encourage and empower the young Latinos and it was creative…
In reviewing the MECHA website from Uof O, it appears to be a pretty static webiste. That is there’s your typical, Home, About, and Contact types of pages but evidently there appears to be no one page that’s focused on current news or posts. The three main pages i’ll focus this post on though are the About, Programming and the Mujeres Page
Beginning with the About page, the information presented covers how MECHa came about. It was nice to revisit “los pasos” that MECHA has gone through to get to the place where it is now. It’s been since I was in college, taking an Ethnic Studies class, that I became aware of the political implications the term “Chicano” had. “…It is a symbol of Resistance as well as a symbol of Unity amongst Mexicanos, Salvadorenos, Chilenos, Puerto Ricennos, Cubanos, and all other Raza. Chicano has come to represent the strugles and fight of all Latino…” As much as I would like to see the term “Chicano” unite all the aforemention groups, it would be interesting to find out how united Salvadorenos, Chilenos, Cubanos, etc., really feel united under a term that has strong Mexicanismo origins. But I digress, within the About page there is also a link, towards the bottom of the page, that guides the user directly to the National MECHA website in case one wants to further explore MECha’s presence on a national level.
Moving on to the Programming page- what’s useful about this information is that it gives insight as to the types of activities might expect to see through the year, as a student, organizer or conscious community member. And it appears it runs the gammut from a Dia de los Muertos, to a Youth Conference and on to a Grad Appreciation Night. So therotically if one’s weighing how many extracurricular activities pertaining to Latinos, Chicanos there are at Uof O vs, OSU take note this page might aid your webfooted self in choosing the Uof O.
The last section we’ll cover is the Mujeres, which is a support group for Latina students. According to their history”…Mujeres was established in 1995 to the purpose of empowerment of Chicanas within MEChA ” The fact that they have their own section suggests that there’s strong and progressive Latina presence on campus. I almost want to see them having their own website as opposed to being tagged in last through one of the end tabs of the MECHa website. The fact that they have organized a “Take Back the Night” would lead me to believe that they would be fully qualified to be an autonomous and independent group.
In any case to find out more about MECHa or Mujeres at Uof O please click on http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~mecha/Home.html or http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~mecha/Mujeres.html.
This website features the Southern Oregon University Latino Student Union. I have no idea what segment of the total student population is Latino at SOU but based off this page it appears that there’s good representation.
It’s a typical MySpace setup with the integrated songs, pictures and and other interactive media that comes along with it. And because it’s framed within a social networking site, members of the group post their comments- thus the LSU group might appear to be friendly and approachable to any potential future student/ member. At the same time the drawback to this type of setup, since the comments appear to be unregulated, is then that you have individuals that make innappropriate comments that unfortunately contribute to the perpetuation of the negative stereotype (i.e. the ignorant, drunks, illegals, etc.).
But to wrap it up on a positive note, the LSU group appears to be pretty active- theres references to a dance where they had a LA Band perform. And within the last year they also hosted a reading by Daniel Chacon author of ”And The Shadows Took Him”. You can check them out at http://www.myspace.com/soulsu
Tags: Oregon Hispanic, Oregon Hispanics, Oregon Latino, oregon latinos
This article chronicles the presence of Mexican Americans in the Northwest area. It’s an easy read and it appears that WSU (Washington State University) had something to do with it’s existence since it’s hosted through their website. The actual name of the resource that it is found through, though, is the Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Project.
This article/ tutorial is also interactive. Thumbnails of historical images are available, There are scanned images and documents that the peruser can click on- which make overall make experience more interesting. There are also transcribed interviews with actual Mexcican Americans from the Northwest area, that also have been scanned and available as audio files as well. The article also has a nice bibliography at the end for anyone wanting follow up with additional sources of information.
This would be a great resource to any professional educator, or anyone else in general who wants to find out more about Latino history in the Portland/ Northwest area of the US. The youth come to mind as I think back to when I was being taught history in the elementary, middle and high school levels and recall how little information there was that I felt resonated with me. And the little plug there was about the Mexican American war or the Alimo, was told from the dominant culture’s perspective. This would be a great resource to share with Latinos and specifically Mexican-American youth who are learning more about our presence in Oregon and the Northwest area.
To find out more about Mexican Americans in the Northwest area click on: http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/crbeha/ma/ma.htm
Tags: latino history oregon, Oregon Hispanic, Oregon Hispanics, Oregon Latino, oregon latinos
This leadership and mentoring program is for Latino high school students and RCC students (mostly Latino).
In a year long (FWS) program RCC students enroll in a 3-credit transfer course on leadership and mentoring that includes a weekly class and monthly Saturday academies for Latino secondary students.
RCC student mentors design the Saturday agenda with guidance, and facilitate high school youth in a mix of engaging activities like presentations on leadership and education; problem-solving games; one-on-one time with mentees; scholarship essay development and help with college entry steps. Each session is designed to be upbeat, enthusiastic, and fast-paced. Topics are reintroduced and reinforced throughout the year to encourage reflection and foster communication and interaction. The year-long academy focuses on:
- cultural roots and heritage
- career and college exploration
- taking personal responsibility for ones attitude and future
- leadership skills includes an outdoor challenge course and graduation celebration.
Contact Latino Programs, Karolina Thompson
Tags: Oregon Hispanic, Oregon Hispanics, Oregon Latino, oregon latinos
A primary focus of OLI is to provide leadership opportunities for Latino/Latina youth. The Institute enlists college students to serve as mentors for high school students. Over an eight-month period, participating Latinos learn skills in leadership, team building, conflict resolution, intercultural communication and public speaking. This partnership with higher education institutions throughout Oregon focuses on cultural pride and continuing education.
These selected Latino/Latina college students thrive in both their academic studies and personal live as they learn skills necessary to facilitate OLI sessions, communicate with the youth and their families, and support the cultural emphasis of the program. Many of these college mentors are OLI graduates, and many are the first in their families to attend college.
The Central Oregon Community College OLI Program is coordinated by Sandra Diaz.
Sandra can be contacted at (541) 318-3717
To find out more click on: http://studentlife.cocc.edu/Departments/Oregon+Leadership+Institute/Default.aspx
Tags: Oregon Hispanic, Oregon Hispanics, Oregon Latino, oregon latinos
Portland Community College offers the Oregon Leadership Institute (OLI) at Rock Creek Campus, as a cooperative program between PCC and the Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement (OCHA) since 1999 OLI was started in 1986 through OCHA to help Latino high school students develop leadership skills, learn about opportunities for post-secondary education, and explore options. Today it continues to do so at PCC with over 500 student graduates.
Current PCC college students mentor the Oregon Leadership Institute high school students throughout an academic year. College student mentors commit to facilitate the nine OLI Saturday Sessions by enrolling in the Leadership and Mentorship of Latino(a) Student class. This is a tuition-free, 3 credit per term class, which is offered during the fall, winter, and spring terms. High school mentees also earn tuition-free, 3 credits per year as part of the program
The Oregon Leadership Institute is a leadership program within the Multicultural Center at Rock Creek
You can contact us at our email address: thrive@pcc.edu
To find out more click on: http://www.pcc.edu/services/index.cfm/145,html
Tags: education, Oregon Hispanic, Oregon Hispanics, Oregon Latino, oregon latinos
The Oregon Leadership Institute at Clackamas Community College is a program developed by the Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement (OCHA) for Latino high school students. OLI meets one Saturday a month for eight months and discusses topics such as leadership, culture and heritage, a college and career fair, personal responsibility and attitude and future. Students are led by mentors who are currently college students. They explore their future, their culture and themselves. At the end of the year students participate in an overnight camping trip and ropes course. When they have completed the program they have a graduation ceremony and receive a certificate of completion
To find out more click on: http://depts.clackamas.edu/oli/
Tags: Oregon Hispanic, Oregon Hispanics, Oregon Latino, oregon latinos
The Oregon Leadership Institute at Mount Hood Community College is a program developed by the Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement (OCHA) for Latino high school students. OLI meets one Saturday a month for eight months and discusses topics such as leadership, culture and heritage, a college and career fair, personal responsibility and attitude and future. Students are led by mentors who are currently college students. They explore their future, their culture and themselves. At the end of the year students participate in an overnight camping trip and ropes course. When they have completed the program they have a graduation ceremony and receive a certificate of completion
To find out more click on http://www.mhcc.edu/pages/1078.asp
Tags: Oregon Hispanic, Oregon Hispanics, Oregon Latino, oregon latinos