Albuquerque–Members of Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan
(MEChA)–which translates to Chicano
Student Movement of Aztlan– say their
organization is being unfairly targeted by
school administrations across the country.
The harassment they are facing, says one
student, “is like the 1960s, but with a 1990s
twist.”
The types of problems MEChA has
been subjected to in the
past few months include:
the suspension of a
MEChA newspaper;
threats to fire a MEChA
faculty sponsor; the arrest
of a student for
non-protest activities; and
harassment by a
conservative organization.
At St. Mary’s
University in San
Antonio, Texas, the
editor of the MEChA
newspaper Espiritu de
Aztlan (Spirit of Aztlan),
received a memo saying
that the periodical was
not a publication
approved by the Student
Publications Board.
The
memo also instructed the paper to cease
publication until approval is acquired.
Christina Ramirez, the newspaper’s
editor, says that Espiritu de Aztlan has been
an approved publication since 1993 and that
it has a letter from the dean which recognizes
that assertion. The newspaper also has
work-study positions, which show that the
publication is approved and recognized, says
Ramirez, who adds that community support
forced the board to reconsider its position.
“We felt very threatened. We felt they
wanted to stifle our voices. Our first reaction
was that we had been caught in a
1960s time warp and that we were dealing
with people with tiny minds who were closed
off to reality,” Ramirez says.
Across the country, MEChA has held
rallies to demand Chicano/Latino studies
departments and to protest anti-immigrant or
anti-affirmative action movements, among
other things. And although members have
been arrested for such things as
“failure to disperse”
and “disturbing the
peace,” the current
opposition that MEChA
encounters is, according to
Ramirez, not always done
in the confrontational way of
the 1960s.
Current opposition
to MECha activities
comes in the form of
red tape, says Ramirez,
adding that students are
now forced to contend
with cumbersome
regulations which have the
same stifling effect as
outright banishment,
censorship, or law
enforcement action against
the organization.
Ruth Rodgers, vice
president for student
development, says that the newspaper was
not banned but simply told to conform to
university regulations. The situation arose as
a result of the MEChA newsletter converting
into a newspaper.
“It wasn’t intended to be a punitive
measure,” says Rodgers, adding that the
situation was resolved within a week. “We’re
very pleased with the work they’re doing.”
Rodgers says that the letter sent to
MEChA was to clear up misunderstandings,
“not an order to cease publication.”
The Demand for Chicano Studies
Recently, St. Mary’s MEChA and other
Chicano/Latino organizations succeeded in
getting a Chicano culture
on campus. However, it only has room for
twenty students, according to Ramirez, who
notes, “And we [Chicanos] are 50 percent of
the campus.”
