Latinos Create University Alliance

Hispanic student groups inaugurated a new University-wide coalition last night, hoping to bring different members of Harvard's Latino community together.

While the main goal of the new Latino Alliance of Harvard University is to bring graduate students and undergraduates together, some members hope the new group will also bridge ethnic differences.

"One of the hardest things to do is to get the different types of Latinos in one room," said Edmundo Jonzalez '95, president of the Harvard Forum on Hispanic Affairs. "People think of Latinos or Hispanics as a group and that's it, but within that you have Mexican and Puerto Rican and different groups from Latin America, and you have people born in Latin America. It's hard, and this organization seems to have overcome that."

The new coalition of Harvard's Latino groups celebrated both their new group and Latino Month with last night's "Latino Power Hour," which drew about 50 students from throughout the University.

"There's a need [for a University-wide group], because many times you have students with different needs," said Juan A. Ramos '94. "The fact that we don't come together, it's like we're not there."

Although many of the University's schools have individual Latino groups, often they fail to join together for shared causes, said alliance organizer and Education School student Valentina C. Hernandez III.

"The main goal is to unite the Latino community here at Harvard for common issues, in terms of bringing more Latino students, more Latino faculty, and incorporating into the curriculum more Latino issues," Hernandez said. "The curriculum usually focuses on Black and white issues and ignores other ethnicities."

But Raza member Veronica Rosales '94, who helped organize the alliance, said it may prove difficult for the organization to agree upon specific political goals.

"We haven't implied that it should be political. Because there are so many different groups incorporated in this alliance, we're diverse in our views," Rosales said.

Leonor Ehling, a second year Kennedy School student, said the alliance will allow various Hispanic groups to build on their common ties.

"We're trying to also form an alliance between U.S. Latinos and Latinos from Latin America and the Caribbean, because I think we have a lot in common," Ehling said.

Organizers emphasized yesterday that the group is still growing and may take some time to "get off the ground." But the new coalition will have some immediate benefits to Hispanic students.

"The primary purpose is as a support network for the University's Latino students," Rosales said. "A lot of the students don't know each other from the different schools. It's a way to get together so we know what events are going on and we know about the issues concerning us.

"There's a need [for a University-wide group], because many times you have students with different needs," said Juan A. Ramos '94. "The fact that we don't come together, it's like we're not there."

Although many of the University's schools have individual Latino groups, often they fail to join together for shared causes, said alliance organizer and Education School student Valentina C. Hernandez III.

"The main goal is to unite the Latino community here at Harvard for common issues, in terms of bringing more Latino students, more Latino faculty, and incorporating into the curriculum more Latino issues," Hernandez said. "The curriculum usually focuses on Black and white issues and ignores other ethnicities."

But Raza member Veronica Rosales '94, who helped organize the alliance, said it may prove difficult for the organization to agree upon specific political goals.

"We haven't implied that it should be political. Because there are so many different groups incorporated in this alliance, we're diverse in our views," Rosales said.

Leonor Ehling, a second year Kennedy School student, said the alliance will allow various Hispanic groups to build on their common ties.

"We're trying to also form an alliance between U.S. Latinos and Latinos from Latin America and the Caribbean, because I think we have a lot in common," Ehling said.

Organizers emphasized yesterday that the group is still growing and may take some time to "get off the ground." But the new coalition will have some immediate benefits to Hispanic students.

"The primary purpose is as a support network for the University's Latino students," Rosales said. "A lot of the students don't know each other from the different schools. It's a way to get together so we know what events are going on and we know about the issues concerning us.