• Serve as the vehicle of expression for Hispanic/Latino individuals or organizations at OSU
  
• Inform the OSU Hispanic/Latino community about issues of their interest
  
• Promote the advancement of Hispanics/Latinos at OSU

• Promote the enrichment of quality of life of Hispanic/Latinos at OSU

• Help develop points of view among Hispanics through responsible editorials

• Aid in the recruitment of more Hispanic students, faculty and staff

• Serve as a tool of expression and enrichment of the Hispanic/Latino culture

• Communicate and celebrate achievements by Hispanics

• Contribute to Hispanic unity

• Serve as an outreach tool within OSU and externally

Historical Background :

The first Hispanic newsletter, El Estudiante, was established in the early 1980s. Although it was short lived, the issue of a such type of newsletter resurfaced repeatedly during discussions of the Hispanic Action Plan in 1987, (¿Qué Pasa, OSU? Vol. XII, Issue 3, 2005 or http://quepasa.osu.edu/index.html.)

The Hispanic Action Plan was formally endorsed by The Ohio State University in 1991 and one of its goals was “to expand significantly the information and opportunities for dialogue among all students and faculty regarding Hispanic issues across the disciplines.” The implementation and supervision of the Hispanic Action Plan was assigned to the Hispanic Oversight Committee, HOC, a committee formed and charged by the Provost. The committee also administered funds that supported various initiatives of the goals of the plan.

In 1994, the Hispanic newsletter ¿Qué Pasa, OSU? was created as a joint effort between the University-wide Council of Hispanic Organizations (UCHO) and the Hispanic Oversight Committee (HOC). An editorial board was formed with representation of Hispanic faculty, staff and students. Funding was approved for two years. In spring 1996, HOC approved funding for another two-year period. In April 1998, the HOC approved permanent funding for the magazine.

An Editorial Board was established at this time. In 2002, the Board was reconstituted and an Executive Officer position was established. The charges of this position include the daily operations of the magazines. The editorial board has maintained representation of faculty, staff and both undergraduate and graduate students. The magazine also employs two GA students, one in a position of Editor and the other in the position of Graphic Designer and Web Master; a paid position of Assistant Editor is also established for an undergraduate student. Periodically, the magazine contracts individuals to undertake tasks ass deemed necessary.

Originally, both UCHO and HOC felt that the newsletter should be run independently from an administrative office in order to ensure an uncensored voice of the Hispanic students and to prevent the use of this publication as a public relations tool for the office in charge. Unfortunately, what appeared to be a wise decision to run the magazine with a team autonomous from an administrative or academic unit did not work as expected. The magazine had no physical location, creating logistic inefficiencies; personnel worked from off campus computer labs or from their homes; meetings usually took place at Victor Mora’s office; funding for the executive editor was handled through the School of Journalism and Communications; payroll and operating expenses were handled through the Office of Ethnic Student Services; mailing lists and labels were prepared with assistance from the Registrar’s Office and the mailing services at Ohio State. Lack of consistency in leadership from the editorial board caused problems in terms of providing supervision, direction and focus to the students.

Under these conditions, it was remarkable that the magazine was produced and delivered on time. Production of the magazine requires ongoing supervision and support. A centralized structure and a defined physical location were definitely needed to enhance access, productivity and focus. These issues were resolved when an annual rate funding was provided by the HOC in 1998. It was agreed that Victor Mora would supervise the operation and that an editorial board would be re established to provide oversight, guidance and support.

More recently, QP has become an important recruitment tool for Ohio State. Undergraduate Admissions and Minority Affairs fund the printing several thousand copies of its Summer issue and send them to prospective students and their parents throughout the US and abroad. QP is also a useful resource to several support service offices throughout campus.

QP also began to be published on a web site in addition to its paper copy. Through this means, QP began to reach a broader audience and requests for paper copies started to come from individuals throughout the state. The web page has links with a variety of sites and sources, which cover a wealth of topics relevant to Hispanics. Every issue of the magazine has been expected to be available on the web site. It was wonderful to see QP fulfilling its purpose effectively! More recently, a totally new web site was developed because the student who developed the original website was gone and did not leave records to access it.

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