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Choose
Your Battles Wisely
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By Tina Staigers |
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It isn’t the Mexican Civil
War, or a Central
American fight against the guerillas, but Hispanic and Latino
students on campus need to take part in fighting for their
needs. It is important that students take the initiative to
get things done to improve the services and resources that
are provided for Latinos at OSU. The administration at Ohio
State have their work cut out for them, but they won’t
know what their job is until we let them know.
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Tina Staigers
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Many Latino students on campus are looking for change, but only
some are actually taking initiative to make it happen. During
the winter quarter, seven students, advocating for Latinos at
OSU, requested a meeting with Ed Ray, Executive Vice President
and Provost of Student Affairs, Bill Hall, Vice President of
Student Affairs, and Carole Anderson, Vice Provost of Academic
Affairs, to discuss their concerns regarding the Latino community
here on campus. Dawn Butler, Emerald Hernandez, Jason David
Evans, Erica Lerma, Florentina Staigers, Ondine Quinn, Coralymar
Casanova, and Mariely Neris were those that raised important
issues.
Although the one hour time constraint prevented these students
from expressing all their concerns, they had the opportunity
to hit upon many important points. The meeting began with a
detailed explanation of the future of the Multicultural Center
and its services. The students wanted to be more informed about
its progress, the possible effects to the center after state
budget cuts, and had concerns regarding the director of the
center. Although the administration expressed concern and dedication
regarding the future of diversity, the students seemed to feel
that changes were not happening fast enough, and questioned
the administration’s commitment. The students and administration
came to somewhat of an understanding, and then moved on to the
topic of recruitment of Ohio State students.
Armed with U. S. Census Bureau statistics of the percentage
increase of Latino high school students within the Columbus
area, the OSU students expressed interest in more student involvement
programs focused on the recruitment of these high school students.
The administration reacted with enthusiasm and agreed that a
program of this sort would be helpful to the Office of Minority
Affairs (OMA). They referred the students to OMA to begin plans
to discuss any recruitment concerns as well as the potential
implementation of a program that would address the concerns.
Another meeting followed the first, and Mac Stewart, Vice Provost
of Minority Affairs, Mabel Freeman, Assistant Vice President
of Undergraduate Admissions and First Year Experience, Christine
Ballengee-Morris, Multicultural Center Interim Director and
Carol Anderson, Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, met with the
students to further discuss the start of a new, more student-involved
Latino recruitment program. Although this year’s application
process has finished, hopefully, the launching of the program
for next year’s applicants will contribute to the recruitment
of a larger Hispanic/Latino community here at Ohio State.
Fighting for revolution can produce rewards. Every bit of initiative
that Latinos on campus take is a step toward winning the battle.
Get involved! Help unite the Hispanic/Latino students on campus.
These students set an example by trying to make a difference,
not only for themselves but for the next generation of OSU students.
Ohio State is a very large campus, and Hispanics/Latinos need
to speak out about what they would like to see change, not just
wait for it to happen. Not every student needs to make an appointment
with the administration. It can be as easy as finding an organization
and taking part, utilizing Hispanic Student Services, or just
attending an event. One way or another, get out there and make
a difference!• |
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