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Esquina
del editor:
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Letter to the Editor |
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Dear Editor,
I just read your article entitled The Usual Suspects [Winter
2002] and found myself wanting to write to you. It’s
true as you say, that the people you see in these meetings
are the same, but you are missing a huge amount of other people
who are doing things in the Latino community with the same
or greater impact than the ones you see frequently—they
just don’t attend all those meetings. For example, I
have been president of OHSEA, regional representative of the
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers covering the area
of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, member of Alpha Psi Lambda,
co-founder, together with Ernesto Machado, and current vice-president
of the Puerto Rican Student Association. You don’t see
me in meetings as you see the usual suspects because of conflicts
with the times meetings are scheduled. A lot of these meetings
are scheduled at times that are very difficult for any of
the people I mentioned to attend. Some of them are engineering
students in their 3rd to 5th year and as students of one of
the most demanding majors, they simply cannot afford to miss
any classes. It seems that some people can skip classes, or
have flexible schedules, but just because they have these
options does not mean that they are the only ones helping
the community. Another example is the Hispanic Awareness Month.
Many of these meeting were scheduled at times that are common
for engineering students to have classes.
Other students who have impacted the community are Julissa
Casal (ex-president of OHSEA), Tania Gaido (Coordinator of
the Thanksgiving dinner), Omar Caraballo (ex-president of
OHSEA and UCC member). Also, there are people that are developing
leadership skills like Ramon Suarez (President-Elect of the
Puerto Rican Student Association), Rebeca Plaza, Celimar Maldonado,
Tania Agrait, Nestor Perez (Vice-president of OHSEA), Pablo
Rojas (President of OHSEA), Nadia Anguiano, Samuel Patino,
Luis Espinal and others. These people have impacted and/or
will continue to impact the OSU Latino community, but are
not the types that are interested in recognition or publicity.
These are just some of the reasons you don’t see new
suspects. But they do exist. They are working, but they are
working behind the scenes and not seeking publicity or recognition.
I hope this answers the questions in your article.
Sincerely,
Angel Luis Agosto
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Qué Pasa, OSU? would like to thank Angel, and all those
who have shared their comments with the magazine. Angel’s
observations regarding the article The Usual Suspects [Winter
2002] were enlightening. As the Executive Editor, it is encouraging
and rewarding to know that people are passionately engaging
with the magazine and feel compelled to share their thoughts,
reflections, and insights. In its nine years of existence, ¿Qué
Pasa, OSU? has been the only publication at Ohio State exclusively
devoted to being an independent, uncensored voice of Latinos
at OSU, as well as a meeting point for the members of the Latino
community.
Communication such as letters or emails to the editor, allows
for Qué Pasa to forge alliances between individuals,
the magazine, and the Latino organizations in which our readers
are involved. We are always looking for individuals such as
Angel to provide the magazine with reliable information regarding
student involvement and achievement. Angel is absolutely correct
in stating that the magazine is missing out on covering individual
and organizational involvement. It is hard to be everywhere
all the time, as Angel so astutely stated. By establishing liaison
connections between individuals, organizations, and Qué
Pasa, such collaboration would ensure that more involved and
dedicated individuals are recognized, not merely the usual suspects.
As the current editor, I encourage all of Qué Pasa’s
readers to become involved and engaged with the magazine. I
encourage our readers to submit letters to the editor, as well
as organizational and individual highlights so that members
and groups in the Latino community are appropriately recognized,
and to ensure that this publication is a relevant tool for the
Latino community at OSU. This magazine should be a publication
of its readers, by its readers and for its readers. Such a mission
can be accomplished with increased participation such as Angel’s
letter. In addition, there are countless individuals in the
community who have vast creative talents, as was evident during
the Hispanic Awareness Month. I encourage readers to submit
their artwork, poetry, fiction and non-fiction pieces to the
Creative Corner. Finally, we are always interested in hearing
new ideas for the magazine. Initiatives such as that of Carlos
Aranibar [see the Creative Corner, this edition] are a welcome,
exciting, and valuable addition to the magazine. Remember, this
is YOUR magazine! Make it work for you!
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