The Latino Coalition elected its new board last night, and increasing University Latino recruitment and matriculation rates are already high on its agenda.
"I have a lot of friends who say, 'Oh, Penn isn't Latino enough,'" newly elected Admissions Chairman and College junior Ricardo Parrondo said.
The LC - the umbrella organization for Penn's 24 Latino-interest student organizations - appointed College sophomore Oscar Benitez as chairman and Wharton sophomore Edgar Lopez as vice chairman.
College freshman Loris Toribio and College sophomore Eduardo Orozco Sanchez will also sit on next year's board.
Leaders are also hoping to increase the group's visibility on campus.
"Despite our relatively small number of undergraduate students, I think we have a lot of potential to have a big say on campus affairs," Benitez noted.
He added that renovating La Casa Latina - the Latino student hub located in the ARCH building - is essential in order to provide space for Latino students to feel comfortable at Penn.
"A lot of [Latino] students . that are admitted to Penn don't necessarily choose to come to Penn," Benitez said.
Meanwhile, Penn's Asian Pacific Student Coalition came together last night to elect its leaders for the upcoming year.
APSC oversees 20 of Penn's Asian student groups and is one of five minority coalitions on campus.
College junior Jun Li, the outgoing board's vice chairwoman, will lead the new board as chairwoman.
The second-highest position in the coalition, vice chairman, was not filled because APSC constituent groups did not give the position's sole candidate the required number of votes for election.
Leaders plan to hold another election in January to fill the position.
According to Li, one of the most important issues on campus for the APSC is the recruitment and retention of Asian students and faculty.
Li also said that hopes the APSC can help Asian American Studies can grow from a minor to a full-fledged major.
"We can work toward building a support system for faculty," Li added.
Outgoing chairwoman and College senior Mana Nakagawa said she is excited about the diversity of the new board.
"We have a good mix of East Asians, South Asians, male, female, different classes," she said.
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