Latino groups leave UMC, cite lack of political focus

The two groups withdrew from the United Minorities Council just before the umbrella group voted to create a political wing. In a surprise move, the only two Latino student groups in the United Minorities Council withdrew their membership from the umbrella group last night to protest the UMC's handling of Latino issues. The Latino Coalition -- which consists of 14 Latino student groups including La Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latino Americanos and El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan -- unanimously decided that ACELA and MeChA should withdraw from the UMC at its general meeting. ACELA President and Engineering junior David Villafana and MeChA President and College sophomore Milady Nazir requested to speak before the meeting formally began. They released a joint statement saying that the "UMC remains inadequately prepared to voice Latino concerns." The two claim the UMC has become an organization that promotes cultural awareness and education and does not focus on political issues. "The University was looking to the UMC as a political institution when in reality it was cultural," said MeCha Vice President Jonathan Cantu, a College sophomore. The Latino Coalition also felt that by remaining in the UMC, the Latino voice was not being clearly heard, according to Cantu. "We as Latinos are the best representatives of Latino issues," Cantu said. "By remaining in the UMC, we were allowing the administration to see all minority issues as a big lump instead of coming to us directly to address our specific issues." Cantu added that the University was not taking the Latino community "seriously" while it was a part of the UMC. Following the withdrawal, former ACELA President and College junior Tania Castro resigned her newly elected seat as UMC vice chairperson. All Latino members of the UMC then walked out of the meeting. Ironically, the UMC was slated to vote yesterday on whether to make the organization more political -- a suggestion made by the Latino Coalition a month ago. The vote, in favor of creating a political arm for the UMC, took place without the group's Latino members. The proposal, suggested by Asian Pacific Student Coalition Chairperson and College junior Seung Lee, followed a month during which Latino group leaders worked with the UMC to create a more political agenda for the group. The proposal will create a political arm made up of three representatives from each of the ethnic coalitions, which will exclusively address political issues. The UMC will continually address both cultural and political issues. Newly-elected UMC Chairperson Chaz Howard said he envisions four ethnic coalitions with three representatives from each group making up a 12-person political advisory board for the UMC. The coalitions will be Umoja, the newly formed black umbrella organization, the APSC and a Southeast Asian coalition still in the process of forming. Howard said the UMC extends its invitation to the Latino Coalition to join the advisory board despite ACELA and MeChA's decision to withdraw from the UMC. Howard said the UMC is taking the walk-out as "a wake-up call to essentially become more political." But while Cantu said he applauds the UMC's efforts to become more political, he said the coalition felt the "the correct answer was for us to leave the UMC, and not so much [to work to] change it into a more political unit." Although Howard said he was frustrated that the Latino Coalition failed to "give the new board a chance," he added that the coalition's decision to leave the organization is reflective of the heightened political nature of the minority community. Citing the creation of Umoja, the APSC's efforts which, in part, resulted in the President's Committee on Asian/Pacific-American Student Affairs and the decision by the Latino community to mobilize on its own, Howard said he sees the minority community becoming more "proactive as opposed to reactive." Former UMC Chairperson Temitope Koledoye, who ended her duties by running last night's meeting, described the withdrawal of the Latino Coalition as a "shock." "I understand their frustration," the College senior said. "But I just don't know if walking out was the most productive way to address the issue." Koledoye said that by withdrawing its membership from the UMC, the Latino Coalition was "lashing out at the wrong" target, adding that the "UMC should be the vehicle to address the very concerns they have with the administration." Koledoye stressed, however, that the UMC will continue to address all minority concerns, including Latino issues, because "the goal of the UMC is to represent all minorities regardless of whether they are members."

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