Support for Hispanic and Latinx Students
Barriers They Face and the Support Systems in Place
According to Michigan State University’s (MSU) Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives Office MSU has approximately 1,629 Latinx and Hispanic (H&L) students which averages out to about 4.8 % of the student population. Research shows that Latinx individuals are the least educated and the fastest growing group within the United States. With the increasingly polarized cultural and political climate we must be sure that all students are receiving the appropriate support to aid them in facing the unique barriers and challenges they encounter due to issues of inclusion so they may be successful in their educational pursuits.
Many Hispanic and Latinx students at Predominantly White Institution’s (PWI) like MSU face a number of discriminatory interactions. Experts in the field of higher education with specializations in diversity and inclusion have found that Latinx and Hispanic students at PWI’s often face microaggressions and racial stereotyping from white individuals that cause Hispanic and Latinx students to feel as though the do not belong.
A common thread experts have found among Hispanic and Latinx students at PWI’s are comments directed toward H&L’s around perceived or assumed citizenship status and native country. Many Latinx students have heard words similar to the quote below.
They [White students on campus] look at me like I shouldn’t be here, like I don’t belong here. Like, ‘‘You need to go back where you came from, ’cause you don’t need to be here.’’ (Racism, College, & The Power of Words)
With these hurtful words negatively affecting our Hispanic and Latinx students, support systems around Michigan States campus are attempting to create community spaces where H&L individuals can find unity, culture, and family.
One of the support systems at MSU is Culturas De Las Razas Unidas better known as CRU. C.R.U is an organization that houses and supports many of the Chicano/Latino organizations on campus for political, social, cultural, and academic issues that addresses the Chicano/Latino student community at Michigan State University. C.R.U. also serves as a cohesive voice of the Latino community by advocating for issues that affect la communidad and Latinos at Michigan State University. Juan Mascorro-Guerrero, the adviser of C.R.U., stated that
“C.R.U. Is a cultural safe-haven for the his Hispanic and Latino students. The community and family built here allows our students to escape the harsh and hateful climate that they encounter on campus. It also provides them with the tools of self-care to combat the negative emotions associated with harmful comments.”
C.R.U., as a student run organization, empowers its students to be leaders of social justice on campus and advocate for themselves as well as other students of Color.
C.R.U as is apart of CORES, which stands for the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students. CORES works to promote social and cultural understanding through important cultural events including: MSU Annual Pow Wow of Love, Native Heritage Month, Cultural Vogue/Lunar New Year, APA Heritage Month, Night Market, Brown Pride, the Black Power Rally, Black History Month, the African American Celebratory, Latin Explosion, Dia de la Mujer, and Chicano History Month. Ana Montaner, the CORES representative, says that
“CORES allows for people from different ethnicity’s and cultural backgrounds to come together and promote a celebration of different identities instead of some of the harm that many students of Color may experience outside of these spaces”
Another university provided resource for Hispanic and Latinx students is a sector of Migrant Student Services, the College Assistance Migrant Program, also know as CAMP. MSU CAMP is a residential program that assists migrant and seasonal farm worker students with academic, social, and financial support to enable them to complete their first year of college. CAMP residential specialist, Jazmin Murguia, believes that
“CAMP is MSU’s way of supporting Migrant students and assisting them in being successful at this university in every possible way…while CAMP does not solely serve Hispanic and Latinx students a large amount of their students do identify as H&I.”
CAMP is a direct line to professional support services. They provide a community for students where they can discuss the issues they are facing and receive help, in some cases if the challenges they are facing are a violation of policy or a hindrance to the safe living and learning environment it may even prompt university procedures in place regarding bias.
While the solutions in place at MSU, like CAMP, CORES, and CRU that support and create safe and inclusive communities for Latinx and Hispanic students it does have a downside. It struggles to get to the root cause of the issue. Student organizations and support services treat the symptoms of a society that finds it acceptable to be prejudiced, biased, and racist against people of different races, cultures, and ethnicity’s. However these groups provided are creating social change agents that want to create more inclusive environments and are providing spaces where students can share their experiences with professionals and peers.
