Access by Latinos to UCI Officials Urged : Conference Speakers Outline Ways to Widen Role at University

Latinos should hold regular meetings with the UC Irvine administration instead of demonstrations if they want to increase their role in the university, the outgoing president of La Raza said at a daylong conference Friday in Newport Beach.

“We (La Raza) must be viewed by the university administration as part of its constituency, not a pressure group,” John Martinez said.

The confiscation of copies of a Latino student newspaper during elections last spring helped unite Latinos at the school, but the effort to draw attention to issues that concern them continues, he said.

The Student Council removed copies of La Voz Mestiva from the campus because the publication endorsed a slate of candidates, a violation of the election code, the council said. The council held new elections after the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of the newspaper’s editors.

Broadcast Sparked Coalition

Another event, a radio broadcast by the campus station that attacked both Latinos and blacks, forged a coalition among the two minority groups when the administration did not respond, Martinez said.

But Latinos at the conference, sponsored by UC Irvine faculty and staff and by the campus branch of the statewide La Raza organization, said they want to begin working together for change, not reacting to events.

“Last year at this time we could not have staged this conference. The challenge that remains is that despite setbacks and the continuing struggle, we have not realized our potential,” he said.

UC Irvine biology professor Eloy Rodriguez said that regular meetings with the administration would help Latinos become an integral part of the university.

Rodriguez said the previous university chancellor, Daniel G. Aldrich Jr., only began to understand the Latino community after 20 years in the position.

“I don’t think we are going to wait another 20 years. We need a continuing dialogue with the administration,” he said.

Getting money from the private sector for Latino education programs, such as college scholarships, should be another goal of the university’s Latino leaders, Martinez said.

Fewer, Larger Groups

“We need to enter into a discussion with community groups, private foundations and corporations. We can’t just ask for a piece of the pie; we have to take it,” Martinez said.

Another suggestion presented at the conference was the creation of a few large groups that would represent Latinos, instead of the dozens of specialized groups.

“We tend to be polarized into so many groups. Other minorities look at us and say we never know who is speaking for you,” said Sylvia Singh-Mann, a UCI graduate.

The Santa Ana rent strike, which hundreds of Latinos have joined to force repairs in their apartments, is an example of the community’s strength, she said.

Bob Gomez, a university career counselor, said an advisory committee of students, faculty and community groups should be formed to make UCI more accessible to the Latino community.

“The university has to reflect the growing diversity of Orange County. We (Latinos) are taxpayers and support the system too,” Gomez said. Latinos compose about 7% of the enrollment at the school.