Countywide : Young Latinos Take to Heart Lessons of PRIDE

Nancy Morales went to a conference at Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday because she wanted to learn more about her heritage.

The 17-year-old student body president at Fullerton Union High School, persuaded her principal to let her and 16 schoolmates attend the fifth annual PRIDE conference.

PRIDE--Power, Respect, Identity and Development through Education--is sponsored by the university’s MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan), which encourages Chicano students to strive for a college education and to take pride in their roots.

Part of what they learned Tuesday, Morales said, is that, “if you want something to be done, you have to do it yourself.”

That was the message of keynote speaker Evelina Fernandez.

People need to know who they are and love themselves before they can make a positive difference in society, she said.

She encouraged the students to be proud of their culture and, “if you want something to change, do something about it.”

About 400 Latino students from high schools across the county attended workshops dealing with such topics as career choices, the Chicano movement, gender issues, dispute resolution, self-esteem and practical tips on how to get into a university and apply for financial aid.

Alton Steele, a teacher at Yale Day School in Santa Ana, brought 10 of his students to the conference.

The reason, he said, is that “it’s important to have knowledge about your ethnic culture.”

“As long as the majority society keeps minorities isolated from that knowledge, it will be difficult for minorities to elevate in that society.

“If you don’t know who you are, you don’t stand for anything.”