Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Hale, James B.

Evelyn Lopez and Colleen Esper had taken all the courses for a minor that didn't exist.

But on Friday, the University Senate voted to accept the Latino/a Studies minor into the university's academic curriculum, allowing them to graduate this spring with the minor on their transcript.

Before the vote, Lopez, Esper and about 40 other students, energized by coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts, wore all red and rallied on McKeldin Mall at 8 a.m., determined to show the university they are passionate about integrating Latino culture into the university's academic curriculum.

"What do we want? Latino studies!" the crowd chanted. "When do we want it? Now!"

Thanks in part to that demonstration and numerous other efforts by the Latino community on the campus, the senate approved the proposal, following a resolution passed Wednesday by the Student Government Association that supported the initiative.

The minor program will become official this fall and would require undergraduate students to enroll in five three-credit classes. At full enrollment, the program can accommodate 40 students.

For the past few months, Latino students have pressed to bring their quest for the minor program to the forefront of campus affairs. Last month, a group of students attended an open forum on the university's new strategic plan and commandeered a microphone to question Provost Nariman Farvardin about the stall in approving the minor. A couple of weeks earlier, Lopez, a senior criminology and criminal justice major who has fulfilled all the credits necessary for the minor, told The Diamondback "there [would] be a riot" if the program weren't approved this semester.

But thanks to the senate's approval, Lopez and Esper can graduate this semester with the minor, even though it becomes official next fall.

Many students who demonstrated Friday said they believe the minor will help teach students - Latino and other races alike - about the politics, history and literature of Latino people in America.

Students who are already enrolled in U.S. Latina/o studies classes said the experience has enriched their sense of American history.

"Chicanos have been in the country longer than white people," said Esper, a senior sociology major. "It gives you a new perspective on the immigration debate."

SGA President Andrew Friedson came to the rally to show his support, stating that the program will help enrich other students' cultural understanding.Such views pervaded the rally.

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