Students join Latino-rights march in DC

A bus of approximately 40 Oberlin students will be joining hundreds of thousands of other activists in Washington, D.C. this weekend at the National Immigrant and Poor March. Members of La Alianza Latina, the Latino student group, and the Democratic Socialists are joining other protesters in support of the first national Latino-rights march in the nation's capital.

"It will open our eyes to the big picture," Roman said.

First-year Bobbi Lopez, a member of La Alianza, is going to the march. She thinks it is important as a way of organizing the Latino community. "It is fashionable to be anti-Latino, anti-bilingual and anti-immigration now," she said. Lopez said that by marching in Washington, protesters are demonstrating that there are people who will fight these trends.

Co-chair of La Alianza, senior Sergio Acevedo, is excited about the march because it will be his first political march in Washington. He said that knowing it is coming from the grassroots of the Latino community makes him proud and gives it more significance. "It is very positive to see this coming out of a Latino organization," he said.

The march is the culmination of a week-long celebration of Latino Heritage Month. La Semana Latina, Latino Week, consisted of seven nights of activities, including tonight's Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race), a dinner which, in years past, marked the entire celebration of the heritage month.

Acevedo said that by extending the celebration to a week and including six new activities, the group hoped to widen its appeal and be more inclusive. The events varied from an all-campus party to a coffeehouse to HIVato, a one-man performance piece by Alberto Antonio Araiza. HIVato details Araiza's struggle with HIV, the way it effected him culturally, emotionally and spiritually.

Some organizers expressed disappointment with turnout. Acevedo said he thinks that with midterms so close they lost many participants due to workload. But, "It has been a learning experience," Acevedo said.

"I think [Semana Latina] is a great idea but it came at a bad time," Lopez said. She said that many students, including herself, were unable to appreciate the week of activities as much as they could have.

Roman, however, was pleased. "I think it was excellent. It was better than we expected," she said.

The week used up more than half of La Alianza's funds, and next week the group is petitioning the Student Finance Committee for more money. The group is requesting the funds to host the ECCS student conference in the spring. The conference will bring Latino groups from many east coast colleges to Oberlin.

La Alianza was known as La Union last year, but returned to its original name this year. The group is experiencing a year of increased activity and energy, according to members.

"We have more retention and are keeping people more interested," Roman said. She also said that meetings are better because work is actually accomplished.

Acevedo said that the group has moved to a committee structure that is more inclusive, and utilizes membership more. He said that through committees the group was able to plan Semana Latina successfully.