UNM’s El Centro de la Raza celebrated its 40th anniversary this week.
Director Verónica Méndez-Cruz said the celebration at the SUB Monday and Tuesday involved children who are not old enough to attend college. She said outreach to middle school and high school students will increase enrollment of Latinos at UNM.
“If we don’t reach out to them there, we won’t see them here,” she said.
Méndez-Cruz said the festivities included plays put on by the children and mock college classes for middle school students.
Sophomore Alejandro Mendiaz, who has a fellowship with El Centro de la Raza through the Office of Student Affairs, said the organization provides services, including peer mentoring and financial advisement, for Latino students.
“It’s a big support system for Latino students, for any students really, because they’re open to anyone,” he said. “I’ve been going there for all my needs, for support, homework, the computer lab, friends, everything.”
Junior Timoteo Serna, a volunteer at the organization, said the support services kept him from dropping out of UNM.
“When I first came to UNM, El Centro was kind of my home. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for El Centro,” he said.
Serna said that without El Centro de la Raza, life on campus would be much more difficult for Latino students.
Mendiaz said the anniversary celebration included outreach and workshops, as well as planning sessions.
“This isn’t just a celebration of 40 years, it’s a planning session for what they’re going to do for the next 40 years,” he said.
Méndez-Cruz said the planning sessions outlined El Centro de la Raza’s objectives and mission, which adapt to meet the needs of the Latino population.
“Most importantly, it’s a center that continues to evolve,” she said.
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Méndez-Cruz said El Centro works to help Latino students integrate into the UNM community. She said they have computer pods, a break room, CAPS tutors for El Centro de la Raza members and support services in Spanish for students’ families.
“The Center has always been a hub of sorts, where our Latino students could go into a very white university, but then go back into the Center,” she said.
Méndez-Cruz said the program is open to all UNM students, regardless of race or cultural background.
“The Center is open to all our students, not just the Latino population,” she said. “We have a wide range of student support-type programs, and everything we afford our students is free of charge.”
Méndez-Cruz said El Centro de la Raza also provides support services in case a student experiences discrimination.
“Should a student come to me and say ‘the professor said this to me and it’s wrong’… Those are the issues I deal with,” she said.
Serna said one of the organization’s priorities is to get more participation from the student community.
“There needs to be more student involvement,” he said. “It’s up to us as students to make that happen.”
