University's ethnic centers offer vital support to students

Editor,

UNM is often heralded as a campus of diversity, a school that is designated both high-research and Hispanic-serving. We take pride in our Southwestern-style architecture, our Spanish-language mascot and our garish statue of Latin dancers perpetually greeting campus visitors. We utilize our student demographics to secure funding for minority-serving institutions and serve biscochitos in the President's House.

Why, then, are our ethnic centers and student support programs the first and hardest hit during times of economic strife? As important as research is, a public university is charged with more than simply providing academic information. Should it not also be concerned with nurturing personal growth and achievement in its students as well as the communities from which they come?

Departments such as El Centro de la Raza do much more than provide academic and career advisement, tutoring, computer access, copy and fax services and a microwave to heat your Hot Pocket in if needed. As valuable as those services are, one could argue that similar services can be found elsewhere on campus. No, what is unique about our ethnic centers is their ability to connect with students on a level much deeper than an algebraic formula or chemistry module. They are havens for countless campus and community members, places to hang your hat and regroup and recharge after being churned through the bureaucratic machine that any institution of our size is bound to become. They're places where students are individuals, not numbers or faceless tuition dollars. They're places to celebrate one's own heritage and explore other cultures while sharing these experiences with the campus community through

cultural programming and events. The perennial homes away from home, the centers are directly responsible for the outreach and retention of many first-generation, minority and low-income students who otherwise would struggle while trying to navigate through our educational system.

I know this firsthand, as I was one such student. It was only after I found El Centro that I became truly successful, as a student and as a person. The support and encouragement I found there kept me at UNM and propelled me toward graduation. Now, as an employee of the University, I hope that our legislators, as well as our own Student Fee Review Board, recognize the void that will be created without fully-functioning student support centers. If increased retention of our diverse student population is at all an attainable goal, our ethnic centers play a vital role in achieving it.

Nancy Sepulveda

UNM staff