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Leonel Martinez: There's lots to celebrate at Chicano graduation
| Wednesday, May 28 2008 11:35 AM
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 28 2008 12:31 PM
When I graduated from Cal State Bakersfield 25 years ago this June as the first in my family to earn a college degree, about 12 percent of the campus' undergraduates were Hispanic.
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Since then, that number has surged to about 44 percent.
Earning a degree may not seem like a big accomplishment to families that have a history of attending college, but to my family of field laborers with no background in higher education, it entailed great sacrifices.
On a farmworker's salary of about $20,000 a year, my grandfather took out a loan to buy me a motorcycle so I could attend classes. Even though he never made it past first grade in his native Mexico — he hated grammar school so much he would jump out of the classroom window and run away — my grandpa was convinced I was destined to earn a degree.
Many Hispanic graduates are first-generation college students whose families overcame great odds because they know what I do: Education transforms lives.
Cal State's Latino students are scheduled to celebrate academic success June 8 at the university's annual Chicano Commencement at the campus' Doré Theatre. The event was organized by the campus chapter of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, or MEChA.
MEChA's mission is to help Hispanics succeed in higher education despite the silly attempts of the state of Arizona to brand the organization separatist and ban it from college and high school campuses. The group was born in the late 1960s, so if it really advocates violent revolt — as some of its hyperventilating critics suggest — it's been biding its time for quite a while.
The Chicano Commencement is bilingual, has been held for more than 25 years, and 30 to 50 students typically participate, according to Professor Thomas Martinez, chairman of the university's department of public policy and administration.
“It's a celebration of Chicano-Latino success in higher education,” said Martinez. “The first in the family that goes to college usually ends up being followed by brothers and sisters … You end up changing society.”
Those who argue the commencement is separatist because it focuses on Latinos should come up with a more original argument. In fact, the ceremonies are open to everyone, and students who aren't Hispanic often participate.
Taking pride in Latino academic success doesn't mean disparaging the success of other groups. And MEChA students don't even use public funding since they raise their own money for the commencement.
Why the surge in Latino students at Cal State? Martinez pointed to several factors.
They include the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s led by groups like MEChA that pushed for access to higher education and financial aid, said Martinez. Political activism prompted by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers also played a role.
Martinez also lauded former Cal State President Tomas Arciniega's efforts to draw more Hispanic students.
“Some people would say it's just a demographic shift, and it's evolutionary,” he said. “No, it's revolutionary. Back then, higher education was not about minority kids.”
Things have obviously changed. Latino students have a lot to celebrate at the Chicano Commencement.
Strike up the mariachi, and a hearty “felicidades.”
Opinions expressed are those of Leonel Martinez, not The Californian. His column appears every other Thursday. E-mail him at lmartinez@bakersfield.com or leave a voice mail at 395-7631.