A crowd of students armed with posters and a podium prepared for a protest yesterday to hire a full-time advocate for the Latino student community but instead ended up celebrating a hard-fought victory.
Students from the Latino Student Union were ready to rally in front of the Main Administration Building, but early yesterday morning they learned they had already won their fight. University administrators approved a full-time position in the Office of Campus Programs for a coordinator who will unite Latino students at the university by encouraging student group involvement.
“I didn’t believe anything like this could happen so soon,” said LSU adviser Dave Jones. “We came here to rally, but we’re here to celebrate something we didn’t think we’d attain.”
Students have fought for this position for at least eight years, and they succeeded on their fourth attempt. Four students created an Advisor Action Committee in September to research the university’s Latino community and to develop ways to present their proposal to the administrators.
“Latinos still feel like they lack a proper place and voice on campus,” said Irene Vatandoost, a sophomore anthropology major and co-chair of the committee. “Future Latinos will have a place on campus because of this.”
The coordinator will help push for a Latino studies minor, a Latino outreach program and a Latino student center, Vatandoost said.
Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, director of activities for Campus Programs, approved the position early yesterday morning, saying the committee gave compelling reasons on how Latino students feel alone on the campus and how a coordinator would ease the disconnect. Latinos are a growing minority on the campus, representing about 5.5 percent of undergraduates, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.
Stephanie Altamirano, committee co-chair and a sophomore government and politics major, said she told her personal story to Stevens rather than just presenting facts from the group’s months of research.
“This isn’t just numbers and statistics,” she said. “I am the burnt-out student and lonely student I am talking about. This is me on the piece of paper.”
The university plans to hire the coordinator for fall 2005. Administrators still need to work out the details of the position, which will cost about $55,000 a year, Stevens said.
