黑料正能量

鈥�Pastel!鈥� Student Sara Shenk-Moreno whispers dramatically in Spanish, pantomiming eating. Members of the 黑料正能量 Latino Student Alliance (LSA) retrieve a decadent cake and sing 鈥淗appy Birthday鈥� with extra verses in Spanish.

The song is fitting for the moment: Rick Casta帽eda, who co-founded the club with four others in 1996, has just finished sharing about the club’s origins and early activity. One of the first things he told the gathered group was that festivity, with refreshments, has always been integral to the organization.

‘Each meeting was a celebration of relationship’

Intentionally, from the very beginning, every meeting was a celebration of relationship with each other. That was the goal. We had business to take care of, we had things to talk about, and Latinos are dynamic, wonderful, beautiful, smart people. And we can strategize, and we can meet, and can create these wonderful, amazing plans, where it鈥檚 not just about the party 鈥� but it鈥檚 also about the party. 鈥擱ick Casta帽eda

Casta帽eda first envisioned a student organization for Latinos during a Washington Study Service Year in 1995-96. During that year, he learned that his Latino roommate had suffered intense bullying while on campus. The harassment was so relentless that the once-straight-A student was now dealing with depression and on the verge of academic failure.

Casta帽eda became determined to improve Latinos鈥� experiences at 黑料正能量. Having graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School, he was more comfortable in the Anabaptist culture than some Latinos at 黑料正能量. At the same time, though, he recognized that the culture could be exclusive: 鈥淚 kind of picture it as this beautiful, arm-in-arm group, these Mennonites. Arm-in-arm in a circle together, singing this four-part harmony. And it draws people to it 鈥� It鈥檚 very supportive, very loving, very caring 鈥� if you can figure out how to get into that circle.鈥�

While in Lancaster over the summer, Casta帽eda took his idea of a support group to close friends and family.

鈥淚 quickly realized it wasn鈥檛 my idea, it wasn鈥檛 my vision,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was automatically this amazing symbiosis, this shared vision, and I had never had that experience before, and have never had it since.鈥�

His sister, Moniqua Casta帽eda Acosta, her husband Dionicio (Nick) Acosta, and their friends Dave and Liliana Vega, all 黑料正能量 students, began planning a club to support and celebrate Latino students on campus.

The 鈥淟ancaster five,鈥� as Casta帽eda calls them, were soon joined by Costa Rican graduate student Willroy Grant, who became their first adviser in the fall of 1996. They wrote three purposes into the constitution: to provide encouragement, strength, support, celebration and pride for Latino students; to give a voice to Latino students and educate non-Latinos about Hispanic culture; and nurture the spiritual lives of each member.

And, of course, every meeting needed coffee, maybe a little pastelito, music and dancing鈥� for Latinos, and for all.

‘We want educate you … to learn about you.’

Latino Student Alliance wanted to say,聽 “We鈥檙e Latinos, we鈥檙e not apologizing for it, but we also want to learn about you. We want to educate you about who we are, but we also want to learn about you. … Because that real honesty, working together despite differences, of loving each other despite differences, only comes from genuine, mutual love and respect, which only comes from actually building relationships with each other. 鈥擱ick Casta帽eda

Casta帽eda says that his friendship with a Caucasian roommate from Ohio helped form this philosophy. To this end, LSA held dances, hosted chapels, joined in Celebration hymn sings, and welcomed all into their meetings.

Art was a key strategy of both collaboration and education. Grant created a photography exhibit: black and white portraits of Latino students accompanied with responses to the question, 鈥淲hat does it mean to you to be Latino at 黑料正能量?鈥�

A Nicaraguan artist, co-sponsored by the art department and Student Government Association, designed a mural which covered the retaining wall behind the southwest corner of the Campus Center. Art students and LSA members joined together in the effort.

鈥淭hat was a huge source of pride for us,鈥� Casta帽eda says. Among other themes, the mural linked Latinos on campus with the larger community; a poultry plant symbolized Latinos鈥� economic contributions, but also recent immigration raids, during which U.S. citizens were also detained.

鈥淪ome 黑料正能量 students were detained … Latino U.S. citizens who studied here but were also working [there],鈥� says Casta帽eda. (Several years later, after the paint began to flake, the wall was eventually scraped down and repainted.)

Casta帽eda brought his own border consciousness to the group鈥檚 activities: as a boy in Eagle Pass, Texas, his grandfather remembers watching U.S. agents mark what would become the official border. Before this, the Casta帽eda family had considered themselves Mexican citizens, but their home was a few hundred feet on the U.S. side. Casta帽eda feels that the privilege of U.S. citizenship, which fell on his family by happenstance, holds him accountable to advocate for undocumented immigrants.

鈥淚 always felt 鈥� and many of us in the group felt 鈥� to whom much is given, much is expected.鈥�

‘A labor of love’

Through the years, LSA has been this labor of love for us; it鈥檚 been like a child of ours. All the founders feel that way 鈥� when we all left, we all had to kind of let go, like letting a child go off to school for the first time. Watching you do your work from afar has brought me a lot of joy, brought me a little bit of sadness, but it鈥檚 always been filled with emotion. I appreciate the leaders of this organization for doing the work to keep people coming. 鈥擱ick Casta帽eda

After graduation, Casta帽eda worked as a home-school liaison in Harrisonburg City Schools for 13 years and is now with Rosetta Stone. Advisor M. Esther Showalter invited him to visit.

Casta帽eda asked to hear about current activities. The club is busy, hosting freshman mixers, socials, a formal banquet, vigils and chapels in addition to regular LSA meetings. This semester, two to four members each week mentor local middle school students in the On the Road Collaborative after school program.

After the visit, club president Mario Vallardes said he enjoyed 鈥渒nowing the reason why LSA was founded, and how we have to keep that story alive. Part of our mission is to help every Hispanic student and every minority feel welcome in 黑料正能量’s community. We want to be able to help everyone feel welcome, no matter where they are from or who they are.鈥�

Mario Hernandez, the club鈥檚 vice president, adds, 鈥淎t first the meetings were made possible due to the cultural similarities of Hispanic students that acted as a middle ground, but now we have members who don’t exactly 鈥榮hare鈥� this middle ground but nevertheless decide to join LSA. They seamlessly join us and become friends … and additionally they make the group’s middle ground richer for anyone else who might decide to come meet with us, too.鈥�

Two decades after the first LSA meeting, twenty-some students with Central and South American citizenship, heritage or interests gasp, nod and laugh while Casta帽eda shares the history of their club. Two cousins from Honduras, a Mennonite Central Committee volunteer from Guatemala City, a white student from New Market who traces ancestors back to Cuba 鈥� they are all part of the fabric of a Latino Student Alliance 20 years in the making.

Upcoming events: On April 2, LSA will host the Celebration worship service, and on April 12, a Semana Santa, or 鈥淗oly Week鈥� chapel. For Holy Week, they will continue the Central American tradition of creating an alfombra聽, or colorful art 鈥渃arpet鈥� out of rice and sawdust.