Resistiendo y Luchando: Students Transforming Facile Institutional Constructions of Comunidad through Mexican American/Latinx Studies Along the Frontera

Historically the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has struggled with institutional violence that dates back to its inception in the late 1960s as Pan American College, the... [ view full abstract ]

Historically the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has struggled with institutional violence that dates back to its inception in the late 1960s as Pan American College, the alma matter of Gloria Anzaldúa. Due to student activism, the MAS program came into existence in 19XX. It was, however, a degree only on paper with no institutional support. In 2009, efforts on behalf of the faculty were made to revive the program, but were met with resistance from the institution. It was the student-led activism through the Mexican American Studies Club (MASC) which yielded a minimal response from the institution and secured the program's survival. In 2011, the MAS Club pushed for a university-wide diversity requirement in the hopes of exposing the 90% Chicanx/Latinx student population to culturally relevant material. The students were met with not only denial, but also insult. Regardless, the MAS program and students have continued to work and organize for a greater and lasting presence on campus.

Within the program students and faculty collectively organize and contribute to faculty program meetings, retreats, as well as activism outside of the academy. In Spring of 2015 as the transition of The University of Texas - Pan American to The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) neared, students called for the formalization of Department Status and permanent funding for the Center via news outlets and lobbying the Texas legislature. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the calls fell upon the deaf ears of the academy, our work continues.

UTRGV poises itself on the U.S. - Mexico border and continually denies its 90% Chicanx/Latinx student population the possibility of investigating community knowledge and socio-political, economic, cultural and artistic conditions and contributions by Mexican Americans, Chicanx, Mexicanxs, and Latinxs to the Rio Grande Valley and the nation. UTRGV boasts that it is a “Hispanic Serving” institution, yet fails to make good on its marketing strategies and continually re-enforces the binary of the academy and the community. This raises the question: Can being a Hispanic Serving Institution work against Chicanx/Latinx Studies?

In response to the merging of Universities in the Rio Grande Valley the MAS Club felt it necessary to redefine their presence on campus in name, philosophy, and vision. Thus, La Unión de Chicanxs Hijxs de Aztlán (LUCHA) was established in an effort to lay the foundations for our vision of Raza Studies in the academy, and also as a deliberate response to the consistent complacency of the university. We ground ourselves with the pillars of Conocimiento, Cultura, Comunidad, and Confianza so as to guide our vision and organization. We have maneuvered from within, around, and outside of the institution in order to begin challenging the binary of community and academy that our “Hispanic Enrolling” university has institutionalized. This roundtable will seek to discuss the role of students in creative and radical efforts of solidarity and coalition building in and beyond the academy as we contribute to building the cultural institutions our communities deserve.