Letters to the editor

Bruin Republicans wrong about MEChA We support
MEChA de UCLA. We recently attended the annual Raza Youth
Conference and found it very positive and helpful in motivating
high school youth to pursue higher education. There were over 1,000
young people attending. MEChA de UCLA has also supported Centro
Community Service Organization with our many community activities
promoting peace and education in the community of Boyle Heights. I
was a founding member of MEChA when I attended East Los Angeles
College in 1967. I am proud of having participated in MEChA and I
continue to encourage all students attending college to be active
in their local MEChA chapters. I urge the Bruin Republicans to
cease unwarranted attacks and demands on MEChA de UCLA. El Plan
Espiritual de Aztlán was formulated at the National Chicano
Youth Liberation Conference in Denver, Colo. in the late 1960s and
motivated thousands of youth to get involved in the movement for
social justice in the Chicana/Chicano community. It was not a MEChA
founding document. The Bruin Republicans are only contributing to a
divisive situation. If members of the Bruin Republicans are
associating with conservative radio and accepting money through it,
they are in bad company. Radio conservatives have insulted and
attacked the large Latina/o community of Southern California with
their sick comedy at the expense of our community and leaders.
There is a saying in our community “Tell me who you associate
with and I will tell you who you are.” Who are the Bruin
Republicans?

Carlos Montes Executive Director, Community Service
Organization

Bruin Republicans has spent a lot of its time running a smear
campaign against a well-established organization that has done
solid work in providing educational assistance and outreach to the
Chicana/o community, among other positive things. Bruin
Republicans, meanwhile, has done little for the community except
spread hate and lies. Their agenda apparently consists of smearing
various minority campus groups and curriculums through their recent
anti-MEChA efforts and supporting the iniquitous campaign to elect
Bush/Cheney in 2004. These are the values the members of the Bruin
Republicans present to the world, and somehow they have the gall to
call a valuable diversity group such as MEChA racist? Bruin
Republicans has everything reversed. If they want on-campus racism
to stop, they should not be propagating hate through their
comparisons of MEChA philosophies to those of the Nazis. They
should not be creating a “debate” moderated by the
ultraconservative talk show host Al Rantel.

Zoltan CsaplarUCLA class of 2002

The Queer Alliance, a coalition of the six undergraduate LGBT
organizations, is strongly committed to being a progressive voice
at UCLA. While the focus of the organization is to advocate issues
regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, the Alliance
acknowledges issues of race, class, ability, religion, etc., are
interconnected and part of the progressive cause. MEChA, a group
dedicated to addressing the needs of the Chicana/o community both
on and off campus, embraces this understanding, fostering a kinship
between our organizations. In our history working together, MEChA
has demonstrated a commitment to working for social justice for all
individuals. The work they do for the community is ongoing and
enriches the university’s cultural and educational
atmosphere. When Bruin Republicans attacks MEChA and questions its
motives, it demonstrates a misrepresentation of MEChA’s
overall goals. The ridiculous and reactionary nature of this
campaign shows that Bruin Republicans is the divisive group on
campus, not MEChA. This attack offers nothing positive for the UCLA
community. The Queer Alliance’s history with Bruin
Republicans has likewise been marked by negativity. It seems Bruin
Republicans invokes confrontational and disrespectful tactics in
dealing with issues and groups at UCLA to this day. In pursuing
these actions, Bruin Republicans disregards real issues that affect
students and it perpetuates this cycle of combativeness. The Queer
Alliance finds it difficult to take Bruin Republicans seriously
because its own campaigns question its credibility. When will Bruin
Republicans realize these strategies are ineffective? Attacking
groups offering real solutions while doing nothing proactive
themselves represents a gross misuse of organizational
resources.

Kian Boloori Chairperson of the Queer
Alliance