MEChA hosts statewide conference at UCLA
By Thyda Duong
May 2, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Clustered in small groups in classrooms and on the grass,
approximately 1,000 students from across California gathered to
discuss issues ranging from immigration to sexual violence.
These students participated in the 2004 MEChA Statewide Spring
Conference, hosted by MEChA de UCLA this past weekend.
The three-day conference consisted of motivational speakers,
caucuses and workshops that emphasized the need to transcend
gender, sex and ethnicity to establish a community based on justice
and equality.
“It’s easy to stick to your own community and
overlook the struggles of others. This is an opportunity to connect
with all students of different levels of consciousness,” said
UC Santa Cruz student Rodrigo Alatriste, a four-time conference
attendee.
Julia Gaytan, conference co-chair, said she believes topics such
as social movements and safe sex offer an opportunity for students
to discuss their ideas openly that will result in the creation of a
Community Action Guide. The guide will serve as a form of guidance
for the Chicana/o community’s struggle against social
injustice.
MEChA has represented the Chicano/a community for 35 years, and
is rooted on the basis of community betterment through social
change.
Saturday’s keynote speaker, Mandla Kayise, a UCLA alumnus
and founder of New World Education, an organization concentrated on
community empowerment, stressed the strength of MEChA as a group of
and for change.
“If we are able to defeat racism and build a new idea of
what it means to be human, then I believe the Chicano community is
the link that will bring us all together,” Kayise said in his
address.
Kayise also defended MEChA against recent conservative attacks,
saying, “Comparing MEChistas to Nazis does not merit a
response. It is a direct contradiction to the direction and goal of
MEChA.”
Kayise was referring to a dispute between Bruin Republicans and
MEChA earlier this year, when Bruin Republicans called some aspects
of MEChA’s founding document racist.
The theme of justice and change extended beyond Westwood, as
attendees were bussed and carpooled to Koreatown on Saturday
afternoon to participate in the annual May Day March and 3,000
person rally in recognition of International Workers’
Day.
The MEChA statewide action was coordinated in association with
the Multi-ethnic Immigrant Workers organization network in Los
Angeles
“This allows us to engage with the community rather than
just talk about it,” said Maricela Meza, the conference
logistics coordinator.
