I grew up in a small I guess you would say city; for many of you who didn’t grow up there, it is known for the large Walmart supercenter visible from I-5 and the Woodburn outlet mall right across the street. Woodburn is also known for being a predominately Latino-populated city, so coming to Corvallis was actually a cultural shock for me.
The reality of going from the majority to the minority never really hit me until I got to Oregon State University. Granted, I would go shopping outside of Woodburn and would at times get followed at a department store, or stared at when holding my baby nephews or nieces at the mall and then told, ‘Oh, what a beautiful son or daughter you have.’
These are just a few of the realities that I have faced as a Latina. The reality is that as much as we try to fight these stereotypes and misconceptions, most of us are left tired and frustrated at always having to educate others on who we are, and even then, our community itself is so broad and diverse that we can only speak of our own personal experiences.
The reality is that our Latino or Chicano communities are as diverse as you can imagine; we come from places such as Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, etc. Just like in the United States, we come in many different shades-from light-skinned, blue-eyed, blonde-haired individuals to the dark-skinned, dark-eyed, black-haired ones. So the reality is that the individual most people picture as Latino is the stereotype we see in the media: short with dark brown skin, brown-eyed, black-haired, and let’s face it, Mexican.
Yes, even though I identify myself as Mexican (both of my parent [sic] emigrated here from Mexico), we are not all from Mexico. I have many friends from other countries who at times get fed up with always being asked what part of Mexico they are from. Immigration to the U.S. isn’t just from Mexico, individuals come from all of Latin America. There are also some that have been here for hundreds of years, hence, ‘The border crossed us, we didn’t cross the border.’
Our university has approximately 900 plus students that identify themselves as Latino. The reality is, though, that so many of us are involved with various organizations, clubs or sports that it is impossible to know every single Latino student. So when someone that met another Latino student asks me if I know them, then describes them as short, black hair and brown eyes, that doesn’t really help. And no, we do not know every Latino student on campus.
As I said earlier, because of our diversity, it is hard to distinguish who is Latino. The truth is that many times, I’ve been at the Native American Longhouse and asked what tribe I’m from, at times wishing I could answer that question: our culture has been so intermixed with those who conquered our countries, with the few exceptions of those indigenous groups that have managed to preserve that history, I can’t really answer it.
However, the one thing that many of us are facing here on campus is the feeling of inadequacy. Deciding to leave your family, friends and everything you know in order to attend a university is a very hard decision to make.
We aren’t here because of affirmative action, or any other reason people like to use as a scapegoat: Just like every student here, we have worked for and earned where we are today, much like our parents and grandparents.
There is always this feeling of having to prove yourself as a student, of needing to work a little harder in order to prove you deserve to be here, but with the help of the university’s cultural centers and programs-like the College Assistant Migrant Program, Intercultural Student Services (particularly Gustavo Martinez-Padilla from CASA Latino) and the Educational Opportunities Program-we have had the support needed to succeed, along with that from our families and friends.
We never let ourselves fail as students. As much as every student here is struggling, our struggles go a little deeper in that we have to find and create our ‘home away from home’ here at the university. With the help of faculty of color and various organizations, we have slowly created that family atmosphere.
Cesar E. Chavez once said, ‘We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community-and this nation.’ The hope is that the stereotypes individuals have of our community will change and we all begin to educate our thinking of each other, not just the Latino community.
*This article was originally published in the Daily Barometer and is printed here in its original form.
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