M.E.Ch.A. de Vassar Update

The wonderful MEChistAs at Vassar are very busy this semester and we would like to update you all on what they are up to this fall semester.

They are sponsoring two lectures

1)"On Being and Not Being the Wretched of the Earth" (Breeze Harper) (Nov) Breeze Harper is is the editor of “Sistah Vegan” (Lantern Books 2010) and a PhD candidate in critical food geographies at UCD. The Sistah Vegan Project focuses on how plant-based consumptive lifestyle is affected by factors of race, racisms, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and other social injustices within the lives of black females. Her dissertation (in progress) is titled Situating Racialization, Racisms, and Anti-Racisms: Critical Race Feminist and Socio-spatial Epistemological Analysis of Vegan Philosophy in the USA.

2)"El Barrio No Se Vende! ¡Se Ama y Se Defiende" (Mikey Velarde VC alum) (Dec) Movement for Justice in El Barrio was founded by immigrants and low-income people of color of East Harlem to fight for dignity and against neoliberal displacement. Movement operates on a commitment to self-determination, autonomy, and participatory democracy.

In addition they seem to be very involved in the campus life by joining the a few on campus events like:

"Smashing History: 150 Years of LGBTIQA Vassar" (Nov) A weekend conference celebrating the accomplishments of prominent alumnae/i who have distinguished themselves in service to LGBTIQA communities variously through activism, archival work and public history, the arts, community organizing and outreach, education, journalism, the law, and many other areas.

"Meet me in Poughkeepsie" (Dec) An event aimed at fostering/strengthening community ties between campus activist groups and community activists.

They also hosted the Dia de los Muertos event (Nov) which was not one but two separate events. One located in the community and the other on campus. Along with a traditional altar, 2 additional altars will be devoted to victims of social inequality (i.e Troy Davis) and unjust Immigration policies.

They were pitching in at local public schools in September and October by providing translator services during the Back to School/ Open House season. In addition, they participated in Occupy Wall St and Occupy Poughkeepsie demonstrations/organizing. (Oct/Nov) As well as doing some fundraising for scholarship fund

A documentary by Oscar nominated/Emmy award winning Filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman, is being done on one of the members of M.E.Ch.A de Vassar and their MEChA chapter has been featured.

Keep on making us proud M.E.Ch.A de Vassar!

ECCSF Fall 2011 Conference at University of Pennsylvania

The weekend of November 11, 2011- November 13, 2011, UPenn will be hosting ECCSF's fall conference titled "Sin Cadenas: Deconstructing Gender, Identity and Sexuality." The conference's focus will be to explore the taboo and undiscussed topics related to gender, identity and sexuality in the Latino community. The workshops will deal with these topics and create an environment where stereotypes and prejudices will be replaced by facts and tolerance.

For those that are attending UPenn has been kind enough to provide you with a list of essential items that you should bring to the conference

Here's a list of items we recommend you bring:

• Photo ID (very important)
• Sleeping bag
• Pillow
• Towel
• Toiletries
• Money for lunch
• Semi-formal attire for Saturday night's dinner

Regarding food: Complimentary breakfast will be provided on Saturday and Sunday mornings. A dinner reception will be held Saturday evening. As has been in the past, attendees are expected to provide their own lunch. You will receive a guide to some local restaurants with your materials. Please bring money and plan accordingly.

To those of you who have not made up your mind yet about attending; you can still register for the conference at http://upenn2011eccsf.weebly.com/registration.html

See you all soon!

MEChA de Yale: Organization Update For This Month

This month MEChA de Yale has been focusing on the Mexican Bicentennial of Mexican Independence Day and the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution. For the past months we've held events celebrating the Día de los Muertos, setting up multiple altars and commemorating the loss of loved ones and of revolutionaries. We held a workshop on how to be a Modern Revolutionary, a viewing of Latin American art, a film screening of the narco-trafficking situation in Ciudad Juarez, etc. More is included in the flyer below. We're in the process of planning for the ECCSF winter conference in February. We are also having elections this month, and are turning over our group to a new e-board. 

Alejandro Gutierrez

Mezcla de Wellesley: Organization Update For This Month

Mezcla

During the month of October we had quite a number of events going on.We had a mixer with an MIT group. A professor luncheon in the middle of the month where we enjoyed pupusas and the company of select faculty. Personally, it's one of my favorite Mezcla events and we had positive feedback from both the members and professors. Basically a couple of professors and a large portion of Mezcla had a casual lunch where we all introduced ourselves and the professors talked about themselves in a nonacademic setting. It's a great way to connect and feel more comfortable with faculty. We also had a school wide pub night where we all bonded over good Latin music and sold homemade empanadas as a fundraiser. We also had two general meetings that went really well. Just this past Wednesday we had our annual Día De Los Muertos celebration which we co sponsor, that the Spanish dept and Latina advisor put on. There was a great turnout (and not just Latinas), great food and live mariachis. And yesterday we had a Big Sister/Little Sister dinner where we cooked delicious cuban food and bonded with our littles. 

Jessica Camacho

Class of 2013   

TCW

Mezcla

MEChA de Vassar: Organization Update For This Month

MEChA de VASSAR

We've done....
-DREAM ACT Demonstration & VIGIL
-DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CELEBRATION
*Altar demonstrations
-Sex education Fair:Collaborated with local Colleges/Non-profit groups/local High Schools on a event that focused on The prevention of Teen pregnancy through the arts.
-Pachanga Dance Party
-LONG ISLAND LEAFLETTING (Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act)

We plan to....
-rally for farm workers rights on campus, as well as in the surrounding town.

~Dennis Rivera-Cash

Yalies at the New Haven May Day March!

DREAM Act Advocacy: Cornell University

April 22, 2010

Skorton letter in favor of DREAM Act attracts support of university presidents

By George Lowery

Cornell President David Skorton has written a letter in support of bipartisan legislation that would provide some undocumented students with a pathway to permanent U.S. residency. The letter, which has been sent to members of Congress, has also been signed by eight New York state university presidents.

The DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act of 2009, sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), would amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit states to determine residency for college and university students.

Under the DREAM Act, undocumented alien students who arrive in the United States as minors and who graduate from a U.S. high school would obtain temporary residency for six years. During that time they must acquire a degree from a U.S. institution of higher education or complete at least two years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's degree or higher degree, or have served in the military for at least two years and, if discharged, have received an honorable discharge.

After meeting these criteria and having lived in the United States continuously for five years, they would become eligible for conditional permanent residency in the United States.

"I am very excited to hear of President Skorton's support of the DREAM Act. Cornell University, alongside its peer institutions, is certainly in a position to have real effects on the type of attention that the DREAM Act garners within the discussion on immigration reform," said Alex Cárdenas '10, an American studies major.

He continued, "For many of my classmates, the lack of financial support and even the 'othering' of their college experience through the lack of protective measures which would safeguard them from actions such as deportations (which has occurred to Cornell students in the past) allows me to say that we must push to do more for the protection of this country's scholars. The [DREAM] Act is a measure to ensure that thousands of students who wish to pursue higher education in this country have the necessary means and support to do so."

The presidents of the State University of New York, the City University of New York, the State University of New York at Buffalo and Stony Brook, New York University, the University of Rochester, Syracuse University and Fordham University have signed on to Skorton's letter. It has been sent to the New York congressional delegation to ask for its support, and to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to thank them for their work on comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

The letter reads, in part:

"We would also like to take this opportunity to affirm our strong support for federal legislation that would provide a pathway to legal residency -- and remove barriers to higher education -- for thousands of students who are not legal residents of this country, through no fault of their own.

"As you prepare to introduce comprehensive immigration legislation, we urge you to include the bipartisan 2009 DREAM Act -- the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act -- which provides undocumented immigrant children who graduate from U.S. high schools in good standing with conditional residency status.

"This would enable them to enroll in colleges and universities in states that currently do not recognize them and to qualify for some federal and state financial aid benefits as well as in-state tuition.

"Currently, undocumented children can only obtain permanent residency through their parents. Many of these students came to this country as infants. This is the only home they have ever known, the only language they speak. They are the products of our excellent primary and secondary educational system and they deserve the right to access our institutions of higher education and become productive and engaged members of our society.

"This legislation will correct an injustice perpetrated upon thousands of American students and ultimately will benefit our country. It is the right thing to do and should be done now."