Over 40 students and three staff members gave their feedback on improvements the Latinx Resource Center can make during their rebranding tabling from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30.
The Latinx Resource Center is one of the many cultural resource centers under the Office of Multicultural Affairs banner that the university offers.
According to their homage description, their goal, “is to provide resources that educate students about the many historical and cultural backgrounds that make up the Chicanx & Latinx population.”
“This also includes community organizing and the promotion and education of social movements and political issues that continue to affect Chicanxs and Latinxs today.”
“Students want us to help with workshops with things like mental health, scholarships and networking with Latinx staff,” Natalie Mejia, a student research fellow for the center, said. “However, we’ve been getting a lot of responses revolved around how the space itself wasn’t super welcoming,”
The student researcher said the space is hard for students to find. Located in the faculty offices FO4, it is often overlooked by students and this isolation from campus makes it difficult for the center to foster a sense of community.
The center’s logo was something that was brought up during the rebranding discussion, Mejia said. Students felt the logo should be more inclusive to all of Latin America. The current logo depicts the steps of an Aztec temple in Tenochtitlan, which Tenochtitlan is associated specifically with Mexico and the Mexica people.
“Right now, there is not a set logo for the rebrand however there are common themes that have been suggested such as bright colors, incorporating flowers, and other items that are culturally significant to Latin America,” Mejia said.
“We want it to be more welcoming and feel like a student union for all students,” Mejia said. “The center has been student-led in the past and now that we have a director that can access campus resources we would like to make it a community space.”
Previously known as the Raza Resource Center, the Latinx Resource Center was both made up and led by students. Changes were made in August of last year when Darnell Lewis and Alondra Enríquez took the positions for the resource center with Lewis being the director and Enríquez as the assistant director respectively. Both roles aim to aid the Latinx Resource Center.
“Darnell Lewis has been a big help in assisting all the assistant directors for each center, as well as helping those that currently do not have an assistant director,” Mejia said. “He ensures that anything needed for each center, or any concern brought up by the students is met.”
The center is aiming to rebrand in 2024 for the upcoming school year.
“Hopefully you’ll be able to see more workshops and services that students need,” Mejia said. “Changes to look forward to include better resources, community, snacks, and more programming. We also want to have inner programming with other centers.”