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By Katlin Sweeney

After President Haynes’ announcement confirming the implementation of a Latin@ Center in the fall, many students, faculty and community members anxiously await the Center’s relatively prompt opening.

The Center is a result of the combined efforts of multiple student orgs., depts. and campus leaders who have been proposing its inception for years. Much of the work from the past year has been the product of student orgs. working together, including United Students of Color Coalition, S.T.A.N.D. and M.E.Ch.A.

In her email announcement on Jan. 28, President Haynes confirmed that Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Lorena Meza, has been selected to “develop the operational structure, budget, location and timeline for the Center’s opening.”

Dr. Meza confirmed that the Latin@ Center is set to be opened at the start of the fall semester and will be housed in the USU. She also said that she has received multiple emails from students, faculty and staff expressing their enthusiasm about the Center’s implementation.

“This [Center] is a good opportunity to be transparent about our diversity that we value and pride ourselves on,” she said. “Not only do we walk the walk but we talk the talk, and it is exciting to see things flourish as they get delivered and accepted.”

According to Dr. Meza, the process has already begun to find a director for the Center. The Center will also hire peer educators to help the Center’s director with programming and student mentorship.

“The Center’s director will be reporting to the Associate Vice President of Student Academic Support Services,” she said. “We are looking for a student services professional that has the skill set to handle different levels of development, as well as providing referrals and support to the students. There has been interest in the position already and we will choose whoever we feel is qualified to provide that level of guidance to the students.”

Students that have advocated for a Latin@ Center voiced similar expectations for the future director. United Students of Color Coalition President, Thiana Ruiz, has been involved with the proposals for the Latin@ Center for more than a year. She also was part of the work group tasked by President Haynes to develop the proposal for the Center, which was submitted in December.

“Finding the right director will be key to the way the Center is run,” Ruiz said. “They will help a lot with the programming and we need someone who is inspirational, motivational and has a passion for helping all Latino and undocumented students.”

Having a Latin@ Center at CSUSM in the fall will provide a diverse range of resources to students, notably those who are Latino/a and/or undocumented. In spring 2010, the U.S. Department of Education recognized CSUSM as a Hispanic Serving Institution. This distinction is given to universities where at least 25 percent of the student populace identifies as Hispanic/Latino. In 2014, students that identified as Latino/a were the second largest group on campus, accounting for 35.6 percent of the population while Caucasian students totaled 35.8 percent.

According to the recently released Cougar Stats for 2015, CSUSM students that identify as Latino/a are now the largest population on campus. 39 percent of the student populace identifies as Latino/a, surpassing the Caucasian student population by 6 percent.

However, the Center is not intended to be a resource solely for Latino/a and undocumented students, but the entire campus.

“We hope that it is a positive place, a place of resources, culture, acceptance and diversity where all students can go to learn about different centers,” Ruiz said.

“I think that the value of having a center for the campus, with almost 40 percent of our students being Latino, is that it is a place for dialogue where we can gain understanding about a lot of cultures,” Meza said. “This is an opportunity for understanding other Latin countries, dialogue about their richness and culture and enrichment for faculty and students. It is a place to have those conversations. This is an exciting time to implement the center.”