Chicano Studies

Black Issues in Higher Education, Sept 28, 2000 by Roberto Rodriguez

Universities have gradually begun to recognize the diversity of the Latino population. At San Francisco State University, Dr. Carlos B. Cordova has headed the Central American Research Institute within La Raza Studies for six years. Long before the migrations of the 1980s, which were caused by wars in Central America, the San Francisco Bay area was already home to a large Central American population. So it seems appropriate that the La Raza program was the first in the nation.

The La Raza program was far ahead of other departments around country. Its very name -- La Raza, or The People -- arose from the diversity of the San Francisco Bay area population. In addition, Cordova first taught a course on Central America and the Caribbean in 1974.

Cordova, who helped establish the Central American studies program at California State University-Northridge, is trying to establish similar programs in cities such as New York, Washington, Houston, Dallas, San Diego and Fresno, Calif.

"It's a great opportunity right now to study the migration, history, culture and humanities of Central Americans," he says. "With Central Americans, it's not simply important to study our issues. A special effort has to be made to prevent (children) from dropping out of middle school and high school." The level of dropouts within the Central American community is extremely high, especially in cities such as Los Angeles, Houston and Washington, Cordova says.

Cordova is hopeful that other Chicano studies programs around the country will follow in the footsteps of California State University-Northridge, a department he credits with assisting in the development of San Francisco State's Central American Studies Program.

NOT ETHNIC STUDIES

Dr. Roberto Lovato, director of the Central American Studies program at California State University-Northridge, credits Chicano studies and Chicano administrators with paving the way and facilitating the program at Northridge. The program, which is several years old, has six faculty members. The university also has the largest number of Central American students at any campus nationwide -- more than 2,000. The objective of the program, he says, is to create a research institute.

Lovato, however, does not see Central American Studies as being a part of ethnic studies -- partly because University of California Regent Ward Connerly has vowed to eliminate ethnic studies, but also because Whites are no longer the majority in the state of California.

"Whites have gotten away with not being ethnic for too long," Lovato says. Additionally, Lovato views the program as transnational. "It's not part of the Latin American studies nor Chicano studies. We're neither, yet we're both."

Prior to the creation of the program, there were courses in Central American studies within Chicano studies. Currently CSUN has an independent minor, a program, faculty, resources, courses and a student organization.

The main purpose of the program, Lovato says, "is to create research that serves a purpose." On top of creating a program, he says the objective is to create a nationwide model, create relationships with universities in Central America and understanding the economic power of Central Americans in the United States. "They want political clout to go along with the economic clout."