Young Latinx leaders step up to connect undergraduate activities at UC Davis as a Hispanic Serving Institution
A great perk of attending UC Davis is getting the ability to participate in one of the many clubs and organizations. With over 800 plus clubs/organizations to choose from, each student is ensured an opportunity to become part of a community in which they can fully be themselves.
One of the ways this is achieved is through having clubs/organizations that embrace the many minorities on campus. A new organization that has just made headway is the Latinx Leadership Council spearheaded by second-year, community and regional development major Sergio Maravilla.
The organization’s main aim is to bring together the executive teams of the Latinx community as one to promote efficiency throughout all the clubs involved.
“The main thing I want people to know about this new organization is that its main goal is to provide more organized unity in the Latinx community at UC Davis. We meet once a month to encourage communication and collaboration at the executive level for Latinx-based organizations to ensure everyone is aware of what is happening in the community,” Maravilla said.
Additionally, “the council brings together representative from undergraduate clubs, but we also aim to bridge undergraduate activity with outside organizations such as the Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association, Latinx staff and faculty association and many others,” Maravilla explained.
The end goal of this organization is to foster a sense of community for the Latinx/Chicanx students at Davis especially with it being a designated HSI (Hispanic-Serving Institution).
Anna Estrada, a third-year sociology and Chicana/o studies double major and newly elected ASUCD senator, stated the significance that this organization has for the community.
“Since UC Davis is becoming a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), it is important to create a council where Latinx leaders unite,” Estrada said. “We have a beautiful Latinx community on campus yet we had no clear communication between all organizations. I believe that LLC will bridge the gap and allow for all to communicate clearly. In addition, it is important to aggregate the experiences, knowledge and skills of student leaders in order to collaborate on new projects and strengthen the bonds in the community.”
Maravilla also commented on this same idea.
“My main goal is to create an organization that not only brings together the Latinx organizations on campus, but also to create an impactful organization that is sustainable for future generations,” Maravilla said. “As UC Davis becomes a Hispanic Serving Institute with more than 25 percent of the population being Latinx, I want to ensure the incoming students that the Latinx community is well organized and can provide a good social network with countless opportunities.”
First-year, neurobiology physiology and behavior major Annanya Tyagi commented on the importance of promoting diversity at UC Davis.
“I definitely think that Davis is a diverse school. This add[s] to the different ways of thinking and forms new perspectives and helps us come up with solutions to difficult problems more easily,” Tyagi said. “It is important for minority clubs to be able to provide their input for decisions because it empowers them to give their input later in life and makes for a more productive society that works for everyone after college.”
WRITTEN BY: ISABELLA BERISTAIN — features@theaggie.org
