Latinas on Campus
At IUPUI, women make up 56 percent of the student body, 73 percent of women on campus identify with being white, as of 2014 only 7 percent identify with being Latina, making the Latina community scarce on this campus.
This percentage is worrisome for many Latinas who come to IUPUI hoping to find themselves and dig deeper into their identities, but instead of finding themselves, many of them end up experiencing a culture shock. Karina Garduño, Assistant Director of Multicultural Programming, says, “Depending on where the Latinas are coming from it can be a culture shock, I have several Latinas who come and talk to me who are from Northwest Indiana and it is different for them, coming to IUPUI, coming to Indianapolis, and IUPUI being a predominantly White institution, is a shock because they are used to being surrounded by their culture more than they are so here.”
Esmeralda Ceballos, a first-generation Latina student at IUPUI, is from Hammond, IN. where she is surrounded by Latinos. So, coming to IUPUI was different for her, she says, “Besides people from high school, I have not met any other Hispanics”. Ceballos says the most representation of Latinas she has seen has been through Gamma Phi Omega Inc. a Latina based sorority on campus. Ceballos thinks that there should be more emphasis on the organizations Latino/as have available to them, “I definitely think they should put more of an emphasis on our multicultural center and the sorority we have here because there are a lot of resources that I don’t think are necessarily broadcasted.”
Amanda Bonilla, IUPUI alumni and Assistant Director of Social Justice Education, relates to Latina students like Ceballos, Bonilla was an undergraduate at IUPUI in the early 2000s and says being a Latina student at that time was isolating, “I was a transfer student here so my sophomore year here it was really hard to find community and then once I was able to get into the Latino Student Association (LSA), I found them by a flyer, it was better because I was able to find community.”
Bonilla works with many students on campus, and isn’t sure whether or not the students are feeling isolated in the community but has heard from many of the students that the feeling of isolation is in the classroom, Bonilla thinks that one way to prevent Latina/o students from feeling that way starts with building a more diverse staff and faculty, “ I think having more Latinos in positions of power help younger Latinos feel like they can aspire and see themselves in leadership, so having more faculty, staff, and administration that reflect the population I think helps the students feel more included and more a part of the community.”
For some Latinas, it is exciting to see representations of themselves on campus and in the classroom, Alysse Bustos is now a Junior at IUPUI and is troubled by the lack of Latina/o’s on this campus. When asked if the Latino/Latina community is strong on the IUPUI campus she firmly said “No” with no room for hesitation.
During the fall semester Bustos had the privilege of having class with 3 other Latinas, the most she’s ever seen in a classroom, “I don’t see many Latinas walking through the Kelley School of Business, SPEA, and I just feel like there aren’t any Latinas/o at IUPUI”. Bustos herself isn’t very involved in the Latina community just because her busy life won’t let her but that does not stop her from wanting to stay in the loop. She gets the LSA and Multicultural newsletters and makes sure to read everything that is going on in the Latino community on the IUPUI campus.
Bustos is one of many Latina students who isn’t as involved in identity based organizations, whether it be because of not having the time or simply just not wanting to be a part of the organizations. Bonilla is stunned by the lack of participation in those Latina/o organizations when IUPUI currently has the highest number of Latinos it has ever seen, “On one extreme, there is a desire to not really want to identify on campus, so people will be Latina by name but will do their work and leave, they don’t really want to get involved and I don’t know why. There is just not a desire to get involved, I noticed that a lot lately, the numbers in LSA are down which is interesting, I see people struggle with exploring who they are and where they come from.”
Monica Medina, PhD., is a Clinical Associate Professor as well as one of the Gamma Phi Omega Inc. founders, Medina believes that to be a strong community we must be there for one another, “I really believe in mentoring and we should all mentor regardless of how old you are or what you do in life, as Latinos we have to mentor each other to help us move in a stronger direction.”
Garduño is one the women who mentors the Latinas on campus, she has helped Latina students stay true to themselves while still knowing how to present themselves in certain environments,
“One of my current conversations with them was a question of ‘How do you navigate being who you are but being in the professional world,’ because where they come they are not used to being so eloquent with words, not that they can’t be, but that’s just not how they carry themselves on the daily, so that conversation of how do you navigate who you are and who you are expected to be in the professional world.” says Garduño, she also discussed with the Latina students that “ It is almost like you have to switch gears when it comes to the professional world and your personal life.” Which Garduño says lead to the question of, “Am I being fake or am I doing what I must do to survive?” and Garduño responded saying, “It is not being fake because your morals and values are still the same it is more your communication and presentations style that have to change depending on the setting that you’re in.”
Jocelyne Hernandez an IUPUI student and Member of Gamma Phi Omega Inc., is one of the few Latinas who is involved on campus, and she wants to see a larger and stronger Latina community at IUPUI. Being an active member of the sorority and working in the multicultural center has changed her views not only about herself but as well as others, “My first semester I was intimidated and scared. Only because I felt like I did not have anyone to relate to. I am one of the only Latinas in my classes. I think one of the few in my major. It’s intimidating to speak up sometimes. However, right now as a Latina on IUPUI’s campus I feel empowered. I am encouraged to take leadership positions and show others that Latinas can lead. Since I have surrounded myself with not only the Latino culture but other cultures I have learned so much,” says Hernandez.
Hernandez is one the women who has been able to not only be mentored by Garduño but also by Bonilla and Medina. Since becoming more involved on campus and having Latina mentors in her life she has also become more aware of who she is as a Latina woman and how important it is for her to be a part of the Latina community.
Hernandez went from this feeling of having and wanting to assimilate on campus to realizing that there was no need for it, “I felt like I had to assimilate on campus because I felt like an outcast. I isolated myself for the first few weeks of being here, I felt like I had to fit in with the majority to last at IUPUI,” says Hernandez.
This mentality changed for Hernandez when she began her second semester of freshman year, “My association with being a Latina was not a good one, until second semester of freshman year.” During her second semester, she was able to meet more Latinas and became a member of Gamma Phi Omega Inc. “Now more than ever I realize how amazing it is to be a Latina,” says Hernandez. She found what she had been longing for, a community.
So, what needs to be done for the Latina community and how can it be stronger at IUPUI? Well recruiting more Latino/a mentors, faculty, and staff that students can go to is a start, says Medina, “There has to be a stronger bridge, we have to develop a strong framework, a strong system, a seamless system, where Latino students who are in need can know where they can get the resources, can know where they can get the help that they need, and not have to connect the dots by themselves, which happens a lot on many campuses.”
Garduño says, “We definitely have to have more representation and get the organizations that do exist out there a little bit more so students know. IUPUI is in a funky state right now where we are used to being big on commuter students and now we are getting a lot of residential students, who are living on campus. So, we are trying to figure out how to cater to all the populations and sometimes I feel like we are missing some of those commuter students who just come to class and then go home. That’s great if that is all you can do, but your college experience is definitely a lot greater and you make more memories if you get involved, so finding a way to reach as many different students as we can, so they know that this is an option if they’re looking to get involved.”
So, where do we go from here? Well, Latina students can’t be forced to get involved but our campus can encourage them more, the Latina/o students who are involved can raise their voices, become louder. Latina students like Hernandez can share her story with those who may have felt the same as her or those wanting to find that sense of belonging. Latinas may only make up 7 percent of the campus population but with dedication it can become stronger and one day be more than just 7 percent.
