LATINO COLLEGE STUDENTS FACE INEQUALITY AND CULTURAL ISOLATION AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK at BUFFALO

This is in response to a story by UB Spectrum reporter, Kayla Estrada, in the November 2022 issue (UB Student Newspaper). This is what happened:

This past year in November, the Spectrum (student) publication, published an article about the numerous problems faced by their Latino students – no Latino faculty, lack of recruitment for more Latino students, no Latino food in the cafeteria, and no support or care by the administration —  AND NOTHING WAS DONE!

This reminds me of 1968, the year I and other Puerto Ricans/Latinos came to UB, and after a few months on the campus, we experienced the same reality Spectrum lays out in their article.

The one thing I noticed is that today’s students were complaining about the situation, but they have or had any plans of action. The students of 1968 did let the issue go away. They demanded, they organized, and they took over several administration buildings to make their point. Were they successful?

Yes, they were, but unfortunately, due to students moving on, and disconnection with Buffalo’s Puerto Rican/Latino leaders, the things accomplished faded away, things like more Latino students on campus, recruitment of Latinos interested in Law, Medicine, Engineering, and other professional areas, Black and Puerto Rican Studies, Radio Spanish programming (WBFO-FM), Office of Minority Student Affairs, thanks to the strong leadership of Roosevelt Rhodes, leader of the Black Student Union. Another vital program was EOP (Educational Opportunity Program), thanks to Assemblyman Arthur O. Eve, the only black and progressive elected official at the time.

I’m no longer connected to the social and political fabric of UB, but I know for sure that Latino students need many of these services to ensure a successful education and quality of life on campus. The students must reach out to the local Puerto Rican/Latino leaders and get them involved in their (Latino community) struggle for social, cultural, and educational equality. 

Contact the Buffalo Latino Village, we will put you in contact with the local Latino leaders, as it is their responsibility as leaders to care about what’s going on in the educational community in Buffalo, NY. Buffalo is a college town, with many black and Latino students on all the campuses.

I’m convinced that UB Latino students are not the only ones facing this disconnect with their institutions.  Perhaps the Latino professors and staff already working on these campuses can get the ball rolling.

These students are our sons and daughters.

Contact the Buffalo Latino Village — buffalolatinovillage1@gmail.com—646-248-2302.