UTEP Chicano Studies program turns 40
By Ramón Rentería \ El Paso Times
Posted:10/19/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
The Chicano Studies program at the University of Texas at El Paso was born out of conflict.
"There were administrators and faculty members who wanted us to succeed," said Felipe de Ortego y Gasca, the first director of Chicano Studies at UTEP in 1970. "And there were those who wanted to see us fail, those who regarded Chicano Studies as a divisive academic wedge."
De Ortego, former student activists and others will celebrate the Chicano Studies program's 40th anniversary today at the Tomás Rivera Center on the UTEP campus. De Ortego now heads the Department of Chicana/Chicano and Hemispheric Studies at Western New Mexico University in Silver City.
UTEP's Chicano Studies program, a multidisciplinary effort from the start, is respected as a national academic model for other universities.
De Ortego is convinced the program's survival for 40 years is a testament to its foundation and its stewardship, although "its history has not been without travail."
"In recruiting Chicano professors for the various disciplines, we were met with departmental disdain and intransigence engendered by institutional disdain and intransigence," de Ortego said in an e-mail. "No departments were taking us serious."
As a result, student frustration ignited the National Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, or MEChA, takeover of the UTEP administration building on Dec. 10, 1971.
"We were all frustrated," de Ortego said. "Our efforts at galvanizing the mejicano community to support us were met with consejos (advice) to tone down the rhetoric."
Dennis Bixler-Márquez, the program's director for 22 years, credits students' political action with helping to establish Chicano Studies in 1970.
He defines Chicano Studies as a multidisciplinary field of study focusing on the Mexican origin population. Now, scholars come from across the United States, Mexico and Latin America to do research or teach in UTEP's Chicano Studies program.
"We still need to become an academic center or achieve departmental status," Bixler-Márquez said. "We've accomplished more by stealth, working with other entities in a cost-effective manner. We're reaching a broader constituency, also serving students who are not our majors or minors but who want to be informed of their own heritage."
Over the years, the program has trained students across various fields such as border issues, business, the arts, and health and environmental issues. The program also sponsors various student professional and community service organizations such as the Chicano Pre-Law Society.
Bixler-Márquez predicted Chicano Studies programs will become even more relevant as the Hispanic demographics of the United States continue to grow.
Saray Argumedo, 22, a junior communication major, opted to minor in Chicano Studies.
"It's enriching my studies and being Mexican-American," she said. "In a bi-cultural world, you have to know the best of both worlds."
Carmen Rodríguez, director of Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, studied sociology at UTEP in the 1970s but also immersed herself in Chicano Studies.
"We simply wanted to provide an opportunity for students to learn about the history, literature, culture, social dynamics and politics of Chicanos in the United States," Rodríguez said. "We viewed it as a matter of urgency then and it will remain important and relevant and in fact should grow in both importance and relevance."
José Medina, a lawyer in San Jose, Calif., credits his student activism at UTEP and involvement in Chicano Studies for his work later with domestic workers, tenant and immigrant rights organizations.
"My experience as a student helped me to develop a keen sense of what I needed to do to address issues in the community," Medina said.
De Ortego's contract was not renewed for the 1972-73 academic year. He said he thinks he was blamed for the student takeover of the UTEP administration building.
"The takeover was not in vain," he said, because UTEP's Chicano Studies program began making strides the next semester and "MEChA students had put the university and Texas on notice that the good ol' boy way of doing business with mejicanos was headed for the scrap-heap of history."
Ramón Rentería may be reached at ;546-6146.
Make plans
· Former students and faculty will participate in a "40th Anniversary of Chicano Studies/Activistas Reunion" at 6 p.m. today in the Tomás Rivera Conference Center, UTEP Student Union Building East, Room 308. The presentation and exhibit of late 1960s memorabilia is free and open to the public.
· Information: 747-5462.