¡Bienvenidos! welcome
About the Latinx Alliance
The Latinx Alliance is a volunteer organization created to share resources, connect, network and partner with Latinx folks and others to help close the Latinx educational achievement gap. The mission of the San Diego Mesa College Latinx Alliance is to empower, encourage, support, and help Latinx students succeed academically and personally in order for them to build a brighter future for themselves, their families, and their communities. The organization strives to celebrate Latinx success on campus and in our communities by creating a sustainable force as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The Latinx Alliance is committed to fulfill the mission of San Diego Mesa College as a leading college of equity and excellence to empower our diverse student body to reach their educational goals and shape the future. Everyone is welcome to join the Latinx Alliance. Students are especially encouraged to join as we value and encourage student voices.
what is latinx?
Latinx is a gender-neutral term that is inclusive of folks who are non-binary or those who do not use the pronouns she/her or he/him.
What is Latine?
An alternative to Latinx is Latine (la-tee-neh). Latine is also a gender-neutral term that is inclusive of folks who are non-binary or those who do not use the pronouns she/her or he/him
LATINX VS. HISPANIC
“Latino refers to geography: specifically, people from Latin America including Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.” Meanwhile, “Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or who are descendants of those from Spanish-speaking countries.”
“A person who is Hispanic may also be Latino, but this is not always necessarily the case. For example, a person from Spain would be Hispanic but not Latino because Spain is a Spanish-speaking country but not a Latin American country...A person who is Latino may also be Hispanic. For instance, while people from Brazil are considered Latino (because Brazil is a Latin America country), they are not considered Hispanic because their native language is Portuguese not Spanish."
Cuncic, Arlin. “What Is the Difference Between Hispanic and Latino?” Verywell Mind,
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-difference-between-hispanic-vs-latino-5082005#:~:text=Are%20you%20wondering%20what%20the,who%20hail%20from%20Latin%20America.
Accessed 25 May 2021.
Pronouns in español
Many bilingual and multilingual folks are adding their pronouns in Spanish in addition to their pronouns in English. For example “she/her/ella”, “he/him/él”, “they/them/elle”.
What is Latinx Critical Race Theory?
- LatCrit analyzes the Latinx experience and the factors that impact their experiences such as language, immigration status, racism, oppression, gender, and culture (Cooper Stein et al., 2017)
- Spanglish is seen as an act of resistance
- Spanglish is seen as a strength and a skill, not a weakness or deficit
- Bilingual education is viewed as positively impacting students (Flores & Rosa, 2015)
- LatCrit values cultural wealth (Flores & Rosa, 2015)
- Example: Eight year old translating for their parent
Cooper Stein, K., Wright, J., Gil, E., Miness, A., & Ginanto, D. (2017). Examining
Latina/o Students’ Experiences of Injustice: LatCrit Insights from a Texas High School.
Journal of Latinos and Education, 17(2), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2017.1282367
Flores, N., & Rosa, J. (2015). Undoing Appropriateness: Raciolinguistic Ideologies
and Language Diversity in Education. Harvard Educational Review, 85(2), 149–171. https://doi.org/10.17763/0017-8055.85.2.149
OBJECTIVES
- To collaborate with faculty, staff, administrators, students and community members to raise awareness and advocate for the needs of our Latinx student population.
- Create activities and opportunities to support Latinx students, faculty, staff and administrators at San Diego Mesa College.
- Develop a nurturing and empowering community for Latinx administrators, faculty, staff and students through professional and social networking.