Over a decade ago, Schoenberg quad was the stage for one of
UCLA’s most enduring displays of student activism ““ the
student-initiated hunger strike of 1993.
Lining the quad with a procession of tents, five students, a
professor, two community leaders and a high school student
willingly put their lives in danger as they refused to eat until
their demands of having a Chicana/o studies department were
met.
Surviving on only water, determination and support from the
community, students and administration came to an agreement after
14 days with the establishment of the César E. Chávez
Center for Interdisciplinary Instruction in Chicana and Chicano
Studies.
And just a few weeks ago, the initial demands of the hunger
strikers were finally fulfilled as a Chicana/o Studies Department
was approved alongside the César E. Chávez Center.
“Those who were involved will never forget it,” said
Steven Loza, an ethnomusicology professor who was one of the
faculty negotiators at the time of the strike.
The hunger strikers, now involved in a multitude of career
fields all share one feeling ““ a sense of comfort and long
awaited accomplishment.
Balvina Collazo, one of the strikers who was a third-year
student at the time of the protest, said this department was
something that needed to be done for the community.
“We tried everything. This was our last resort ““ our
life was on the line,” Collazo said.
Now a mother of two residing in Northern California, Collazo
said that one thing she will always remember was the support of the
community throughout the two weeks ““ a community that
consisted of not just Latinos but an array of different
cultures.
Passing the time in the tents by reading, studying, and
preparing for interviews and meetings with the administration,
Collazo said she and her fellow strikers were determined not to
give up.
“We knew what we were getting into ““ there was no
second thoughts,” she said.
Surprised and excited when she heard news of the approval just
last week, Collazo emphasized that her time in the tents, fighting
for what she believed in, is an experience she will never
forget.
“It’s about time. I’m happy that it happened;
it just should have been sooner,” she said with a sigh of
relief. “I guess we can make a difference even though it is
after the fact. It was well worth it. Definitely getting the center
alone was worth what we went through.”
Though the department has been approved by Chancellor Albert
Carnesale, discussion on whether the name César E. Chávez
will be attached to the department is still underway.
“Chancellor Carnesale has stated that if, at some future
date, the faculty of the department of Chicana/o studies should ask
him to forward to the UC Office of the President and the Academic
Council a recommendation to name the department, he would be
pleased to do so,” said Lawrence Lokman, university
spokesman.
Until a final decision is made, the department of Chicana/o
studies and the César E. Chávez Center for
Interdisciplinary Instruction in Chicana and Chicano Studies will
co-exist, said Reynaldo MacÃas, professor and chair of the
center. Reasons for this are to “maintain a historical
continuity with the hunger strike and the significance of honoring
Chávez,” he said.
“(This is) not naming a department. It’s a unit
keeping its name while converting from a center for
interdisciplinary instruction to a department,” MacÃas
said. “From the beginning, for all intents and purposes, it
was a department.”
Currently, the faculty is in the process of putting in a
contribution to a letter the chancellor offered to send to the UC
Office of the President addressing the naming issue, MacÃas
said.
“The chancellor is not in opposition to honoring
Chávez in short of naming a department,” he said.
Though over a decade has passed, those involved in the strike
remember the events vividly, making the approval even more
prominent and meaningful.
As a high school senior in 1993 contemplating whether to attend
UCLA, Steve Veres said the hunger strike, for him, was a compelling
enough reason to become a Bruin.
Visiting the tent site three or four days out of the
strike’s duration, Veres said he felt like he was in the
middle of a civil rights movement.
“(There was a) raw energy ““ it was amazing. A
powerful force of people who were determined (and) so
persistent,” said Veres, who is currently the district
director for assemblywoman Cindy Montañez, D-San Fernando,
another student striker at the time.
Witnessing the protests firsthand, when Veres learned of the new
department, he said it was nothing short of “rewarding and
comforting.”
Other strikers, who sacrificed their health for a promising
education, didn’t stop their community activism at the
college level, as they have left influential marks around the
community.
Along with Montañez, Marcos Aguilar, a fourth-year student
striker at the time of the protests, is responsible for the
establishment of a school in East Los Angeles ““ Academia
Semillas del Pueblo Charter School, which focuses on educating
children of immigrant families through their own culture.
Those who were involved in the strike, whether they refused to
eat or were present for support, all refer to the historical two
weeks as “a valuable experience.”
“This is something I will always think about for the rest
of my life. Any injustice that happens even in my community, I will
fight for it,” Collazo said. “It taught me how to be a
leader.”