La Voz de Aztlan, December 10 1990
Item
Title
La Voz de Aztlan, December 10 1990
Creator
Associated Students of Fresno State
Relation
La Voz de Aztlan (Daily Collegian, California State University, Fresno)
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
12/10/1990
Format
PDF
Identifier
SCUA_lvda_00193
extracted text
Volume XXI, Number IV
California State University, Fresno
Monday December 10, 1990
CLS 116
Will Print
Survival
Handbook
By Jill Soltero
La Voz Staff Writer
Experience is often the best teacher.
Professor Juan Felipe Herrera's
Chicano and Latin American Studies (CLS)ll 6 class has plenty of academic experiences to share.
The class, "Chicano Culture and
Change", is producing a CSUF student survival guide to be sold during
spring 1991.
The guide, entitled "Living on the
Academic Edge: Great Minds That
Survived at CSUF," is part of the
CLS 116 curriculum and is produced
by the students under Herrera's
supervision. "It's a self-related journal that relates to survival on campus. It's self-generated, self-directed
and self-designed," said Herrera.
Students created the format and
contents of the handbook. In addi-'
tion to photos, it will feature entries'
Angel De Jesus/ LaVoz de Aztlan
by students written on several categories including the classroom expeA Selma mother and daughter pick out winter clothing during Saturday's coat give away in
rience; difficulties encountered by
Selma.
The clothes were gathered as part of Professor Juan Felipe Herrera's Chicano Latino
students in the university setting
Studies 05 classes' project, "Coats for Kids".
and how students respond to them;
meetingprofessors;reentrystudents; .___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___J
university social life; and writing and
study skills.
A CSUF services and organization
directory will also be featured in the
handbook. The handbook will also
list campus department and office
phone numbers.
Chicano Youth
Confere nee 1991
Preview
By Jill Soltero
La Voz StaffWritter
More than 1,600 teenagers representing 50 high schools are expected
to attend the 18th Annual CSUF
Chicano Youth Conference (CYC)
Jan.12.
Sponsored by CSUF MEChA and
funded by the Associated Students
Inc., the conference will feature college information workshops, career
workshops, general interest workshops, a college faire and entertainment. Keynote speaker will be publisher and author Dr. Uvaldo H. Palomares.
CYC monitors are needed. If you
can help the CYC by being a monitor, contact Martin Hernandez at
278-2656.
Profiles of CSUF programs and
organizations, in the handbook, will
include interviews with CSUF program and organization leaders from
Counseling Services, the Student
Health Center, the Educatiop.al Opportunity Program office, MEChAand
the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Students Alliance. Students will have a
dedication and a "Dreams and Visions" section as well. They've also
created a collec~ive poem for the book.
Some ofHerrera's students said the
handbook will serve as a tool for encouragingand motivating all students.
"Students will take advantage ofit
and look upon it for help. I do hope we
have areas that we can help them
with," said CLS 116 student Lupe
Juarez.
Another student said the handbook
would have been helpful for him earlier in his college career.
"We will be able to help other students. I know when I came in, I could
have used it. It will benefit freshman
especially," said Martin Cobarruvias,
a student in Herrera's class.
Other students said they hoped to
convey a "you-can-do-it" attitude
through the handbook.
"We made a change on campus
See CLS 116 on page 8
Chicano
Database
On Campus
By Virginia R. Madrid
La Voz Staff Writter
This fall the Henry Madden
Library introduced a bibliography on
Mexican-Americans/Chicanos on CDROM( compact disc- read only memory), known as the Chicano Database.
The Chicano Library at U.C.
Berkely collected and distributed the
information on the Chicano database.
The database was made availa~le for
advertisement in the summer and
brought on campus this semester to
compliment the Chicano Latino Studies coui:ses.
Other California State University campuses that have the Chicano
Studies courses available such as San
Jose State also have the database on
campus.
Those who have used the Chicano database at the Henry Madden
Library have found that. some of the
sources are unavailable. According to
Reference and Multicultural Librarian, Trina Carter the reason may be
the recent budget cuts.
Carter said that a lot of the
periodicals that are in the Chicano
Database and are not available are
those that have specialized material
such as Chicano Journals. Some of
the years are also unavailable bec;ause of limited space.
The budget does not allow the
library to get new information."Other
libraries have this problem because of
the budget cuts," Carter said.
Another reason as to why Fresno
State does most of the periodicals
cited in the Database is because the
Henry Madden Library is not a research library such as that of a U.C.
campus.
The Chicano database has over
36,000 citations to articles and books,
and regular updates planned. Carter
See DATA on page 8
'.fable ofContents: :
Letters t.o the Editor... Page 2
Editorials·& Opinions
_
.. ~:.-;Page 2,3,4 & 5
Art ..:.. :........ ~··············· ..·•··Page5
:floetry....... ~ ......:: .•. :.........Page 6 & 7
C1:1fo_1 1~~~ ......... '. ..... '..~ ...I>.~e 8
EDITORIAL ...
Page 2
December 10, 1990
·.•:::.:.:::::::::::::•:
Letters to the Editor
"Devoured" by poetry
[Editors Note] This letter was origI read your paper today. I cannot ionally printed in the Nov. 15 issue
begin to say how much your poetry ofthe Daily Collegian. We would like
meant to me. Every poem devoured to take this opportunity to pat ourm~ as a human being. It was power- selves on the back one more time.
ful, passionate, raw and beautiful. I
enjoyed each and every poem and
look with eager expectation to your
next issue. Thank you, thank you for
those caring poems. I'd like to thank
each and every poet, as I deeply
appreciate exceptional poetry.
A couple of days ago, I was
sitting in The Daily Collegian office
Sincerely,
doing some work for La Voz, when I
Matty Bustamante-Duran.
overheard a few of the Collegian's
staff writers talking about the racism on campus. They were saying
that racism does not exist on camEditor,
pus. One of them said he thought
there was racism, but it wasn't as
I would like to .take this opportu- bad as people made it out to be.
nity to commend the staff of La Voz They began to comment about
de Aztlan for an informative, pro- Frank's editorials and even began to
vocative issue Nov. 12. As a former imitate his soft voice.
staff member ofLa Voz, it was inspirI was frustrated and was
ing to see that the paper has not only about to say something to them but
survived through rocky times, but I was embarrassed. I was embarhas also retained it's sharp edges.
rassed because they were laughing
The editorials by Frank Pancho about the people who are supposAviles, Eloy Garcia, Joe M. Torres edly fighting racism on this camand Lawrence Tovar provided a fresh pus. They were having a great time ·
Chicano perspective on current is- talking about the Chicanos, who
sues of racism and prejudice, issues instead offightingracism were fightthat for the most part have been ing each other. These people, and I
overwritten by pseudo-radicals and .am sure other people, enjoy watcharmchair militants.
ing the Chicanos fight over who
I was also inspired by all the con: holds the power and who doesn't. I
tributingpoets. In particular, I would hope these power hungry individulike to single out Aviles and Andres als realize they are making fools of
Montoya, who along, with countless themselves as well as the rest of us.
others, have been attemptingfor quite
I am not referring to any one
some time now to breathe life into the individual. I am referring to all of
Chicano poets on this campus. The those who have forgotten what we
importance of all your voices is im- are here for. At one point I thought
mesurable. Your expressions exem- we were succeeding, but I realized
plify the essance and spirit of the that we have forgotten what unity
Chicano movement: a return to the is. The day we got together to prosoul, a return to the heritage, a re- test the beating of Frank Aviles, I
turn to the native language-La Voz was overwhelmed by the unity of
deAztlan.
the Chicanos. It felt so good to see us
Perry Angle
fighting for the same cause instead
Fight the Power,
Not Each Other
Fresh Perspective
fit.to,U#.;n?::~x::,:~v~i~g~::: JJq§.ijl:.pie~i\!:r: J~~::w~r~::th~xe,.·~tie.:oheswhQ':w.~r~i~t
li"fl\fililil!IIlirJifiiii~1~ilii!ttl
of fighting each other. ·These are the
things that we must not let go off, if we
want to successfully overcome racism
on this campus and in the world. What
helps us overcome these struggles is
unity as brothers and sisters and not
the efforts of a few individuals.
Before I close this letter I would
like to say something for those who say
they want to help but only care about
getting the "recognition they deserve,"
please don't do us that favor. We, the
Chicano students, don't need this kind
of representation. We need someone
who wants to work for the people and
not for themselves. There have been
individuals who have gotten to positions of power only for the recognition.
These are the ones we should be aware
of.
Con Safos,
Erlinda Cobarruvias
· Welcome Back La Vaz
Dear Editor,
I was so pleased with your November
issue. The art on the front page, the
hard hitting editorials, and the poetry
were just the right combination for
this revolutionary newspaper. Those
rough edges that are the reality of the
Chicano existance are exactly what
La Voz de Aztlan should examplify.
And that is exactly what your last
issue did. This semseter has seen a
rebirth of the true Chicano voice. We
have seen protests, hunger strikes,
poetry readings and La Voz has
gone back to it's roots. The last
couple of semesters, it has been
obviouse that the editors of La Voz
have been more concerned with
journalistic style and apperance
than with the red'l Chicano issues.
For this reason, I would like to
commend Mr. Garcia. He has done a
great job of presenting the real
issues to the Chicano students. Keep
up the good work . .
La Voz reader,
Jose Martin Juarez
December 10, 1990
Page3
Who Are The Authentic Phonies?
Due to the potentially divisive
views and grossly misleading information put forth in the editorial entitled "Who are the phonies?" (November La Voz issue) and a recent
letter to the Collegian written by the
self-proclaimed, all powerfu..11 CSU
Fresno "RADICAL LEFT," it is imperative th at we respond with a statement of clarity. This will assist many
who are confuseC: by the authentic
phonies currently slinging empty
rhetoric and lodging vicious attacks
against longtime student activists at
the university. Furthermore, the failure of these individuals to assist in
our initiate the formulation of concrete proposals or plans of action to
empower the people they claim to represent will be exposed to those of us
that may fall into the category of politiacal activists whom they have ironically labeled "The Exposeres."
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan has launched a consistent, intense struggle against racism
since it'sestablishment in 1969. Links
of solidarity with other people of color
and progressive students and community organizations have forged a
legacy of commitment, dedication, and
passion unrivaled by few other student or community organizations.
Manyformer MECHAmembers
are now actively involved in community organizations such as the Mexican American Political Association
(:MAPA Del Valle) fullfilling one ofthe
fundamental goals of the Chicano
student movement returning to the •
coriiihurtity ·t<>·
"Uie i>'overty.:r
stricken sectors in attempts to gain
the political power necessary to acquire economic independence, cultural
pluralism and social equality.
Being active in the community
is a commitment that is often difficult
since many of us are employed full
ti.me and have a family to support
assist
financially. Any recognition that is Simpson-Mazzoli Committee, Camgiven tous isjustily deserved. Visibil:.. pus Rainbow Coalition or in STAKE
ityin the community, however, is not -an organization whose goal was to
as important as the power our tasks keep university tuition affordable.
provide for the Mexicano farm work- Their involvement in the Student
ers, Chicano youth, cancer-stricken Alliance and Unity-SRG has been
children from McFarland and the sur- marginal at best, and self-serving
rounding Chicano/Mexicano commu- generally.
nity. For this reason, it is imperative
For them to claim to be the
that those of us involved in efforts leaders of any and all progressive
toward community empowerment movements at this university and to
take decisive measures to preservere attack student activists who have been
the integrity of MECHA and chal- intricately involved in the anti-racist
lenge those individuals whose sole struggle on campus and in the comp11rpose is to destroy the unity long munity is a grandiose feat indeed,
fought for and built by activists truly given their history ofnon-involvement
committed to the anti-racist, anti- in student and community politics.
sexist struggle.
The attacks against students
Unity-SRG was forged by a whohavebeeninvolvedinthestruggle
coalition comprised of students of against racism demonstrate a lack of
color,progressivewhites,andgayand unity, sence of principle, and isolalesbian- students. It is extremely tionfrom the anti-racist struggle. We
arrogant for one individual to take or must hold each other accountable to
assume credit for this accomplish- the anti-racism movement and proment. Thepredecessorto Unity-SRG, tect our community from people desthe Student Alliance, was founded by perately clutching a personal agenda.
Arab, African-American, Asian, ChiIt may be hard to work together,
cano and progressive white students to be sure, but common ground can be
as a result of racist attacks on people found within our community and with
of color at CSU, Fresno in 1981.
other communities through our deIn 1983 the Student Alliance siretoresisttheattackswagedagainst
campaigned for and successfully us. Since it's formation !ViliCHA has
elected Andrea Hedgley to the office successfully realized unity with other
of student body president, the second people of color, an important factor
woman and the first African-Ameri- crucial for student and community
canto beelectedtothatpositionin the empowerment. MECHA's power is
history ofCSU, Fresno. Furthermore, vividly reflected by a historical strings
an attempted ~ecall ofMs. Hedgely by for our people.
the conservative forces wa~ soundly
Collectively, it is possible to
defeate~-~?'-.U:!~_tu~:mt.Alh~~~e. and ~ devel9p'"an effective strategy to comtlie progres1ve reserves mobilizecfby bat racism. We must combine the
them.
knowledge and sacrifice of the past
Members of 1,he self-pro~al1med with the energy and events of the
~IC~ LEFT have not been present to have a successful move11:1vloved m MECHA, or a~y progres- ment towardjustice, peace and equal~1ve s~udent movemei:it with _a cred- ity. This involves the mutual under1~le history of struggl~ng aga~st ra- standing among African-Americans,
c1sm. They were not mvolved m th~ Chaicanos, and other oppressed
Coors boycott campaign, the Anti groups that unity presents the sole
.1.
path toward empowerment; the alternative is to suffer the stagnation
brought by arrogance, mistrust, and
stupidity. We cannot afford to become casualties of our own lack of
vision.
Those who are attempting to
usurp the power of MECHA must be
warned that MECHA is the only
Chicano student organization that has
remained loyal to the goal of empowering the Chicano/Mexicano community. There are no substitutes and no
organizations or group ofindividuals
seeking to undermine the authority
and credibility ofMECHA should even
thinkofthepossibilityofescapingthe
wrath of a firm, correct and humane
line of just argumentation.
We must maintain the strenght
and integrity of the movimiento and
protect it from the designs of opportunists attempting to usurp leadership when they have failed to demonstrate the merest ounce of political
activism before the community. We
must continue resisting the colonization of our gente with fuerza and
defend our banner of liberty which
has been relinquished in our hands.
This can only be achieved by working
with great passion for the people we
~epresent. Acuredense, nLa Union
Hace La Fuena!!
En Solidaridad,
SandraGutierrez,
MECHA Chairperson, 1989-90
George Martinez,
MECHA Chairperson, 1986-87
•
Rick Chacon,
MECHA Chairperson, 1983-84
Albert Robles,
MECHA Chairperson, 1985-86
_M E~hA's Response
YES! YES! YES! You are soooo
right! Let me be the very, very first
one to thank Rick Chacon and Sandra
Gutierrez, George Martinez and Al
Robles, for their enlightening and
encouraging article "Who Are the
Authenic Phonies."
Y01;. say in your article that any
recog11ition given to_you is justly deserved. Aga4'. I say YES! YES! ~S!
Especially since youhave given a fiery
and impassioned de-fense ofMEChA
against those people who would like
to see IT lose legitimacy so that their
own personal agenda's may be fulfilled.
Since I am a board member of
MEChA and a copy was given to us by
its authors, I was able to see, in advan,~, the article "Who Are the Authenic Phonies." In talking to the
other MEChistas, it was apparent that
we were all a little excited about it. I
ffi)"self was extremely happy, seeing
past -...fEChistas respecting, supporting, and even vehemently defending
MEChA's stance, recognizing them
as people who are able to analyze the
current political trends and then
adequately act on those analysis'.
After a while and after reading the
article a couple of more ti:f1'es, however, it -became apparent that they
never named from whom they are ·
protecting MEC~. After ~iscussing
this undersight with some other
MEChistas, we all assumed, and quite
logically, that their have only been,
aside from the normal attackers(white
conservative racists), a couple of
p~ople attacking MEChA. We all
assumed that they must be talking
about Karen Cogely and Jose Lopez,
both of whom have attacked MEChistas and MEChA in open, public forums, attacking the leadership of the
Chicano Student Movement, while
at the same time, claiming to be the
authenic activists and the vanguard
of the stud~nt movement.
Since the letter was already turned
in,andbringingtheerrortotheattention to the authors would have little,
if any effect, it was suggested to me by
my fellow MEChistas that I wriie-an ·
article to clarify what was left out of
"Who Are thP, Authenic Phoniest and
in this way rule out any misconceptions that might be used to cause
devisiveness amongst the people. At
the r~ame time this allows :ne to thank
Rick, Sandra, George, and Al for their
asstute letter. It's sooo good to see
that not all community radicals have
to fall into the line of marching with
status quo liberal activists who fail to
recognize the changing dynamics and
atmosphere of the Chicano Student
Movement, an atmosphere where
bourgeois elitist and often stalinistic
leaders are being supplanted by the
people. La Raza is finally and truely
taking the reins of leadership from
those who would keep us in bondage.
I would also like to tell ofmy reliefa nd
joy, seeing that these older MEChistas do not come from an arrogant
position, but instead come from a
position that recognizes and respects
MEChA'sintelligenceandsovereignty
in terms of deciding the directions of
the Chicano Student Movement,
understanding that we [MEChA] cpmprehend the struggle as it nows tands
here at CSU, Fresno. Acurendense,
!/La UnionHaceLaFuerza!I
En Solidaridad con La Raza,
Andres Montoya,
MEChA Sgt. ofArms, 1990-91
Irma Serrano,
MBChA Chair, 1990-91
Manuel Ramirez,
MEChA Vice Chair, 1990-91
Lalo Garcia,
MEChA Sgt. ofArms, 1990-91
Salvador Cuevas, MEChA Historian, 1990-91
Beatriz Salcedo,
Chair High School Outreach, MEChA,
1990-91
Matt Polanco,
Vice Chair Semana de la R aza,
MEChA, 1990-91
P .S. Fight "the power"
December 10, 1990
Page4
CSUF's Poli_tical Climate
Everybody Listen! Something is
happening at Fresno State and it's
happening to all of us. The people on
this campus are beginning to erupt
and no matter where you try to hide or
how fast you try to run, your going to
hear the noise. In fact, you are most
likely going to be one of the persons
that screams. Rich White men, rich
Chicanos, poor African Americans,
poor Native Americans, middle class
Whites, middle class African Americans, poor women of color, upper
middle class Asian American women,
middle class Indians and etc ... If you
look very closely in the Collegian and
the Insight you'll see that the eruption or rather the uprising is a "class
struggle." The working class (poor),
middle class and the upper class(rich)
have each made requests to their
constituents. And each has requested
a different means of action and have
offered different solutions of empowerment.
In the 11/30,issue of the Collegian,
Patrik Boylan, one of the Collegian
editors, clearly defines the rich students as the ones he represents when
he defines who the real power of this
campus encompasses.
For
example,when he says "... the real
(White) powers.... ", he implies that
the real power is the "White power";
moreover, those that control (the
upper class). In his column he refers
to his student constituency (the real
power) as "we" and the other students
as "they" And he warns the real
power about "The Agitators (those
who Bitch)... ". Although his words ·.
state that, he see's us (the working
class) as Agitators, when he says "They
are loud, annoying, and possibly effective instigators..." he acknowledges
that we are, in fact, "effective" and he
requests action from his people to
protect themselves, or rather their
power. He decries "Know thy enemy.
Break bread with them....for your own
sakes, learn how the hell to TALK to
them;" In fact, he goes on to say "... go
to the Bucket and have a beer and
throw around some ideas at each
Qther~ ... d~n'tscrewup so badly there's
no other alternative than putting the
blame on someone else." The only
advise Boylan forgot to give the White
power was how to hold your cross
while your burning it.
A couple other students consciously
or unconsciously, also, lend their
support to the upper class in the Collegian. In a story (column) about
theft in the 12/5/90 issue, Wendy J.
Karsevar stated"... we enjoy the rights
and privileges that we enjoy: Life,
liberty, and pursuit ofhappiness. We
expect, or hope, for others to respect
us and our property. Just like we
would respect theirs." Who are these
people that enjoy or have access to
rights and privileges and property?
Obviously, its the rich. Wendy is nice
enough to admit that they (the rich)
"would" respect our property ( that's if
we, the working class, had any).
Finally, in the 12/7/90 issue, Danny
Good, in response to an editorial
wrote proposing economic parody for
the poor in the 12/4 issue, adamantly
defends the rich. In paranoia of a
threat to his conservatism he says "It
is my opinion that Frank should go to
East Germany..." According to his
quote I, the working class, should be
sent out of the country if I want economic equality (i.e. a piece of the pie).
Moreover, he implies that equality for
the poor is a crazy idea when he states
at the end of his letter that "Frank is
short a few marbles." He seems to
come to these conclusions only after
reading ofmy plea to help the poor.
The voices of the middle class can
als;o Bebeard from ·~~r. Iri'Fespcins~
to a 11/27 issue in which a group of
working class students attempt to
scream for economic parody through
radical social change, a middle class
representative, Katherine Shackelton, in the 12/4 issue bombards the
students with the wordiest letter ever
used to defend a constituency. Shackelton verbosely states ~In the long
run, a movement of the left has no
chance of success, and deserves none,
unless it develops an understanding
of contemporary society and a vision
of a future social order that is persuaI
Strong.QpiAiori ·
>
~
•
;
I was suppose to present my sec- higher income families, against poor
ond · ~gment co~cerning the fight Chicanos who don't want to join their
against · racism today, but recent ,oppressive party of deceit and lies.
event~ have made me disgusted.
My time is limited. I will have to
When I read the Daily Collegian, I wait until next semester to present
see the names of Frank Aviles and my second segment. The next segAndres Montoya being slanderecfand ment will present the detrimental
their accomplishments beiJ:igdenied. ·_ejfects~of denying leade~s, · such as
This sl~nder ~s coinin~•from fue- Frank Aviles and Andres Montoya,
;/
group ofcommumsts, specializing in leadership positions. In addition, I
Stalinist tactics. The Stalinists are _will present the importance of
jealous, because Frank and Andres MEChA's break with the Stalinists
have accomplished things .without and how the new MEChA leadertheir permission. Frank aqd Andres ship- the best rve ever seen- has the
· have contributed a si~ifican_t responsibil~ty of dire~ing the moveamount to the struggle agamst-ra- ment. Lastly, theimportanceofthis
1
c~sm without~laiming an! recogni- -semesters La-Voz will be anal~ed
tion. They are only worned about for its effectiveness and brilliant
getting the job done.
editorship:My only fear next semesIt wasn't enough U.t the Stalin- ter is thJ.t Eloy Garcia will not'be
ists. took credit for Frank and . reinstat.ed by the Media Council for
Andres'saccoip.pl~shments, now they · his committment to strc-ng journalwant to degrade·and lie about th~m. ism. .
·
.! see oppression. Oppression fijom
the Stalinists, who.often come from
Lawrence
·Tovar~
...
...
sive to a large majority of majority of movement was taken by a group of
the population." She basically says individuals who came from a middle
that the left has to work within the class political perspective. And this
limits of the system in order to de- semester their middle class politics
velop a social movement in which are threatened and have been chaleveryone can participate. She articu- lenged by the working class. This
lates to her constituency that they became apparent when a group of
need something that is "persuasive" working class Chicanos and Chicanas
to a large majority of the majority. In requested and demanded that the
other words, upward mobility; middle students mobilize and move the pubclass getting shot at becoming rich lie opinion against the "real power"
and working class getting a shot at (the administration). The middle class
becoming middle class. Her ideology vanguard (which is also the controlis reflective of this and other myopic ling element of the political agenda of
beliefs. It can be seen in the last the coalition on campus) deemed the
paragraph of her letter when she demands of the working class as non
states
"As
a
'libertarian strategic, irrational, and spontanesocialist'.... changemustcomethrough ous. It's obvious that the actions of
education, access to information, co- the working class will always appear
operation, and commitmep.t to long- idealistic or intangible to the middle
term goals ...." Although they wouldn't class since the interests ofboth classes
know it by reading her letter, the rich are different.
might actually like her. Shackelton
In the column written by Pabelieves in being cooperative and trik Boylan, he points out his amusecommitted to keep the longterm goals · ment with the internal conflict with
of the system. Fortunately, for the in the coalition on campus. A conflict
rich she isn't a threat or rather an between the "Agitated" (middle class)
Agitator. Maybe they'll still "Break and the "Agitators" (working class).
bread" with her over a pitcher of beer He refers to these groups as "poor
and possibly throw "out" her ideas.
suckers." Boylan points out that there
Amidst all this chaos, another is a weakness in the group of Agitastruggle goes on. The poor on this tors. Mostlikely, theweakne~sliesin
campus, the majority of whom are the battle that the working class are
Chicanos are ready to explode. The constantly facing with both the upper
working class Chicanos have become class and the middle class every time
class conscious. Yes, the emerging they challenge the administration.
giant of a giant of a people have risen The middle class call for such actions
from Aztlan. The working class Chi- as a task force committee, open focanos have become aware of the class rums, cross-cultural retreats, and
t;o which they belong, the poor. And othersolutionswhicharemerelyseen
.,tlieyhave also become aware of tl)e as "pacifying goals" to the WQJking
..J:~
=:
wuerence
in t h e type of actions they class.
must take in order to solve the social
When the working attempted to
problems of today. Supporters of a combine their agenda this semester
vanguard who for many years per- again with that of the middle class,
ceived themselves as "the movement" they were banished from the decision
weren't expecting the Chicanas and making process. In the 10/9 issue of
Chicanos to become class conscious the Collegian Avitia and McCollister
en mass. In a letter to La Voz in the (representativesoftheworkingclass)
12/1 Oissue a group of vanguard sup- stated 'they often aren't aware of the
porters state that those who a~e at- decisions being made for the coalition
tempting to "usurp" the power of a even-though they are the co-chairs of
particularChicanoorganizationmust the coalition meetings.' In another
be warned that the organization is statement Ralph Avitia says me
the only Chicano student.organiza"'.. decision -making pr-ocess has 1>een
tiQn that has remained loyal to that made by Green and Daves and what
goal of empowering. The vanguard they really want....they are leading
supporters signed the letter as chair- their own agenda." And this is true.
persons of the Chicano organization The agenda being lead is politically
, which implies that they are the power that of the middle class. One that
ofthis organization; moreover, imply- promotes working within the system
ing they have "usurped." (refusing to like that of Katherine Shackelton,
acknowledge the working class as a another representative of the middle
legitimate people). The organization class. She was the one who believed
which is presently chaired by a work- that we must "cooperate" (with the
ingclassChicana with a workingclass system) in order to accomplish our
Chicana agenda has taken a new goals.
Those who represent the
direction. One different from that of working class view' on the other hand,
the past three years which was reflec- . believe like McCpllister that we must
•tiveofamiddleclassagenda. Through "try to think'.ofnew ways to address
. •afastandprotesttbissemesterwhich things rather than the established
was'Spearheadedbythew-0rkingclass way.?' The working class politics is
. Chicap.a agenda, a tan~mount·Chi.: also reflective ofa statement made by
cano populace._became empowered. Andres.Montoya wl_;ten he says" ... we
. This semester many Chicanas and need to change the system. We only
. C~icanoshavebecomepoliticallyand get bread crumbs from it now." .For
inte)_!ectually ~powered.
The these reasons ( i.e. working within the
worlungclassChicanasandChicanos system vs. worktng to change the
are once again united.. A vanguard is system) there is a ~oriflict between
no longer perceived to ha~e the mo• theworkingclass~dthemiddleclass.
nopoly on Chicano thought and intel- The conflict results in a lack ofdemoc.
racy for the working <:lass,
in
· .
,
. other
1ectual1Sm~
•T he class stniggle has also ~ken- words, being locked out of the deciroot.m the leadership.-of,the overall sion making.process. This leaves.the .
mov.:ement on,campus: For ~iample/ door open for the middle class to clasin the past, the leadership .o f ,theSee CLIMATE page 5
a
+
..
f"'
,.
I
Page5
December 10, 1990
CLIMATE continued from page 4
sify the working class as "marginal~
members of the coalition. This classification is just one of the middle class
political tactics used to segregate the
working class. And to continue pushing their own agenda. This is a political mistake in building a coalition (i.e.
U nity-SRG) often made by the middle
class vanguard.
This is the true political campus
climate at FSU. We can no longer
continue to say that there
are"personality" problems or conflicts.
Students are going to handle political
situations according to the conditions
of their class struggle. It is time for a
true coalition to form which addresses
the agenda of the working class. The
working class Chicanos have emerged
and they are demanding action. Our
needs can no longer be ignored!
Frank Pancho Aviles
America; Love it or Leave if
•
:fe{iz 9{g,vidad
y Prospero ano
nuevo
'E,11,
Jfonde {a
u.t
, r.,
fe{icidad y e{
amor reyne en
i
·
1•,J,J
Qi'l.l
::>1t::(l'Q 'QCT , v'li')~()
.:iR
~
SUS
fwgares.
~cJpan ·un
'
I
-~~:
cafuroso.' \r
sa{ucfo y
fraterna{
abrazo desu
periodico
Chicano,
La 'Vo~
- - le
Jtztlan.
lJy Manuel Cortez
Influenced By The · Brown B~ffalo
t.
i. •.
l
•
•
.: -~and ~ome time l~t~r. i w_
ould b_
ecc;,rne Zeta, the world-famous Chicano
lawyer who helped start the last revolution ...
-Oscar Zeta Acosta
. Lately rve been noticing a moveThere have been sightings of will either fear me, hate me, or follow
menthereatFresnoState. Could it be Acosta in Calcutta buying nine year me to Mazatlan. I think I'll buy myself
a revolution, a brown revolution :per- old girls off the White slave market.
a brown beret and raise my large
haps? We do have some bonafide He's also been sighted in the cockpit 'brown fist in the air. The words "Viva
radicals on campus and Ignacio San- of a cigarette boat with an uzi in one la revolucion" will echo and shatter
chez's editorials are proof of this radi- hand, heroine in the oth~i- and shout- the unbreakable glass.
·cal behavior. Could there be a sudden ing old testament versus in spanish. ·
rebirth of the Brown Barets?
" There are other sightings. Oscar
B Markanthon Alvidrez
There are angry Chicanos flow- AcostahasbeenseenatFresnoState.
ingthrough the bloodstream ofFresno I have seen him here and there. I saw
Mr.Frosty
State. They ate the "Radical Ones." him in front of tne M.E.Ch.A.booth
They speak through protest, litera- when- Frank Aviles and Salvador
ture, conversation, and through the Cuevas were attacked -on campus.
sehool paper.
Acosta, a.k.a. the Brown Buffalo,
Oscar Zeta Acosta was a 250lb protested against the violent act by
Chicano lawyer from the Bay area. fasting. On Sunday nights-, 6p.m.- .
He quit practicing law in 1967, be- 9p.m.,heplaysmusicforhispeopleon
cametheleaderoftheEastLosAnge- KFSR 90.7. Acosta is has also been
Jes Chicano Movement, and mysteri- seen at the Chicano Writers Artists
ousely disappeared in Mazatlan, Association(CWAA)poetryreadings.
Mexico in 1974. However, before he He occasionally sells tacos for Chicadissappeared,hepublishedtwobooks. nos in Law. Acosta is all over. He
~e Autobiography Of A Brown· guides the "radical ones."
·.- Buffalo," was an autobiography of a ·
TheBrownBWfalowantstounite
confussed-Chicano trying to fi:nd out his people:The young revolutionaries
who he was, trying to find his revblu- here may speak violently, but there
tion. His ·second book, "Revolt of the · hasn't been any violence on their part.
Cockroach People," dealt with· his Will there be.bloodshed in the future?
actions in the E-ast L.A riots. His Will the "Radical Ones" cut the wrists :
advent.;ires included a .357 magnum, of Fresno ·state Uhiversity? These of
LSD, Poco Harum, tequila, . and a course .are the fears of th~ of the ,
burning Safeway.
41tadical Ones'" enemies. The Brown
His books· have recently been Buffalo was~seen as a trouble maker. · ·
republished by ·his son. Acosta's vi- Thatisthefabel beingstamped on the . · · ·
., siQnS and experience with the brown foreheads of the radicals. ' - ' . . ,: . .:.. :, ~ ',,
_ revolution was straight forward and _ Like I said, the Brown Buffalo is . -: · ~. ,
r fnghten1ng. The few radicals who here and there. He· helped me write
,'
. might be.come the many are blessed this article to start a br_own revoluwith Acosta's dreams.
tion. After reading this article, people -
December 10, 1990
Page6
Chicano Poetry
Mark.Anthony November 2nd, 1990
Obituary taken from The Tucson Sun newspaper
Mark
They say
was stabbed 69 times
with the broken end of a spatula
in a Jack in The Box
somewhere east in Tucson Arizona.
ELLA
Las manos de ella trabajan
putting on make-up and
perfecting beauty.
Ell a trabaj a in 1os restaurantes
y sirve la comida en los platos.
E11 a
aprende en
Ja
universidad
las ideas del mundo del
nombre.
She
is stiff and tense
because of her rigid
clothes.
She is curious . about being in the
man's world
learning his ideas,
his science,
his history.
"Qui en soy yo," says La Chicana in
CLS 3
Donde esta la liber.tadad para las
mujeres
las peliculas da l as mujeres?
"Yo soy i ndependi ente de 1 e1
hombre," ·
thinks la chica on the city bus, who
reaches for his hand hoping for
strength in hi s wisdom but gets
fond) ed instead.
"P iensa s que soy haci !"
"Piensas que soy haci ! "
I am mor e than th i s .
. I am not a thing.
I
am
a person.
by Joe M. Torres
Lou the assistant manager told me,
"Mr. Alvidrez was loosing it,"
and before he died
-he jumped onto the counter
with a pound of hamburger meat
in his hand, looked at the mid-day crowd
and shouted,
"Eat!
Eat my flesh for it is good.
See what I see
fields of black lilies
and bleeding rosebuds.
Hear what I hear
the buzzing of electric razors
shaving us all -everything.
Do what I do"
Lou the assistant manager then said that
Mark Swallowed a chunk of meat
and flung the rest to the customers.
He then jumped onto another counter
took a bucket of hot grease turned to the crowd
and exclaimed,
"Drink!
Drink my hot blood. Drink and feel
the azteca in his glo_ry through his veins.
Come with me; eat and drink,"
and he splashed the hot grease onto the crowd
burning an old man with a cowboy hat.
A man with two years of vengeance on his mind.
Tortured by the vision of a man running up to him
slapping him and running away.
And that's all this cowboy hat wearing man saw
as he poked into .mark .
with the broken end of a spatula
again
and again.
•
-victor canales
The Ch icano Writers and Artists Association(CWAA) is now accepting
submissions for the premier issue of its Arts Journal to be published this
Spring. Submissions should be concerned with the following theme:
The Chicano Experience
Categories include:
Poetry
Fiction
Non-fiction
Art and Photography
Submissions with self-addressed stamped envelope can be dropped off or
mailed to:
CWAA Arts Journal
c/o English Department
CSU, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-0098
or
Deadline February 18, 1991
CW AA Arts Journal
c/o CLS Department
CSU, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-0097
Page7
December 10, 1990
Chicano Poet-r y
yes,wecome
yes, we come
from the earth,
shaking the dust
from our bodies
like a child shakes
death with a
scream.
yes, we come
from the brotherhood
ofworms,
eating the moist
mud, the taste
of blood
in our mouths.
yes, we come
from the earth,
we have broken the
soil like
a fragile egg,
we have seen the
grey sky
and we are hungry.
we will
be nourished.
twenty-four years of solitude
-Andres Montoya
prax, or eddie, if you will
i want to revisit you
once again, my
friend, i want to see
; the•wiIYf.er-moon
I.
reflected in your eyes,
to see how
easy it is for
life to be
deflected.
you were scared
that night.
johnny had the good
stuff, kj' s always good
in the cool spring, and
you m~de me promise
to protect you
if anything
came down.
remember,carnal
when we talked
about God
over alen.o,
and dreamy eyed,
we toasted
peace and cursed
the rich
gavacho, butts.
you drove too fast
that night, and
some say a little
too high,
✓
and you left me this
world, this night, to write
about you, to finally
plant your cross
on the roadside.
-Andra Montoya
mr. and mrs. white the insane conservatives
with capitalist blood in their veins
look down.
below are the brown faces along.with
other shades of death.
when i use a credit card, they make
a credit check with god.
they don't trust this
mexicanolocovatochicanoestewayese.
god only trusts brad andjoanie
with the credit cards.
. who cares
i don't even have credit cards.
when i walk to school or to the store,
they think i can't afford a car.
they're right
.
those gente can't see what I see.
i see la llorona, cucarachas singing
to women, dancers at funerals, and beer
soaked clothes.
i have the advantage over mr. and mrs. white
all they see is plastic verdent
ever so green gardens so green.
i don't see that shit.
i'm ralistic, i only see copper
eyes with magenta hair that bounces
at night while flying carpets piloted
by talking cats travel slow.
that's all, nothing more.
i'll burn my make believe cards and
kill my boss and then live this advantaged
filled life until a flying carpet
and talking cat comes for me.
bymarkanthoneyalvidrez
Page 8
December 10, 1990
. •.
~-', ~ureiidit:ti~ , , '.
e:~!'f!:F.elizN~viJ~~!
.tit!![;dance~. P!.• ~~~'!t zjJ!,~,!i~:~t ~; · . for ~t;,JOh~~:~;~eJvfou~ii;~se !!i~; ;i(~~!;tl w•~tirigto~~ inthe G~llege:.•. · - ·. •· · ··
,. ·.
· • · ,. .,. ·r:: .:::. _SatelhteCoUegeUI)lQn.~:qdw.ij.lbegin •· seum·at 485::::6210 ::485-6211:: o.r:233- .. : · ·- ··· ·•· ·· ··\ · ., ·· . · · ···
·=•: ••.
. .:-:--·-.-.-·..
·:'Jlie Cft-ica.no'Youtfi''con
1rabajadores de fa Raza
is holding a warm
cfothes drive for the
people e, Oaxca.
If you are intrested
in donating clothes
please contact Virginia
Sanchez at 278-2550 or
Martina at 278-4405 or
222-8204 . Your help wiff
greatly be appreciated.
:: . : , :Light: !_,.- C~lebn\!i.on. -~(Archit~c~ .. .:please·sign-up "at :the _HCOP officeJft\ ::-:·
. ture and ·cultllriil·Tra<litfons'\· ,.:... :;call 278:-4 748 for.tnore information:_:: :. ...
PLS 116 continued from page 1
because there is a high number of
·: studentswhodopoorlyinschool.Alot
offactors lead to doing poorly. I think
. this book will share stories to make a
~ change and [encourage others to] do
better in school," said student Bonnie
Perales.
Perales said working on the handbook has made the class more memorable. "The work pulled us all together."
According to Herrera, the students
have gained a better sense of their
student experiences while w 1dng
The Meux·" House:·Muse#m aijd{tliEk .= Vie~n~s'°-4-Lun·e s 7: UC Irvine· will
Foundation for .
Perpetuation:.
host th~ SACNAS confrence for HCOP
St. John's -C athedral will present ·a · stude~ts:
.
.
. -·
the··
of.
feslivalfrom5.:00p.m.-9:00p.m._atSt.
·-
·.· ·
John's Historic District. The Festival: _..: Febrero:.:_:
·
· ·
.
_ will feature Ballet Folklorico YMa- · Jueves 7: CLASE will be holding the ·
· rimbadeFresno,Award winningpoets first meeting of the spring semester
~uan Felipe Herrera and P~lip Lev- ·today at 4:\J p.m. in the College Stu. ine; Ebo African Performing Troupe; dent Union. Ch_eck the glass casefor
and much ~ore . . For more infornia- TOO..ln·number.
tion please ~ontact The Foundation . ·Ju.eves •21: There will be a CLASE ..
frence ·wmmittee is .std£ :
:;_in n~ed ofBD-100 Afonit• ·
,._ ers for tlieir upcoming
: . QYC. Ifyouare_intrested
_- in fie[ping, pfease contact
Jil.maliii at 225• 2311.
•.
DATA continued from page 1
who might want to obtain sources
through
the inter-library loan syssaid that although there are not many
tem.
periodicals held in the library from
"Many "mainstream" journals
the database there ar~ a lot of books.
such
as
Forbes, American Educator,
You might ask yourself, "Well
what is the purpose of the database if Architecture are available through
the library doesn't have the materials the Chicano Database," Carter said.
The database has information
we need?" The answer is simple.
Titles that are available in the data- from as early as 1967 up to 1989.
There isn't any late information bebase can still be of some help.
"It gives access to know that cause as Carter said, "It's so new."
things are out there," Carter said. The latest material is expected to come
The library does not have some infor- in the Spring Semester 1991.
mation but it is helpful to students
The Chicano database has been
used more anci more over the semes-
ter, Carter said. "The faculty are
u·,ing the database on a regular basis." Chicano Latino Studies Department uses it the most.
Changes made will be from constructive criticism Carter said. "It's a
new product and they [U.C. Berkely]
In Memory of Danny Enriquez
California State University, Fresno
Monday December 10, 1990
CLS 116
Will Print
Survival
Handbook
By Jill Soltero
La Voz Staff Writer
Experience is often the best teacher.
Professor Juan Felipe Herrera's
Chicano and Latin American Studies (CLS)ll 6 class has plenty of academic experiences to share.
The class, "Chicano Culture and
Change", is producing a CSUF student survival guide to be sold during
spring 1991.
The guide, entitled "Living on the
Academic Edge: Great Minds That
Survived at CSUF," is part of the
CLS 116 curriculum and is produced
by the students under Herrera's
supervision. "It's a self-related journal that relates to survival on campus. It's self-generated, self-directed
and self-designed," said Herrera.
Students created the format and
contents of the handbook. In addi-'
tion to photos, it will feature entries'
Angel De Jesus/ LaVoz de Aztlan
by students written on several categories including the classroom expeA Selma mother and daughter pick out winter clothing during Saturday's coat give away in
rience; difficulties encountered by
Selma.
The clothes were gathered as part of Professor Juan Felipe Herrera's Chicano Latino
students in the university setting
Studies 05 classes' project, "Coats for Kids".
and how students respond to them;
meetingprofessors;reentrystudents; .___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___J
university social life; and writing and
study skills.
A CSUF services and organization
directory will also be featured in the
handbook. The handbook will also
list campus department and office
phone numbers.
Chicano Youth
Confere nee 1991
Preview
By Jill Soltero
La Voz StaffWritter
More than 1,600 teenagers representing 50 high schools are expected
to attend the 18th Annual CSUF
Chicano Youth Conference (CYC)
Jan.12.
Sponsored by CSUF MEChA and
funded by the Associated Students
Inc., the conference will feature college information workshops, career
workshops, general interest workshops, a college faire and entertainment. Keynote speaker will be publisher and author Dr. Uvaldo H. Palomares.
CYC monitors are needed. If you
can help the CYC by being a monitor, contact Martin Hernandez at
278-2656.
Profiles of CSUF programs and
organizations, in the handbook, will
include interviews with CSUF program and organization leaders from
Counseling Services, the Student
Health Center, the Educatiop.al Opportunity Program office, MEChAand
the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Students Alliance. Students will have a
dedication and a "Dreams and Visions" section as well. They've also
created a collec~ive poem for the book.
Some ofHerrera's students said the
handbook will serve as a tool for encouragingand motivating all students.
"Students will take advantage ofit
and look upon it for help. I do hope we
have areas that we can help them
with," said CLS 116 student Lupe
Juarez.
Another student said the handbook
would have been helpful for him earlier in his college career.
"We will be able to help other students. I know when I came in, I could
have used it. It will benefit freshman
especially," said Martin Cobarruvias,
a student in Herrera's class.
Other students said they hoped to
convey a "you-can-do-it" attitude
through the handbook.
"We made a change on campus
See CLS 116 on page 8
Chicano
Database
On Campus
By Virginia R. Madrid
La Voz Staff Writter
This fall the Henry Madden
Library introduced a bibliography on
Mexican-Americans/Chicanos on CDROM( compact disc- read only memory), known as the Chicano Database.
The Chicano Library at U.C.
Berkely collected and distributed the
information on the Chicano database.
The database was made availa~le for
advertisement in the summer and
brought on campus this semester to
compliment the Chicano Latino Studies coui:ses.
Other California State University campuses that have the Chicano
Studies courses available such as San
Jose State also have the database on
campus.
Those who have used the Chicano database at the Henry Madden
Library have found that. some of the
sources are unavailable. According to
Reference and Multicultural Librarian, Trina Carter the reason may be
the recent budget cuts.
Carter said that a lot of the
periodicals that are in the Chicano
Database and are not available are
those that have specialized material
such as Chicano Journals. Some of
the years are also unavailable bec;ause of limited space.
The budget does not allow the
library to get new information."Other
libraries have this problem because of
the budget cuts," Carter said.
Another reason as to why Fresno
State does most of the periodicals
cited in the Database is because the
Henry Madden Library is not a research library such as that of a U.C.
campus.
The Chicano database has over
36,000 citations to articles and books,
and regular updates planned. Carter
See DATA on page 8
'.fable ofContents: :
Letters t.o the Editor... Page 2
Editorials·& Opinions
_
.. ~:.-;Page 2,3,4 & 5
Art ..:.. :........ ~··············· ..·•··Page5
:floetry....... ~ ......:: .•. :.........Page 6 & 7
C1:1fo_1 1~~~ ......... '. ..... '..~ ...I>.~e 8
EDITORIAL ...
Page 2
December 10, 1990
·.•:::.:.:::::::::::::•:
Letters to the Editor
"Devoured" by poetry
[Editors Note] This letter was origI read your paper today. I cannot ionally printed in the Nov. 15 issue
begin to say how much your poetry ofthe Daily Collegian. We would like
meant to me. Every poem devoured to take this opportunity to pat ourm~ as a human being. It was power- selves on the back one more time.
ful, passionate, raw and beautiful. I
enjoyed each and every poem and
look with eager expectation to your
next issue. Thank you, thank you for
those caring poems. I'd like to thank
each and every poet, as I deeply
appreciate exceptional poetry.
A couple of days ago, I was
sitting in The Daily Collegian office
Sincerely,
doing some work for La Voz, when I
Matty Bustamante-Duran.
overheard a few of the Collegian's
staff writers talking about the racism on campus. They were saying
that racism does not exist on camEditor,
pus. One of them said he thought
there was racism, but it wasn't as
I would like to .take this opportu- bad as people made it out to be.
nity to commend the staff of La Voz They began to comment about
de Aztlan for an informative, pro- Frank's editorials and even began to
vocative issue Nov. 12. As a former imitate his soft voice.
staff member ofLa Voz, it was inspirI was frustrated and was
ing to see that the paper has not only about to say something to them but
survived through rocky times, but I was embarrassed. I was embarhas also retained it's sharp edges.
rassed because they were laughing
The editorials by Frank Pancho about the people who are supposAviles, Eloy Garcia, Joe M. Torres edly fighting racism on this camand Lawrence Tovar provided a fresh pus. They were having a great time ·
Chicano perspective on current is- talking about the Chicanos, who
sues of racism and prejudice, issues instead offightingracism were fightthat for the most part have been ing each other. These people, and I
overwritten by pseudo-radicals and .am sure other people, enjoy watcharmchair militants.
ing the Chicanos fight over who
I was also inspired by all the con: holds the power and who doesn't. I
tributingpoets. In particular, I would hope these power hungry individulike to single out Aviles and Andres als realize they are making fools of
Montoya, who along, with countless themselves as well as the rest of us.
others, have been attemptingfor quite
I am not referring to any one
some time now to breathe life into the individual. I am referring to all of
Chicano poets on this campus. The those who have forgotten what we
importance of all your voices is im- are here for. At one point I thought
mesurable. Your expressions exem- we were succeeding, but I realized
plify the essance and spirit of the that we have forgotten what unity
Chicano movement: a return to the is. The day we got together to prosoul, a return to the heritage, a re- test the beating of Frank Aviles, I
turn to the native language-La Voz was overwhelmed by the unity of
deAztlan.
the Chicanos. It felt so good to see us
Perry Angle
fighting for the same cause instead
Fight the Power,
Not Each Other
Fresh Perspective
fit.to,U#.;n?::~x::,:~v~i~g~::: JJq§.ijl:.pie~i\!:r: J~~::w~r~::th~xe,.·~tie.:oheswhQ':w.~r~i~t
li"fl\fililil!IIlirJifiiii~1~ilii!ttl
of fighting each other. ·These are the
things that we must not let go off, if we
want to successfully overcome racism
on this campus and in the world. What
helps us overcome these struggles is
unity as brothers and sisters and not
the efforts of a few individuals.
Before I close this letter I would
like to say something for those who say
they want to help but only care about
getting the "recognition they deserve,"
please don't do us that favor. We, the
Chicano students, don't need this kind
of representation. We need someone
who wants to work for the people and
not for themselves. There have been
individuals who have gotten to positions of power only for the recognition.
These are the ones we should be aware
of.
Con Safos,
Erlinda Cobarruvias
· Welcome Back La Vaz
Dear Editor,
I was so pleased with your November
issue. The art on the front page, the
hard hitting editorials, and the poetry
were just the right combination for
this revolutionary newspaper. Those
rough edges that are the reality of the
Chicano existance are exactly what
La Voz de Aztlan should examplify.
And that is exactly what your last
issue did. This semseter has seen a
rebirth of the true Chicano voice. We
have seen protests, hunger strikes,
poetry readings and La Voz has
gone back to it's roots. The last
couple of semesters, it has been
obviouse that the editors of La Voz
have been more concerned with
journalistic style and apperance
than with the red'l Chicano issues.
For this reason, I would like to
commend Mr. Garcia. He has done a
great job of presenting the real
issues to the Chicano students. Keep
up the good work . .
La Voz reader,
Jose Martin Juarez
December 10, 1990
Page3
Who Are The Authentic Phonies?
Due to the potentially divisive
views and grossly misleading information put forth in the editorial entitled "Who are the phonies?" (November La Voz issue) and a recent
letter to the Collegian written by the
self-proclaimed, all powerfu..11 CSU
Fresno "RADICAL LEFT," it is imperative th at we respond with a statement of clarity. This will assist many
who are confuseC: by the authentic
phonies currently slinging empty
rhetoric and lodging vicious attacks
against longtime student activists at
the university. Furthermore, the failure of these individuals to assist in
our initiate the formulation of concrete proposals or plans of action to
empower the people they claim to represent will be exposed to those of us
that may fall into the category of politiacal activists whom they have ironically labeled "The Exposeres."
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan has launched a consistent, intense struggle against racism
since it'sestablishment in 1969. Links
of solidarity with other people of color
and progressive students and community organizations have forged a
legacy of commitment, dedication, and
passion unrivaled by few other student or community organizations.
Manyformer MECHAmembers
are now actively involved in community organizations such as the Mexican American Political Association
(:MAPA Del Valle) fullfilling one ofthe
fundamental goals of the Chicano
student movement returning to the •
coriiihurtity ·t<>·
"Uie i>'overty.:r
stricken sectors in attempts to gain
the political power necessary to acquire economic independence, cultural
pluralism and social equality.
Being active in the community
is a commitment that is often difficult
since many of us are employed full
ti.me and have a family to support
assist
financially. Any recognition that is Simpson-Mazzoli Committee, Camgiven tous isjustily deserved. Visibil:.. pus Rainbow Coalition or in STAKE
ityin the community, however, is not -an organization whose goal was to
as important as the power our tasks keep university tuition affordable.
provide for the Mexicano farm work- Their involvement in the Student
ers, Chicano youth, cancer-stricken Alliance and Unity-SRG has been
children from McFarland and the sur- marginal at best, and self-serving
rounding Chicano/Mexicano commu- generally.
nity. For this reason, it is imperative
For them to claim to be the
that those of us involved in efforts leaders of any and all progressive
toward community empowerment movements at this university and to
take decisive measures to preservere attack student activists who have been
the integrity of MECHA and chal- intricately involved in the anti-racist
lenge those individuals whose sole struggle on campus and in the comp11rpose is to destroy the unity long munity is a grandiose feat indeed,
fought for and built by activists truly given their history ofnon-involvement
committed to the anti-racist, anti- in student and community politics.
sexist struggle.
The attacks against students
Unity-SRG was forged by a whohavebeeninvolvedinthestruggle
coalition comprised of students of against racism demonstrate a lack of
color,progressivewhites,andgayand unity, sence of principle, and isolalesbian- students. It is extremely tionfrom the anti-racist struggle. We
arrogant for one individual to take or must hold each other accountable to
assume credit for this accomplish- the anti-racism movement and proment. Thepredecessorto Unity-SRG, tect our community from people desthe Student Alliance, was founded by perately clutching a personal agenda.
Arab, African-American, Asian, ChiIt may be hard to work together,
cano and progressive white students to be sure, but common ground can be
as a result of racist attacks on people found within our community and with
of color at CSU, Fresno in 1981.
other communities through our deIn 1983 the Student Alliance siretoresisttheattackswagedagainst
campaigned for and successfully us. Since it's formation !ViliCHA has
elected Andrea Hedgley to the office successfully realized unity with other
of student body president, the second people of color, an important factor
woman and the first African-Ameri- crucial for student and community
canto beelectedtothatpositionin the empowerment. MECHA's power is
history ofCSU, Fresno. Furthermore, vividly reflected by a historical strings
an attempted ~ecall ofMs. Hedgely by for our people.
the conservative forces wa~ soundly
Collectively, it is possible to
defeate~-~?'-.U:!~_tu~:mt.Alh~~~e. and ~ devel9p'"an effective strategy to comtlie progres1ve reserves mobilizecfby bat racism. We must combine the
them.
knowledge and sacrifice of the past
Members of 1,he self-pro~al1med with the energy and events of the
~IC~ LEFT have not been present to have a successful move11:1vloved m MECHA, or a~y progres- ment towardjustice, peace and equal~1ve s~udent movemei:it with _a cred- ity. This involves the mutual under1~le history of struggl~ng aga~st ra- standing among African-Americans,
c1sm. They were not mvolved m th~ Chaicanos, and other oppressed
Coors boycott campaign, the Anti groups that unity presents the sole
.1.
path toward empowerment; the alternative is to suffer the stagnation
brought by arrogance, mistrust, and
stupidity. We cannot afford to become casualties of our own lack of
vision.
Those who are attempting to
usurp the power of MECHA must be
warned that MECHA is the only
Chicano student organization that has
remained loyal to the goal of empowering the Chicano/Mexicano community. There are no substitutes and no
organizations or group ofindividuals
seeking to undermine the authority
and credibility ofMECHA should even
thinkofthepossibilityofescapingthe
wrath of a firm, correct and humane
line of just argumentation.
We must maintain the strenght
and integrity of the movimiento and
protect it from the designs of opportunists attempting to usurp leadership when they have failed to demonstrate the merest ounce of political
activism before the community. We
must continue resisting the colonization of our gente with fuerza and
defend our banner of liberty which
has been relinquished in our hands.
This can only be achieved by working
with great passion for the people we
~epresent. Acuredense, nLa Union
Hace La Fuena!!
En Solidaridad,
SandraGutierrez,
MECHA Chairperson, 1989-90
George Martinez,
MECHA Chairperson, 1986-87
•
Rick Chacon,
MECHA Chairperson, 1983-84
Albert Robles,
MECHA Chairperson, 1985-86
_M E~hA's Response
YES! YES! YES! You are soooo
right! Let me be the very, very first
one to thank Rick Chacon and Sandra
Gutierrez, George Martinez and Al
Robles, for their enlightening and
encouraging article "Who Are the
Authenic Phonies."
Y01;. say in your article that any
recog11ition given to_you is justly deserved. Aga4'. I say YES! YES! ~S!
Especially since youhave given a fiery
and impassioned de-fense ofMEChA
against those people who would like
to see IT lose legitimacy so that their
own personal agenda's may be fulfilled.
Since I am a board member of
MEChA and a copy was given to us by
its authors, I was able to see, in advan,~, the article "Who Are the Authenic Phonies." In talking to the
other MEChistas, it was apparent that
we were all a little excited about it. I
ffi)"self was extremely happy, seeing
past -...fEChistas respecting, supporting, and even vehemently defending
MEChA's stance, recognizing them
as people who are able to analyze the
current political trends and then
adequately act on those analysis'.
After a while and after reading the
article a couple of more ti:f1'es, however, it -became apparent that they
never named from whom they are ·
protecting MEC~. After ~iscussing
this undersight with some other
MEChistas, we all assumed, and quite
logically, that their have only been,
aside from the normal attackers(white
conservative racists), a couple of
p~ople attacking MEChA. We all
assumed that they must be talking
about Karen Cogely and Jose Lopez,
both of whom have attacked MEChistas and MEChA in open, public forums, attacking the leadership of the
Chicano Student Movement, while
at the same time, claiming to be the
authenic activists and the vanguard
of the stud~nt movement.
Since the letter was already turned
in,andbringingtheerrortotheattention to the authors would have little,
if any effect, it was suggested to me by
my fellow MEChistas that I wriie-an ·
article to clarify what was left out of
"Who Are thP, Authenic Phoniest and
in this way rule out any misconceptions that might be used to cause
devisiveness amongst the people. At
the r~ame time this allows :ne to thank
Rick, Sandra, George, and Al for their
asstute letter. It's sooo good to see
that not all community radicals have
to fall into the line of marching with
status quo liberal activists who fail to
recognize the changing dynamics and
atmosphere of the Chicano Student
Movement, an atmosphere where
bourgeois elitist and often stalinistic
leaders are being supplanted by the
people. La Raza is finally and truely
taking the reins of leadership from
those who would keep us in bondage.
I would also like to tell ofmy reliefa nd
joy, seeing that these older MEChistas do not come from an arrogant
position, but instead come from a
position that recognizes and respects
MEChA'sintelligenceandsovereignty
in terms of deciding the directions of
the Chicano Student Movement,
understanding that we [MEChA] cpmprehend the struggle as it nows tands
here at CSU, Fresno. Acurendense,
!/La UnionHaceLaFuerza!I
En Solidaridad con La Raza,
Andres Montoya,
MEChA Sgt. ofArms, 1990-91
Irma Serrano,
MBChA Chair, 1990-91
Manuel Ramirez,
MEChA Vice Chair, 1990-91
Lalo Garcia,
MEChA Sgt. ofArms, 1990-91
Salvador Cuevas, MEChA Historian, 1990-91
Beatriz Salcedo,
Chair High School Outreach, MEChA,
1990-91
Matt Polanco,
Vice Chair Semana de la R aza,
MEChA, 1990-91
P .S. Fight "the power"
December 10, 1990
Page4
CSUF's Poli_tical Climate
Everybody Listen! Something is
happening at Fresno State and it's
happening to all of us. The people on
this campus are beginning to erupt
and no matter where you try to hide or
how fast you try to run, your going to
hear the noise. In fact, you are most
likely going to be one of the persons
that screams. Rich White men, rich
Chicanos, poor African Americans,
poor Native Americans, middle class
Whites, middle class African Americans, poor women of color, upper
middle class Asian American women,
middle class Indians and etc ... If you
look very closely in the Collegian and
the Insight you'll see that the eruption or rather the uprising is a "class
struggle." The working class (poor),
middle class and the upper class(rich)
have each made requests to their
constituents. And each has requested
a different means of action and have
offered different solutions of empowerment.
In the 11/30,issue of the Collegian,
Patrik Boylan, one of the Collegian
editors, clearly defines the rich students as the ones he represents when
he defines who the real power of this
campus encompasses.
For
example,when he says "... the real
(White) powers.... ", he implies that
the real power is the "White power";
moreover, those that control (the
upper class). In his column he refers
to his student constituency (the real
power) as "we" and the other students
as "they" And he warns the real
power about "The Agitators (those
who Bitch)... ". Although his words ·.
state that, he see's us (the working
class) as Agitators, when he says "They
are loud, annoying, and possibly effective instigators..." he acknowledges
that we are, in fact, "effective" and he
requests action from his people to
protect themselves, or rather their
power. He decries "Know thy enemy.
Break bread with them....for your own
sakes, learn how the hell to TALK to
them;" In fact, he goes on to say "... go
to the Bucket and have a beer and
throw around some ideas at each
Qther~ ... d~n'tscrewup so badly there's
no other alternative than putting the
blame on someone else." The only
advise Boylan forgot to give the White
power was how to hold your cross
while your burning it.
A couple other students consciously
or unconsciously, also, lend their
support to the upper class in the Collegian. In a story (column) about
theft in the 12/5/90 issue, Wendy J.
Karsevar stated"... we enjoy the rights
and privileges that we enjoy: Life,
liberty, and pursuit ofhappiness. We
expect, or hope, for others to respect
us and our property. Just like we
would respect theirs." Who are these
people that enjoy or have access to
rights and privileges and property?
Obviously, its the rich. Wendy is nice
enough to admit that they (the rich)
"would" respect our property ( that's if
we, the working class, had any).
Finally, in the 12/7/90 issue, Danny
Good, in response to an editorial
wrote proposing economic parody for
the poor in the 12/4 issue, adamantly
defends the rich. In paranoia of a
threat to his conservatism he says "It
is my opinion that Frank should go to
East Germany..." According to his
quote I, the working class, should be
sent out of the country if I want economic equality (i.e. a piece of the pie).
Moreover, he implies that equality for
the poor is a crazy idea when he states
at the end of his letter that "Frank is
short a few marbles." He seems to
come to these conclusions only after
reading ofmy plea to help the poor.
The voices of the middle class can
als;o Bebeard from ·~~r. Iri'Fespcins~
to a 11/27 issue in which a group of
working class students attempt to
scream for economic parody through
radical social change, a middle class
representative, Katherine Shackelton, in the 12/4 issue bombards the
students with the wordiest letter ever
used to defend a constituency. Shackelton verbosely states ~In the long
run, a movement of the left has no
chance of success, and deserves none,
unless it develops an understanding
of contemporary society and a vision
of a future social order that is persuaI
Strong.QpiAiori ·
>
~
•
;
I was suppose to present my sec- higher income families, against poor
ond · ~gment co~cerning the fight Chicanos who don't want to join their
against · racism today, but recent ,oppressive party of deceit and lies.
event~ have made me disgusted.
My time is limited. I will have to
When I read the Daily Collegian, I wait until next semester to present
see the names of Frank Aviles and my second segment. The next segAndres Montoya being slanderecfand ment will present the detrimental
their accomplishments beiJ:igdenied. ·_ejfects~of denying leade~s, · such as
This sl~nder ~s coinin~•from fue- Frank Aviles and Andres Montoya,
;/
group ofcommumsts, specializing in leadership positions. In addition, I
Stalinist tactics. The Stalinists are _will present the importance of
jealous, because Frank and Andres MEChA's break with the Stalinists
have accomplished things .without and how the new MEChA leadertheir permission. Frank aqd Andres ship- the best rve ever seen- has the
· have contributed a si~ifican_t responsibil~ty of dire~ing the moveamount to the struggle agamst-ra- ment. Lastly, theimportanceofthis
1
c~sm without~laiming an! recogni- -semesters La-Voz will be anal~ed
tion. They are only worned about for its effectiveness and brilliant
getting the job done.
editorship:My only fear next semesIt wasn't enough U.t the Stalin- ter is thJ.t Eloy Garcia will not'be
ists. took credit for Frank and . reinstat.ed by the Media Council for
Andres'saccoip.pl~shments, now they · his committment to strc-ng journalwant to degrade·and lie about th~m. ism. .
·
.! see oppression. Oppression fijom
the Stalinists, who.often come from
Lawrence
·Tovar~
...
...
sive to a large majority of majority of movement was taken by a group of
the population." She basically says individuals who came from a middle
that the left has to work within the class political perspective. And this
limits of the system in order to de- semester their middle class politics
velop a social movement in which are threatened and have been chaleveryone can participate. She articu- lenged by the working class. This
lates to her constituency that they became apparent when a group of
need something that is "persuasive" working class Chicanos and Chicanas
to a large majority of the majority. In requested and demanded that the
other words, upward mobility; middle students mobilize and move the pubclass getting shot at becoming rich lie opinion against the "real power"
and working class getting a shot at (the administration). The middle class
becoming middle class. Her ideology vanguard (which is also the controlis reflective of this and other myopic ling element of the political agenda of
beliefs. It can be seen in the last the coalition on campus) deemed the
paragraph of her letter when she demands of the working class as non
states
"As
a
'libertarian strategic, irrational, and spontanesocialist'.... changemustcomethrough ous. It's obvious that the actions of
education, access to information, co- the working class will always appear
operation, and commitmep.t to long- idealistic or intangible to the middle
term goals ...." Although they wouldn't class since the interests ofboth classes
know it by reading her letter, the rich are different.
might actually like her. Shackelton
In the column written by Pabelieves in being cooperative and trik Boylan, he points out his amusecommitted to keep the longterm goals · ment with the internal conflict with
of the system. Fortunately, for the in the coalition on campus. A conflict
rich she isn't a threat or rather an between the "Agitated" (middle class)
Agitator. Maybe they'll still "Break and the "Agitators" (working class).
bread" with her over a pitcher of beer He refers to these groups as "poor
and possibly throw "out" her ideas.
suckers." Boylan points out that there
Amidst all this chaos, another is a weakness in the group of Agitastruggle goes on. The poor on this tors. Mostlikely, theweakne~sliesin
campus, the majority of whom are the battle that the working class are
Chicanos are ready to explode. The constantly facing with both the upper
working class Chicanos have become class and the middle class every time
class conscious. Yes, the emerging they challenge the administration.
giant of a giant of a people have risen The middle class call for such actions
from Aztlan. The working class Chi- as a task force committee, open focanos have become aware of the class rums, cross-cultural retreats, and
t;o which they belong, the poor. And othersolutionswhicharemerelyseen
.,tlieyhave also become aware of tl)e as "pacifying goals" to the WQJking
..J:~
=:
wuerence
in t h e type of actions they class.
must take in order to solve the social
When the working attempted to
problems of today. Supporters of a combine their agenda this semester
vanguard who for many years per- again with that of the middle class,
ceived themselves as "the movement" they were banished from the decision
weren't expecting the Chicanas and making process. In the 10/9 issue of
Chicanos to become class conscious the Collegian Avitia and McCollister
en mass. In a letter to La Voz in the (representativesoftheworkingclass)
12/1 Oissue a group of vanguard sup- stated 'they often aren't aware of the
porters state that those who a~e at- decisions being made for the coalition
tempting to "usurp" the power of a even-though they are the co-chairs of
particularChicanoorganizationmust the coalition meetings.' In another
be warned that the organization is statement Ralph Avitia says me
the only Chicano student.organiza"'.. decision -making pr-ocess has 1>een
tiQn that has remained loyal to that made by Green and Daves and what
goal of empowering. The vanguard they really want....they are leading
supporters signed the letter as chair- their own agenda." And this is true.
persons of the Chicano organization The agenda being lead is politically
, which implies that they are the power that of the middle class. One that
ofthis organization; moreover, imply- promotes working within the system
ing they have "usurped." (refusing to like that of Katherine Shackelton,
acknowledge the working class as a another representative of the middle
legitimate people). The organization class. She was the one who believed
which is presently chaired by a work- that we must "cooperate" (with the
ingclassChicana with a workingclass system) in order to accomplish our
Chicana agenda has taken a new goals.
Those who represent the
direction. One different from that of working class view' on the other hand,
the past three years which was reflec- . believe like McCpllister that we must
•tiveofamiddleclassagenda. Through "try to think'.ofnew ways to address
. •afastandprotesttbissemesterwhich things rather than the established
was'Spearheadedbythew-0rkingclass way.?' The working class politics is
. Chicap.a agenda, a tan~mount·Chi.: also reflective ofa statement made by
cano populace._became empowered. Andres.Montoya wl_;ten he says" ... we
. This semester many Chicanas and need to change the system. We only
. C~icanoshavebecomepoliticallyand get bread crumbs from it now." .For
inte)_!ectually ~powered.
The these reasons ( i.e. working within the
worlungclassChicanasandChicanos system vs. worktng to change the
are once again united.. A vanguard is system) there is a ~oriflict between
no longer perceived to ha~e the mo• theworkingclass~dthemiddleclass.
nopoly on Chicano thought and intel- The conflict results in a lack ofdemoc.
racy for the working <:lass,
in
· .
,
. other
1ectual1Sm~
•T he class stniggle has also ~ken- words, being locked out of the deciroot.m the leadership.-of,the overall sion making.process. This leaves.the .
mov.:ement on,campus: For ~iample/ door open for the middle class to clasin the past, the leadership .o f ,theSee CLIMATE page 5
a
+
..
f"'
,.
I
Page5
December 10, 1990
CLIMATE continued from page 4
sify the working class as "marginal~
members of the coalition. This classification is just one of the middle class
political tactics used to segregate the
working class. And to continue pushing their own agenda. This is a political mistake in building a coalition (i.e.
U nity-SRG) often made by the middle
class vanguard.
This is the true political campus
climate at FSU. We can no longer
continue to say that there
are"personality" problems or conflicts.
Students are going to handle political
situations according to the conditions
of their class struggle. It is time for a
true coalition to form which addresses
the agenda of the working class. The
working class Chicanos have emerged
and they are demanding action. Our
needs can no longer be ignored!
Frank Pancho Aviles
America; Love it or Leave if
•
:fe{iz 9{g,vidad
y Prospero ano
nuevo
'E,11,
Jfonde {a
u.t
, r.,
fe{icidad y e{
amor reyne en
i
·
1•,J,J
Qi'l.l
::>1t::(l'Q 'QCT , v'li')~()
.:iR
~
SUS
fwgares.
~cJpan ·un
'
I
-~~:
cafuroso.' \r
sa{ucfo y
fraterna{
abrazo desu
periodico
Chicano,
La 'Vo~
- - le
Jtztlan.
lJy Manuel Cortez
Influenced By The · Brown B~ffalo
t.
i. •.
l
•
•
.: -~and ~ome time l~t~r. i w_
ould b_
ecc;,rne Zeta, the world-famous Chicano
lawyer who helped start the last revolution ...
-Oscar Zeta Acosta
. Lately rve been noticing a moveThere have been sightings of will either fear me, hate me, or follow
menthereatFresnoState. Could it be Acosta in Calcutta buying nine year me to Mazatlan. I think I'll buy myself
a revolution, a brown revolution :per- old girls off the White slave market.
a brown beret and raise my large
haps? We do have some bonafide He's also been sighted in the cockpit 'brown fist in the air. The words "Viva
radicals on campus and Ignacio San- of a cigarette boat with an uzi in one la revolucion" will echo and shatter
chez's editorials are proof of this radi- hand, heroine in the oth~i- and shout- the unbreakable glass.
·cal behavior. Could there be a sudden ing old testament versus in spanish. ·
rebirth of the Brown Barets?
" There are other sightings. Oscar
B Markanthon Alvidrez
There are angry Chicanos flow- AcostahasbeenseenatFresnoState.
ingthrough the bloodstream ofFresno I have seen him here and there. I saw
Mr.Frosty
State. They ate the "Radical Ones." him in front of tne M.E.Ch.A.booth
They speak through protest, litera- when- Frank Aviles and Salvador
ture, conversation, and through the Cuevas were attacked -on campus.
sehool paper.
Acosta, a.k.a. the Brown Buffalo,
Oscar Zeta Acosta was a 250lb protested against the violent act by
Chicano lawyer from the Bay area. fasting. On Sunday nights-, 6p.m.- .
He quit practicing law in 1967, be- 9p.m.,heplaysmusicforhispeopleon
cametheleaderoftheEastLosAnge- KFSR 90.7. Acosta is has also been
Jes Chicano Movement, and mysteri- seen at the Chicano Writers Artists
ousely disappeared in Mazatlan, Association(CWAA)poetryreadings.
Mexico in 1974. However, before he He occasionally sells tacos for Chicadissappeared,hepublishedtwobooks. nos in Law. Acosta is all over. He
~e Autobiography Of A Brown· guides the "radical ones."
·.- Buffalo," was an autobiography of a ·
TheBrownBWfalowantstounite
confussed-Chicano trying to fi:nd out his people:The young revolutionaries
who he was, trying to find his revblu- here may speak violently, but there
tion. His ·second book, "Revolt of the · hasn't been any violence on their part.
Cockroach People," dealt with· his Will there be.bloodshed in the future?
actions in the E-ast L.A riots. His Will the "Radical Ones" cut the wrists :
advent.;ires included a .357 magnum, of Fresno ·state Uhiversity? These of
LSD, Poco Harum, tequila, . and a course .are the fears of th~ of the ,
burning Safeway.
41tadical Ones'" enemies. The Brown
His books· have recently been Buffalo was~seen as a trouble maker. · ·
republished by ·his son. Acosta's vi- Thatisthefabel beingstamped on the . · · ·
., siQnS and experience with the brown foreheads of the radicals. ' - ' . . ,: . .:.. :, ~ ',,
_ revolution was straight forward and _ Like I said, the Brown Buffalo is . -: · ~. ,
r fnghten1ng. The few radicals who here and there. He· helped me write
,'
. might be.come the many are blessed this article to start a br_own revoluwith Acosta's dreams.
tion. After reading this article, people -
December 10, 1990
Page6
Chicano Poetry
Mark.Anthony November 2nd, 1990
Obituary taken from The Tucson Sun newspaper
Mark
They say
was stabbed 69 times
with the broken end of a spatula
in a Jack in The Box
somewhere east in Tucson Arizona.
ELLA
Las manos de ella trabajan
putting on make-up and
perfecting beauty.
Ell a trabaj a in 1os restaurantes
y sirve la comida en los platos.
E11 a
aprende en
Ja
universidad
las ideas del mundo del
nombre.
She
is stiff and tense
because of her rigid
clothes.
She is curious . about being in the
man's world
learning his ideas,
his science,
his history.
"Qui en soy yo," says La Chicana in
CLS 3
Donde esta la liber.tadad para las
mujeres
las peliculas da l as mujeres?
"Yo soy i ndependi ente de 1 e1
hombre," ·
thinks la chica on the city bus, who
reaches for his hand hoping for
strength in hi s wisdom but gets
fond) ed instead.
"P iensa s que soy haci !"
"Piensas que soy haci ! "
I am mor e than th i s .
. I am not a thing.
I
am
a person.
by Joe M. Torres
Lou the assistant manager told me,
"Mr. Alvidrez was loosing it,"
and before he died
-he jumped onto the counter
with a pound of hamburger meat
in his hand, looked at the mid-day crowd
and shouted,
"Eat!
Eat my flesh for it is good.
See what I see
fields of black lilies
and bleeding rosebuds.
Hear what I hear
the buzzing of electric razors
shaving us all -everything.
Do what I do"
Lou the assistant manager then said that
Mark Swallowed a chunk of meat
and flung the rest to the customers.
He then jumped onto another counter
took a bucket of hot grease turned to the crowd
and exclaimed,
"Drink!
Drink my hot blood. Drink and feel
the azteca in his glo_ry through his veins.
Come with me; eat and drink,"
and he splashed the hot grease onto the crowd
burning an old man with a cowboy hat.
A man with two years of vengeance on his mind.
Tortured by the vision of a man running up to him
slapping him and running away.
And that's all this cowboy hat wearing man saw
as he poked into .mark .
with the broken end of a spatula
again
and again.
•
-victor canales
The Ch icano Writers and Artists Association(CWAA) is now accepting
submissions for the premier issue of its Arts Journal to be published this
Spring. Submissions should be concerned with the following theme:
The Chicano Experience
Categories include:
Poetry
Fiction
Non-fiction
Art and Photography
Submissions with self-addressed stamped envelope can be dropped off or
mailed to:
CWAA Arts Journal
c/o English Department
CSU, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-0098
or
Deadline February 18, 1991
CW AA Arts Journal
c/o CLS Department
CSU, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-0097
Page7
December 10, 1990
Chicano Poet-r y
yes,wecome
yes, we come
from the earth,
shaking the dust
from our bodies
like a child shakes
death with a
scream.
yes, we come
from the brotherhood
ofworms,
eating the moist
mud, the taste
of blood
in our mouths.
yes, we come
from the earth,
we have broken the
soil like
a fragile egg,
we have seen the
grey sky
and we are hungry.
we will
be nourished.
twenty-four years of solitude
-Andres Montoya
prax, or eddie, if you will
i want to revisit you
once again, my
friend, i want to see
; the•wiIYf.er-moon
I.
reflected in your eyes,
to see how
easy it is for
life to be
deflected.
you were scared
that night.
johnny had the good
stuff, kj' s always good
in the cool spring, and
you m~de me promise
to protect you
if anything
came down.
remember,carnal
when we talked
about God
over alen.o,
and dreamy eyed,
we toasted
peace and cursed
the rich
gavacho, butts.
you drove too fast
that night, and
some say a little
too high,
✓
and you left me this
world, this night, to write
about you, to finally
plant your cross
on the roadside.
-Andra Montoya
mr. and mrs. white the insane conservatives
with capitalist blood in their veins
look down.
below are the brown faces along.with
other shades of death.
when i use a credit card, they make
a credit check with god.
they don't trust this
mexicanolocovatochicanoestewayese.
god only trusts brad andjoanie
with the credit cards.
. who cares
i don't even have credit cards.
when i walk to school or to the store,
they think i can't afford a car.
they're right
.
those gente can't see what I see.
i see la llorona, cucarachas singing
to women, dancers at funerals, and beer
soaked clothes.
i have the advantage over mr. and mrs. white
all they see is plastic verdent
ever so green gardens so green.
i don't see that shit.
i'm ralistic, i only see copper
eyes with magenta hair that bounces
at night while flying carpets piloted
by talking cats travel slow.
that's all, nothing more.
i'll burn my make believe cards and
kill my boss and then live this advantaged
filled life until a flying carpet
and talking cat comes for me.
bymarkanthoneyalvidrez
Page 8
December 10, 1990
. •.
~-', ~ureiidit:ti~ , , '.
e:~!'f!:F.elizN~viJ~~!
.tit!![;dance~. P!.• ~~~'!t zjJ!,~,!i~:~t ~; · . for ~t;,JOh~~:~;~eJvfou~ii;~se !!i~; ;i(~~!;tl w•~tirigto~~ inthe G~llege:.•. · - ·. •· · ··
,. ·.
· • · ,. .,. ·r:: .:::. _SatelhteCoUegeUI)lQn.~:qdw.ij.lbegin •· seum·at 485::::6210 ::485-6211:: o.r:233- .. : · ·- ··· ·•· ·· ··\ · ., ·· . · · ···
·=•: ••.
. .:-:--·-.-.-·..
·:'Jlie Cft-ica.no'Youtfi''con
1rabajadores de fa Raza
is holding a warm
cfothes drive for the
people e, Oaxca.
If you are intrested
in donating clothes
please contact Virginia
Sanchez at 278-2550 or
Martina at 278-4405 or
222-8204 . Your help wiff
greatly be appreciated.
:: . : , :Light: !_,.- C~lebn\!i.on. -~(Archit~c~ .. .:please·sign-up "at :the _HCOP officeJft\ ::-:·
. ture and ·cultllriil·Tra<litfons'\· ,.:... :;call 278:-4 748 for.tnore information:_:: :. ...
PLS 116 continued from page 1
because there is a high number of
·: studentswhodopoorlyinschool.Alot
offactors lead to doing poorly. I think
. this book will share stories to make a
~ change and [encourage others to] do
better in school," said student Bonnie
Perales.
Perales said working on the handbook has made the class more memorable. "The work pulled us all together."
According to Herrera, the students
have gained a better sense of their
student experiences while w 1dng
The Meux·" House:·Muse#m aijd{tliEk .= Vie~n~s'°-4-Lun·e s 7: UC Irvine· will
Foundation for .
Perpetuation:.
host th~ SACNAS confrence for HCOP
St. John's -C athedral will present ·a · stude~ts:
.
.
. -·
the··
of.
feslivalfrom5.:00p.m.-9:00p.m._atSt.
·-
·.· ·
John's Historic District. The Festival: _..: Febrero:.:_:
·
· ·
.
_ will feature Ballet Folklorico YMa- · Jueves 7: CLASE will be holding the ·
· rimbadeFresno,Award winningpoets first meeting of the spring semester
~uan Felipe Herrera and P~lip Lev- ·today at 4:\J p.m. in the College Stu. ine; Ebo African Performing Troupe; dent Union. Ch_eck the glass casefor
and much ~ore . . For more infornia- TOO..ln·number.
tion please ~ontact The Foundation . ·Ju.eves •21: There will be a CLASE ..
frence ·wmmittee is .std£ :
:;_in n~ed ofBD-100 Afonit• ·
,._ ers for tlieir upcoming
: . QYC. Ifyouare_intrested
_- in fie[ping, pfease contact
Jil.maliii at 225• 2311.
•.
DATA continued from page 1
who might want to obtain sources
through
the inter-library loan syssaid that although there are not many
tem.
periodicals held in the library from
"Many "mainstream" journals
the database there ar~ a lot of books.
such
as
Forbes, American Educator,
You might ask yourself, "Well
what is the purpose of the database if Architecture are available through
the library doesn't have the materials the Chicano Database," Carter said.
The database has information
we need?" The answer is simple.
Titles that are available in the data- from as early as 1967 up to 1989.
There isn't any late information bebase can still be of some help.
"It gives access to know that cause as Carter said, "It's so new."
things are out there," Carter said. The latest material is expected to come
The library does not have some infor- in the Spring Semester 1991.
mation but it is helpful to students
The Chicano database has been
used more anci more over the semes-
ter, Carter said. "The faculty are
u·,ing the database on a regular basis." Chicano Latino Studies Department uses it the most.
Changes made will be from constructive criticism Carter said. "It's a
new product and they [U.C. Berkely]
In Memory of Danny Enriquez
Volume XXI, Number IV
California State University, Fresno
Monday December 10, 1990
CLS 116
Will Print
Survival
Handbook
By Jill Soltero
La Voz Staff Writer
Experience is often the best teacher.
Professor Juan Felipe Herrera's
Chicano and Latin American Studies (CLS)ll 6 class has plenty of academic experiences to share.
The class, "Chicano Culture and
Change", is producing a CSUF student survival guide to be sold during
spring 1991.
The guide, entitled "Living on the
Academic Edge: Great Minds That
Survived at CSUF," is part of the
CLS 116 curriculum and is produced
by the students under Herrera's
supervision. "It's a self-related journal that relates to survival on campus. It's self-generated, self-directed
and self-designed," said Herrera.
Students created the format and
contents of the handbook. In addi-'
tion to photos, it will feature entries'
Angel De Jesus/ LaVoz de Aztlan
by students written on several categories including the classroom expeA Selma mother and daughter pick out winter clothing during Saturday's coat give away in
rience; difficulties encountered by
Selma.
The clothes were gathered as part of Professor Juan Felipe Herrera's Chicano Latino
students in the university setting
Studies 05 classes' project, "Coats for Kids".
and how students respond to them;
meetingprofessors;reentrystudents; .___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___J
university social life; and writing and
study skills.
A CSUF services and organization
directory will also be featured in the
handbook. The handbook will also
list campus department and office
phone numbers.
Chicano Youth
Confere nee 1991
Preview
By Jill Soltero
La Voz StaffWritter
More than 1,600 teenagers representing 50 high schools are expected
to attend the 18th Annual CSUF
Chicano Youth Conference (CYC)
Jan.12.
Sponsored by CSUF MEChA and
funded by the Associated Students
Inc., the conference will feature college information workshops, career
workshops, general interest workshops, a college faire and entertainment. Keynote speaker will be publisher and author Dr. Uvaldo H. Palomares.
CYC monitors are needed. If you
can help the CYC by being a monitor, contact Martin Hernandez at
278-2656.
Profiles of CSUF programs and
organizations, in the handbook, will
include interviews with CSUF program and organization leaders from
Counseling Services, the Student
Health Center, the Educatiop.al Opportunity Program office, MEChAand
the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Students Alliance. Students will have a
dedication and a "Dreams and Visions" section as well. They've also
created a collec~ive poem for the book.
Some ofHerrera's students said the
handbook will serve as a tool for encouragingand motivating all students.
"Students will take advantage ofit
and look upon it for help. I do hope we
have areas that we can help them
with," said CLS 116 student Lupe
Juarez.
Another student said the handbook
would have been helpful for him earlier in his college career.
"We will be able to help other students. I know when I came in, I could
have used it. It will benefit freshman
especially," said Martin Cobarruvias,
a student in Herrera's class.
Other students said they hoped to
convey a "you-can-do-it" attitude
through the handbook.
"We made a change on campus
See CLS 116 on page 8
Chicano
Database
On Campus
By Virginia R. Madrid
La Voz Staff Writter
This fall the Henry Madden
Library introduced a bibliography on
Mexican-Americans/Chicanos on CDROM( compact disc- read only memory), known as the Chicano Database.
The Chicano Library at U.C.
Berkely collected and distributed the
information on the Chicano database.
The database was made availa~le for
advertisement in the summer and
brought on campus this semester to
compliment the Chicano Latino Studies coui:ses.
Other California State University campuses that have the Chicano
Studies courses available such as San
Jose State also have the database on
campus.
Those who have used the Chicano database at the Henry Madden
Library have found that. some of the
sources are unavailable. According to
Reference and Multicultural Librarian, Trina Carter the reason may be
the recent budget cuts.
Carter said that a lot of the
periodicals that are in the Chicano
Database and are not available are
those that have specialized material
such as Chicano Journals. Some of
the years are also unavailable bec;ause of limited space.
The budget does not allow the
library to get new information."Other
libraries have this problem because of
the budget cuts," Carter said.
Another reason as to why Fresno
State does most of the periodicals
cited in the Database is because the
Henry Madden Library is not a research library such as that of a U.C.
campus.
The Chicano database has over
36,000 citations to articles and books,
and regular updates planned. Carter
See DATA on page 8
'.fable ofContents: :
Letters t.o the Editor... Page 2
Editorials·& Opinions
_
.. ~:.-;Page 2,3,4 & 5
Art ..:.. :........ ~··············· ..·•··Page5
:floetry....... ~ ......:: .•. :.........Page 6 & 7
C1:1fo_1 1~~~ ......... '. ..... '..~ ...I>.~e 8
EDITORIAL ...
Page 2
December 10, 1990
·.•:::.:.:::::::::::::•:
Letters to the Editor
"Devoured" by poetry
[Editors Note] This letter was origI read your paper today. I cannot ionally printed in the Nov. 15 issue
begin to say how much your poetry ofthe Daily Collegian. We would like
meant to me. Every poem devoured to take this opportunity to pat ourm~ as a human being. It was power- selves on the back one more time.
ful, passionate, raw and beautiful. I
enjoyed each and every poem and
look with eager expectation to your
next issue. Thank you, thank you for
those caring poems. I'd like to thank
each and every poet, as I deeply
appreciate exceptional poetry.
A couple of days ago, I was
sitting in The Daily Collegian office
Sincerely,
doing some work for La Voz, when I
Matty Bustamante-Duran.
overheard a few of the Collegian's
staff writers talking about the racism on campus. They were saying
that racism does not exist on camEditor,
pus. One of them said he thought
there was racism, but it wasn't as
I would like to .take this opportu- bad as people made it out to be.
nity to commend the staff of La Voz They began to comment about
de Aztlan for an informative, pro- Frank's editorials and even began to
vocative issue Nov. 12. As a former imitate his soft voice.
staff member ofLa Voz, it was inspirI was frustrated and was
ing to see that the paper has not only about to say something to them but
survived through rocky times, but I was embarrassed. I was embarhas also retained it's sharp edges.
rassed because they were laughing
The editorials by Frank Pancho about the people who are supposAviles, Eloy Garcia, Joe M. Torres edly fighting racism on this camand Lawrence Tovar provided a fresh pus. They were having a great time ·
Chicano perspective on current is- talking about the Chicanos, who
sues of racism and prejudice, issues instead offightingracism were fightthat for the most part have been ing each other. These people, and I
overwritten by pseudo-radicals and .am sure other people, enjoy watcharmchair militants.
ing the Chicanos fight over who
I was also inspired by all the con: holds the power and who doesn't. I
tributingpoets. In particular, I would hope these power hungry individulike to single out Aviles and Andres als realize they are making fools of
Montoya, who along, with countless themselves as well as the rest of us.
others, have been attemptingfor quite
I am not referring to any one
some time now to breathe life into the individual. I am referring to all of
Chicano poets on this campus. The those who have forgotten what we
importance of all your voices is im- are here for. At one point I thought
mesurable. Your expressions exem- we were succeeding, but I realized
plify the essance and spirit of the that we have forgotten what unity
Chicano movement: a return to the is. The day we got together to prosoul, a return to the heritage, a re- test the beating of Frank Aviles, I
turn to the native language-La Voz was overwhelmed by the unity of
deAztlan.
the Chicanos. It felt so good to see us
Perry Angle
fighting for the same cause instead
Fight the Power,
Not Each Other
Fresh Perspective
fit.to,U#.;n?::~x::,:~v~i~g~::: JJq§.ijl:.pie~i\!:r: J~~::w~r~::th~xe,.·~tie.:oheswhQ':w.~r~i~t
li"fl\fililil!IIlirJifiiii~1~ilii!ttl
of fighting each other. ·These are the
things that we must not let go off, if we
want to successfully overcome racism
on this campus and in the world. What
helps us overcome these struggles is
unity as brothers and sisters and not
the efforts of a few individuals.
Before I close this letter I would
like to say something for those who say
they want to help but only care about
getting the "recognition they deserve,"
please don't do us that favor. We, the
Chicano students, don't need this kind
of representation. We need someone
who wants to work for the people and
not for themselves. There have been
individuals who have gotten to positions of power only for the recognition.
These are the ones we should be aware
of.
Con Safos,
Erlinda Cobarruvias
· Welcome Back La Vaz
Dear Editor,
I was so pleased with your November
issue. The art on the front page, the
hard hitting editorials, and the poetry
were just the right combination for
this revolutionary newspaper. Those
rough edges that are the reality of the
Chicano existance are exactly what
La Voz de Aztlan should examplify.
And that is exactly what your last
issue did. This semseter has seen a
rebirth of the true Chicano voice. We
have seen protests, hunger strikes,
poetry readings and La Voz has
gone back to it's roots. The last
couple of semesters, it has been
obviouse that the editors of La Voz
have been more concerned with
journalistic style and apperance
than with the red'l Chicano issues.
For this reason, I would like to
commend Mr. Garcia. He has done a
great job of presenting the real
issues to the Chicano students. Keep
up the good work . .
La Voz reader,
Jose Martin Juarez
December 10, 1990
Page3
Who Are The Authentic Phonies?
Due to the potentially divisive
views and grossly misleading information put forth in the editorial entitled "Who are the phonies?" (November La Voz issue) and a recent
letter to the Collegian written by the
self-proclaimed, all powerfu..11 CSU
Fresno "RADICAL LEFT," it is imperative th at we respond with a statement of clarity. This will assist many
who are confuseC: by the authentic
phonies currently slinging empty
rhetoric and lodging vicious attacks
against longtime student activists at
the university. Furthermore, the failure of these individuals to assist in
our initiate the formulation of concrete proposals or plans of action to
empower the people they claim to represent will be exposed to those of us
that may fall into the category of politiacal activists whom they have ironically labeled "The Exposeres."
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan has launched a consistent, intense struggle against racism
since it'sestablishment in 1969. Links
of solidarity with other people of color
and progressive students and community organizations have forged a
legacy of commitment, dedication, and
passion unrivaled by few other student or community organizations.
Manyformer MECHAmembers
are now actively involved in community organizations such as the Mexican American Political Association
(:MAPA Del Valle) fullfilling one ofthe
fundamental goals of the Chicano
student movement returning to the •
coriiihurtity ·t<>·
"Uie i>'overty.:r
stricken sectors in attempts to gain
the political power necessary to acquire economic independence, cultural
pluralism and social equality.
Being active in the community
is a commitment that is often difficult
since many of us are employed full
ti.me and have a family to support
assist
financially. Any recognition that is Simpson-Mazzoli Committee, Camgiven tous isjustily deserved. Visibil:.. pus Rainbow Coalition or in STAKE
ityin the community, however, is not -an organization whose goal was to
as important as the power our tasks keep university tuition affordable.
provide for the Mexicano farm work- Their involvement in the Student
ers, Chicano youth, cancer-stricken Alliance and Unity-SRG has been
children from McFarland and the sur- marginal at best, and self-serving
rounding Chicano/Mexicano commu- generally.
nity. For this reason, it is imperative
For them to claim to be the
that those of us involved in efforts leaders of any and all progressive
toward community empowerment movements at this university and to
take decisive measures to preservere attack student activists who have been
the integrity of MECHA and chal- intricately involved in the anti-racist
lenge those individuals whose sole struggle on campus and in the comp11rpose is to destroy the unity long munity is a grandiose feat indeed,
fought for and built by activists truly given their history ofnon-involvement
committed to the anti-racist, anti- in student and community politics.
sexist struggle.
The attacks against students
Unity-SRG was forged by a whohavebeeninvolvedinthestruggle
coalition comprised of students of against racism demonstrate a lack of
color,progressivewhites,andgayand unity, sence of principle, and isolalesbian- students. It is extremely tionfrom the anti-racist struggle. We
arrogant for one individual to take or must hold each other accountable to
assume credit for this accomplish- the anti-racism movement and proment. Thepredecessorto Unity-SRG, tect our community from people desthe Student Alliance, was founded by perately clutching a personal agenda.
Arab, African-American, Asian, ChiIt may be hard to work together,
cano and progressive white students to be sure, but common ground can be
as a result of racist attacks on people found within our community and with
of color at CSU, Fresno in 1981.
other communities through our deIn 1983 the Student Alliance siretoresisttheattackswagedagainst
campaigned for and successfully us. Since it's formation !ViliCHA has
elected Andrea Hedgley to the office successfully realized unity with other
of student body president, the second people of color, an important factor
woman and the first African-Ameri- crucial for student and community
canto beelectedtothatpositionin the empowerment. MECHA's power is
history ofCSU, Fresno. Furthermore, vividly reflected by a historical strings
an attempted ~ecall ofMs. Hedgely by for our people.
the conservative forces wa~ soundly
Collectively, it is possible to
defeate~-~?'-.U:!~_tu~:mt.Alh~~~e. and ~ devel9p'"an effective strategy to comtlie progres1ve reserves mobilizecfby bat racism. We must combine the
them.
knowledge and sacrifice of the past
Members of 1,he self-pro~al1med with the energy and events of the
~IC~ LEFT have not been present to have a successful move11:1vloved m MECHA, or a~y progres- ment towardjustice, peace and equal~1ve s~udent movemei:it with _a cred- ity. This involves the mutual under1~le history of struggl~ng aga~st ra- standing among African-Americans,
c1sm. They were not mvolved m th~ Chaicanos, and other oppressed
Coors boycott campaign, the Anti groups that unity presents the sole
.1.
path toward empowerment; the alternative is to suffer the stagnation
brought by arrogance, mistrust, and
stupidity. We cannot afford to become casualties of our own lack of
vision.
Those who are attempting to
usurp the power of MECHA must be
warned that MECHA is the only
Chicano student organization that has
remained loyal to the goal of empowering the Chicano/Mexicano community. There are no substitutes and no
organizations or group ofindividuals
seeking to undermine the authority
and credibility ofMECHA should even
thinkofthepossibilityofescapingthe
wrath of a firm, correct and humane
line of just argumentation.
We must maintain the strenght
and integrity of the movimiento and
protect it from the designs of opportunists attempting to usurp leadership when they have failed to demonstrate the merest ounce of political
activism before the community. We
must continue resisting the colonization of our gente with fuerza and
defend our banner of liberty which
has been relinquished in our hands.
This can only be achieved by working
with great passion for the people we
~epresent. Acuredense, nLa Union
Hace La Fuena!!
En Solidaridad,
SandraGutierrez,
MECHA Chairperson, 1989-90
George Martinez,
MECHA Chairperson, 1986-87
•
Rick Chacon,
MECHA Chairperson, 1983-84
Albert Robles,
MECHA Chairperson, 1985-86
_M E~hA's Response
YES! YES! YES! You are soooo
right! Let me be the very, very first
one to thank Rick Chacon and Sandra
Gutierrez, George Martinez and Al
Robles, for their enlightening and
encouraging article "Who Are the
Authenic Phonies."
Y01;. say in your article that any
recog11ition given to_you is justly deserved. Aga4'. I say YES! YES! ~S!
Especially since youhave given a fiery
and impassioned de-fense ofMEChA
against those people who would like
to see IT lose legitimacy so that their
own personal agenda's may be fulfilled.
Since I am a board member of
MEChA and a copy was given to us by
its authors, I was able to see, in advan,~, the article "Who Are the Authenic Phonies." In talking to the
other MEChistas, it was apparent that
we were all a little excited about it. I
ffi)"self was extremely happy, seeing
past -...fEChistas respecting, supporting, and even vehemently defending
MEChA's stance, recognizing them
as people who are able to analyze the
current political trends and then
adequately act on those analysis'.
After a while and after reading the
article a couple of more ti:f1'es, however, it -became apparent that they
never named from whom they are ·
protecting MEC~. After ~iscussing
this undersight with some other
MEChistas, we all assumed, and quite
logically, that their have only been,
aside from the normal attackers(white
conservative racists), a couple of
p~ople attacking MEChA. We all
assumed that they must be talking
about Karen Cogely and Jose Lopez,
both of whom have attacked MEChistas and MEChA in open, public forums, attacking the leadership of the
Chicano Student Movement, while
at the same time, claiming to be the
authenic activists and the vanguard
of the stud~nt movement.
Since the letter was already turned
in,andbringingtheerrortotheattention to the authors would have little,
if any effect, it was suggested to me by
my fellow MEChistas that I wriie-an ·
article to clarify what was left out of
"Who Are thP, Authenic Phoniest and
in this way rule out any misconceptions that might be used to cause
devisiveness amongst the people. At
the r~ame time this allows :ne to thank
Rick, Sandra, George, and Al for their
asstute letter. It's sooo good to see
that not all community radicals have
to fall into the line of marching with
status quo liberal activists who fail to
recognize the changing dynamics and
atmosphere of the Chicano Student
Movement, an atmosphere where
bourgeois elitist and often stalinistic
leaders are being supplanted by the
people. La Raza is finally and truely
taking the reins of leadership from
those who would keep us in bondage.
I would also like to tell ofmy reliefa nd
joy, seeing that these older MEChistas do not come from an arrogant
position, but instead come from a
position that recognizes and respects
MEChA'sintelligenceandsovereignty
in terms of deciding the directions of
the Chicano Student Movement,
understanding that we [MEChA] cpmprehend the struggle as it nows tands
here at CSU, Fresno. Acurendense,
!/La UnionHaceLaFuerza!I
En Solidaridad con La Raza,
Andres Montoya,
MEChA Sgt. ofArms, 1990-91
Irma Serrano,
MBChA Chair, 1990-91
Manuel Ramirez,
MEChA Vice Chair, 1990-91
Lalo Garcia,
MEChA Sgt. ofArms, 1990-91
Salvador Cuevas, MEChA Historian, 1990-91
Beatriz Salcedo,
Chair High School Outreach, MEChA,
1990-91
Matt Polanco,
Vice Chair Semana de la R aza,
MEChA, 1990-91
P .S. Fight "the power"
December 10, 1990
Page4
CSUF's Poli_tical Climate
Everybody Listen! Something is
happening at Fresno State and it's
happening to all of us. The people on
this campus are beginning to erupt
and no matter where you try to hide or
how fast you try to run, your going to
hear the noise. In fact, you are most
likely going to be one of the persons
that screams. Rich White men, rich
Chicanos, poor African Americans,
poor Native Americans, middle class
Whites, middle class African Americans, poor women of color, upper
middle class Asian American women,
middle class Indians and etc ... If you
look very closely in the Collegian and
the Insight you'll see that the eruption or rather the uprising is a "class
struggle." The working class (poor),
middle class and the upper class(rich)
have each made requests to their
constituents. And each has requested
a different means of action and have
offered different solutions of empowerment.
In the 11/30,issue of the Collegian,
Patrik Boylan, one of the Collegian
editors, clearly defines the rich students as the ones he represents when
he defines who the real power of this
campus encompasses.
For
example,when he says "... the real
(White) powers.... ", he implies that
the real power is the "White power";
moreover, those that control (the
upper class). In his column he refers
to his student constituency (the real
power) as "we" and the other students
as "they" And he warns the real
power about "The Agitators (those
who Bitch)... ". Although his words ·.
state that, he see's us (the working
class) as Agitators, when he says "They
are loud, annoying, and possibly effective instigators..." he acknowledges
that we are, in fact, "effective" and he
requests action from his people to
protect themselves, or rather their
power. He decries "Know thy enemy.
Break bread with them....for your own
sakes, learn how the hell to TALK to
them;" In fact, he goes on to say "... go
to the Bucket and have a beer and
throw around some ideas at each
Qther~ ... d~n'tscrewup so badly there's
no other alternative than putting the
blame on someone else." The only
advise Boylan forgot to give the White
power was how to hold your cross
while your burning it.
A couple other students consciously
or unconsciously, also, lend their
support to the upper class in the Collegian. In a story (column) about
theft in the 12/5/90 issue, Wendy J.
Karsevar stated"... we enjoy the rights
and privileges that we enjoy: Life,
liberty, and pursuit ofhappiness. We
expect, or hope, for others to respect
us and our property. Just like we
would respect theirs." Who are these
people that enjoy or have access to
rights and privileges and property?
Obviously, its the rich. Wendy is nice
enough to admit that they (the rich)
"would" respect our property ( that's if
we, the working class, had any).
Finally, in the 12/7/90 issue, Danny
Good, in response to an editorial
wrote proposing economic parody for
the poor in the 12/4 issue, adamantly
defends the rich. In paranoia of a
threat to his conservatism he says "It
is my opinion that Frank should go to
East Germany..." According to his
quote I, the working class, should be
sent out of the country if I want economic equality (i.e. a piece of the pie).
Moreover, he implies that equality for
the poor is a crazy idea when he states
at the end of his letter that "Frank is
short a few marbles." He seems to
come to these conclusions only after
reading ofmy plea to help the poor.
The voices of the middle class can
als;o Bebeard from ·~~r. Iri'Fespcins~
to a 11/27 issue in which a group of
working class students attempt to
scream for economic parody through
radical social change, a middle class
representative, Katherine Shackelton, in the 12/4 issue bombards the
students with the wordiest letter ever
used to defend a constituency. Shackelton verbosely states ~In the long
run, a movement of the left has no
chance of success, and deserves none,
unless it develops an understanding
of contemporary society and a vision
of a future social order that is persuaI
Strong.QpiAiori ·
>
~
•
;
I was suppose to present my sec- higher income families, against poor
ond · ~gment co~cerning the fight Chicanos who don't want to join their
against · racism today, but recent ,oppressive party of deceit and lies.
event~ have made me disgusted.
My time is limited. I will have to
When I read the Daily Collegian, I wait until next semester to present
see the names of Frank Aviles and my second segment. The next segAndres Montoya being slanderecfand ment will present the detrimental
their accomplishments beiJ:igdenied. ·_ejfects~of denying leade~s, · such as
This sl~nder ~s coinin~•from fue- Frank Aviles and Andres Montoya,
;/
group ofcommumsts, specializing in leadership positions. In addition, I
Stalinist tactics. The Stalinists are _will present the importance of
jealous, because Frank and Andres MEChA's break with the Stalinists
have accomplished things .without and how the new MEChA leadertheir permission. Frank aqd Andres ship- the best rve ever seen- has the
· have contributed a si~ifican_t responsibil~ty of dire~ing the moveamount to the struggle agamst-ra- ment. Lastly, theimportanceofthis
1
c~sm without~laiming an! recogni- -semesters La-Voz will be anal~ed
tion. They are only worned about for its effectiveness and brilliant
getting the job done.
editorship:My only fear next semesIt wasn't enough U.t the Stalin- ter is thJ.t Eloy Garcia will not'be
ists. took credit for Frank and . reinstat.ed by the Media Council for
Andres'saccoip.pl~shments, now they · his committment to strc-ng journalwant to degrade·and lie about th~m. ism. .
·
.! see oppression. Oppression fijom
the Stalinists, who.often come from
Lawrence
·Tovar~
...
...
sive to a large majority of majority of movement was taken by a group of
the population." She basically says individuals who came from a middle
that the left has to work within the class political perspective. And this
limits of the system in order to de- semester their middle class politics
velop a social movement in which are threatened and have been chaleveryone can participate. She articu- lenged by the working class. This
lates to her constituency that they became apparent when a group of
need something that is "persuasive" working class Chicanos and Chicanas
to a large majority of the majority. In requested and demanded that the
other words, upward mobility; middle students mobilize and move the pubclass getting shot at becoming rich lie opinion against the "real power"
and working class getting a shot at (the administration). The middle class
becoming middle class. Her ideology vanguard (which is also the controlis reflective of this and other myopic ling element of the political agenda of
beliefs. It can be seen in the last the coalition on campus) deemed the
paragraph of her letter when she demands of the working class as non
states
"As
a
'libertarian strategic, irrational, and spontanesocialist'.... changemustcomethrough ous. It's obvious that the actions of
education, access to information, co- the working class will always appear
operation, and commitmep.t to long- idealistic or intangible to the middle
term goals ...." Although they wouldn't class since the interests ofboth classes
know it by reading her letter, the rich are different.
might actually like her. Shackelton
In the column written by Pabelieves in being cooperative and trik Boylan, he points out his amusecommitted to keep the longterm goals · ment with the internal conflict with
of the system. Fortunately, for the in the coalition on campus. A conflict
rich she isn't a threat or rather an between the "Agitated" (middle class)
Agitator. Maybe they'll still "Break and the "Agitators" (working class).
bread" with her over a pitcher of beer He refers to these groups as "poor
and possibly throw "out" her ideas.
suckers." Boylan points out that there
Amidst all this chaos, another is a weakness in the group of Agitastruggle goes on. The poor on this tors. Mostlikely, theweakne~sliesin
campus, the majority of whom are the battle that the working class are
Chicanos are ready to explode. The constantly facing with both the upper
working class Chicanos have become class and the middle class every time
class conscious. Yes, the emerging they challenge the administration.
giant of a giant of a people have risen The middle class call for such actions
from Aztlan. The working class Chi- as a task force committee, open focanos have become aware of the class rums, cross-cultural retreats, and
t;o which they belong, the poor. And othersolutionswhicharemerelyseen
.,tlieyhave also become aware of tl)e as "pacifying goals" to the WQJking
..J:~
=:
wuerence
in t h e type of actions they class.
must take in order to solve the social
When the working attempted to
problems of today. Supporters of a combine their agenda this semester
vanguard who for many years per- again with that of the middle class,
ceived themselves as "the movement" they were banished from the decision
weren't expecting the Chicanas and making process. In the 10/9 issue of
Chicanos to become class conscious the Collegian Avitia and McCollister
en mass. In a letter to La Voz in the (representativesoftheworkingclass)
12/1 Oissue a group of vanguard sup- stated 'they often aren't aware of the
porters state that those who a~e at- decisions being made for the coalition
tempting to "usurp" the power of a even-though they are the co-chairs of
particularChicanoorganizationmust the coalition meetings.' In another
be warned that the organization is statement Ralph Avitia says me
the only Chicano student.organiza"'.. decision -making pr-ocess has 1>een
tiQn that has remained loyal to that made by Green and Daves and what
goal of empowering. The vanguard they really want....they are leading
supporters signed the letter as chair- their own agenda." And this is true.
persons of the Chicano organization The agenda being lead is politically
, which implies that they are the power that of the middle class. One that
ofthis organization; moreover, imply- promotes working within the system
ing they have "usurped." (refusing to like that of Katherine Shackelton,
acknowledge the working class as a another representative of the middle
legitimate people). The organization class. She was the one who believed
which is presently chaired by a work- that we must "cooperate" (with the
ingclassChicana with a workingclass system) in order to accomplish our
Chicana agenda has taken a new goals.
Those who represent the
direction. One different from that of working class view' on the other hand,
the past three years which was reflec- . believe like McCpllister that we must
•tiveofamiddleclassagenda. Through "try to think'.ofnew ways to address
. •afastandprotesttbissemesterwhich things rather than the established
was'Spearheadedbythew-0rkingclass way.?' The working class politics is
. Chicap.a agenda, a tan~mount·Chi.: also reflective ofa statement made by
cano populace._became empowered. Andres.Montoya wl_;ten he says" ... we
. This semester many Chicanas and need to change the system. We only
. C~icanoshavebecomepoliticallyand get bread crumbs from it now." .For
inte)_!ectually ~powered.
The these reasons ( i.e. working within the
worlungclassChicanasandChicanos system vs. worktng to change the
are once again united.. A vanguard is system) there is a ~oriflict between
no longer perceived to ha~e the mo• theworkingclass~dthemiddleclass.
nopoly on Chicano thought and intel- The conflict results in a lack ofdemoc.
racy for the working <:lass,
in
· .
,
. other
1ectual1Sm~
•T he class stniggle has also ~ken- words, being locked out of the deciroot.m the leadership.-of,the overall sion making.process. This leaves.the .
mov.:ement on,campus: For ~iample/ door open for the middle class to clasin the past, the leadership .o f ,theSee CLIMATE page 5
a
+
..
f"'
,.
I
Page5
December 10, 1990
CLIMATE continued from page 4
sify the working class as "marginal~
members of the coalition. This classification is just one of the middle class
political tactics used to segregate the
working class. And to continue pushing their own agenda. This is a political mistake in building a coalition (i.e.
U nity-SRG) often made by the middle
class vanguard.
This is the true political campus
climate at FSU. We can no longer
continue to say that there
are"personality" problems or conflicts.
Students are going to handle political
situations according to the conditions
of their class struggle. It is time for a
true coalition to form which addresses
the agenda of the working class. The
working class Chicanos have emerged
and they are demanding action. Our
needs can no longer be ignored!
Frank Pancho Aviles
America; Love it or Leave if
•
:fe{iz 9{g,vidad
y Prospero ano
nuevo
'E,11,
Jfonde {a
u.t
, r.,
fe{icidad y e{
amor reyne en
i
·
1•,J,J
Qi'l.l
::>1t::(l'Q 'QCT , v'li')~()
.:iR
~
SUS
fwgares.
~cJpan ·un
'
I
-~~:
cafuroso.' \r
sa{ucfo y
fraterna{
abrazo desu
periodico
Chicano,
La 'Vo~
- - le
Jtztlan.
lJy Manuel Cortez
Influenced By The · Brown B~ffalo
t.
i. •.
l
•
•
.: -~and ~ome time l~t~r. i w_
ould b_
ecc;,rne Zeta, the world-famous Chicano
lawyer who helped start the last revolution ...
-Oscar Zeta Acosta
. Lately rve been noticing a moveThere have been sightings of will either fear me, hate me, or follow
menthereatFresnoState. Could it be Acosta in Calcutta buying nine year me to Mazatlan. I think I'll buy myself
a revolution, a brown revolution :per- old girls off the White slave market.
a brown beret and raise my large
haps? We do have some bonafide He's also been sighted in the cockpit 'brown fist in the air. The words "Viva
radicals on campus and Ignacio San- of a cigarette boat with an uzi in one la revolucion" will echo and shatter
chez's editorials are proof of this radi- hand, heroine in the oth~i- and shout- the unbreakable glass.
·cal behavior. Could there be a sudden ing old testament versus in spanish. ·
rebirth of the Brown Barets?
" There are other sightings. Oscar
B Markanthon Alvidrez
There are angry Chicanos flow- AcostahasbeenseenatFresnoState.
ingthrough the bloodstream ofFresno I have seen him here and there. I saw
Mr.Frosty
State. They ate the "Radical Ones." him in front of tne M.E.Ch.A.booth
They speak through protest, litera- when- Frank Aviles and Salvador
ture, conversation, and through the Cuevas were attacked -on campus.
sehool paper.
Acosta, a.k.a. the Brown Buffalo,
Oscar Zeta Acosta was a 250lb protested against the violent act by
Chicano lawyer from the Bay area. fasting. On Sunday nights-, 6p.m.- .
He quit practicing law in 1967, be- 9p.m.,heplaysmusicforhispeopleon
cametheleaderoftheEastLosAnge- KFSR 90.7. Acosta is has also been
Jes Chicano Movement, and mysteri- seen at the Chicano Writers Artists
ousely disappeared in Mazatlan, Association(CWAA)poetryreadings.
Mexico in 1974. However, before he He occasionally sells tacos for Chicadissappeared,hepublishedtwobooks. nos in Law. Acosta is all over. He
~e Autobiography Of A Brown· guides the "radical ones."
·.- Buffalo," was an autobiography of a ·
TheBrownBWfalowantstounite
confussed-Chicano trying to fi:nd out his people:The young revolutionaries
who he was, trying to find his revblu- here may speak violently, but there
tion. His ·second book, "Revolt of the · hasn't been any violence on their part.
Cockroach People," dealt with· his Will there be.bloodshed in the future?
actions in the E-ast L.A riots. His Will the "Radical Ones" cut the wrists :
advent.;ires included a .357 magnum, of Fresno ·state Uhiversity? These of
LSD, Poco Harum, tequila, . and a course .are the fears of th~ of the ,
burning Safeway.
41tadical Ones'" enemies. The Brown
His books· have recently been Buffalo was~seen as a trouble maker. · ·
republished by ·his son. Acosta's vi- Thatisthefabel beingstamped on the . · · ·
., siQnS and experience with the brown foreheads of the radicals. ' - ' . . ,: . .:.. :, ~ ',,
_ revolution was straight forward and _ Like I said, the Brown Buffalo is . -: · ~. ,
r fnghten1ng. The few radicals who here and there. He· helped me write
,'
. might be.come the many are blessed this article to start a br_own revoluwith Acosta's dreams.
tion. After reading this article, people -
December 10, 1990
Page6
Chicano Poetry
Mark.Anthony November 2nd, 1990
Obituary taken from The Tucson Sun newspaper
Mark
They say
was stabbed 69 times
with the broken end of a spatula
in a Jack in The Box
somewhere east in Tucson Arizona.
ELLA
Las manos de ella trabajan
putting on make-up and
perfecting beauty.
Ell a trabaj a in 1os restaurantes
y sirve la comida en los platos.
E11 a
aprende en
Ja
universidad
las ideas del mundo del
nombre.
She
is stiff and tense
because of her rigid
clothes.
She is curious . about being in the
man's world
learning his ideas,
his science,
his history.
"Qui en soy yo," says La Chicana in
CLS 3
Donde esta la liber.tadad para las
mujeres
las peliculas da l as mujeres?
"Yo soy i ndependi ente de 1 e1
hombre," ·
thinks la chica on the city bus, who
reaches for his hand hoping for
strength in hi s wisdom but gets
fond) ed instead.
"P iensa s que soy haci !"
"Piensas que soy haci ! "
I am mor e than th i s .
. I am not a thing.
I
am
a person.
by Joe M. Torres
Lou the assistant manager told me,
"Mr. Alvidrez was loosing it,"
and before he died
-he jumped onto the counter
with a pound of hamburger meat
in his hand, looked at the mid-day crowd
and shouted,
"Eat!
Eat my flesh for it is good.
See what I see
fields of black lilies
and bleeding rosebuds.
Hear what I hear
the buzzing of electric razors
shaving us all -everything.
Do what I do"
Lou the assistant manager then said that
Mark Swallowed a chunk of meat
and flung the rest to the customers.
He then jumped onto another counter
took a bucket of hot grease turned to the crowd
and exclaimed,
"Drink!
Drink my hot blood. Drink and feel
the azteca in his glo_ry through his veins.
Come with me; eat and drink,"
and he splashed the hot grease onto the crowd
burning an old man with a cowboy hat.
A man with two years of vengeance on his mind.
Tortured by the vision of a man running up to him
slapping him and running away.
And that's all this cowboy hat wearing man saw
as he poked into .mark .
with the broken end of a spatula
again
and again.
•
-victor canales
The Ch icano Writers and Artists Association(CWAA) is now accepting
submissions for the premier issue of its Arts Journal to be published this
Spring. Submissions should be concerned with the following theme:
The Chicano Experience
Categories include:
Poetry
Fiction
Non-fiction
Art and Photography
Submissions with self-addressed stamped envelope can be dropped off or
mailed to:
CWAA Arts Journal
c/o English Department
CSU, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-0098
or
Deadline February 18, 1991
CW AA Arts Journal
c/o CLS Department
CSU, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-0097
Page7
December 10, 1990
Chicano Poet-r y
yes,wecome
yes, we come
from the earth,
shaking the dust
from our bodies
like a child shakes
death with a
scream.
yes, we come
from the brotherhood
ofworms,
eating the moist
mud, the taste
of blood
in our mouths.
yes, we come
from the earth,
we have broken the
soil like
a fragile egg,
we have seen the
grey sky
and we are hungry.
we will
be nourished.
twenty-four years of solitude
-Andres Montoya
prax, or eddie, if you will
i want to revisit you
once again, my
friend, i want to see
; the•wiIYf.er-moon
I.
reflected in your eyes,
to see how
easy it is for
life to be
deflected.
you were scared
that night.
johnny had the good
stuff, kj' s always good
in the cool spring, and
you m~de me promise
to protect you
if anything
came down.
remember,carnal
when we talked
about God
over alen.o,
and dreamy eyed,
we toasted
peace and cursed
the rich
gavacho, butts.
you drove too fast
that night, and
some say a little
too high,
✓
and you left me this
world, this night, to write
about you, to finally
plant your cross
on the roadside.
-Andra Montoya
mr. and mrs. white the insane conservatives
with capitalist blood in their veins
look down.
below are the brown faces along.with
other shades of death.
when i use a credit card, they make
a credit check with god.
they don't trust this
mexicanolocovatochicanoestewayese.
god only trusts brad andjoanie
with the credit cards.
. who cares
i don't even have credit cards.
when i walk to school or to the store,
they think i can't afford a car.
they're right
.
those gente can't see what I see.
i see la llorona, cucarachas singing
to women, dancers at funerals, and beer
soaked clothes.
i have the advantage over mr. and mrs. white
all they see is plastic verdent
ever so green gardens so green.
i don't see that shit.
i'm ralistic, i only see copper
eyes with magenta hair that bounces
at night while flying carpets piloted
by talking cats travel slow.
that's all, nothing more.
i'll burn my make believe cards and
kill my boss and then live this advantaged
filled life until a flying carpet
and talking cat comes for me.
bymarkanthoneyalvidrez
Page 8
December 10, 1990
. •.
~-', ~ureiidit:ti~ , , '.
e:~!'f!:F.elizN~viJ~~!
.tit!![;dance~. P!.• ~~~'!t zjJ!,~,!i~:~t ~; · . for ~t;,JOh~~:~;~eJvfou~ii;~se !!i~; ;i(~~!;tl w•~tirigto~~ inthe G~llege:.•. · - ·. •· · ··
,. ·.
· • · ,. .,. ·r:: .:::. _SatelhteCoUegeUI)lQn.~:qdw.ij.lbegin •· seum·at 485::::6210 ::485-6211:: o.r:233- .. : · ·- ··· ·•· ·· ··\ · ., ·· . · · ···
·=•: ••.
. .:-:--·-.-.-·..
·:'Jlie Cft-ica.no'Youtfi''con
1rabajadores de fa Raza
is holding a warm
cfothes drive for the
people e, Oaxca.
If you are intrested
in donating clothes
please contact Virginia
Sanchez at 278-2550 or
Martina at 278-4405 or
222-8204 . Your help wiff
greatly be appreciated.
:: . : , :Light: !_,.- C~lebn\!i.on. -~(Archit~c~ .. .:please·sign-up "at :the _HCOP officeJft\ ::-:·
. ture and ·cultllriil·Tra<litfons'\· ,.:... :;call 278:-4 748 for.tnore information:_:: :. ...
PLS 116 continued from page 1
because there is a high number of
·: studentswhodopoorlyinschool.Alot
offactors lead to doing poorly. I think
. this book will share stories to make a
~ change and [encourage others to] do
better in school," said student Bonnie
Perales.
Perales said working on the handbook has made the class more memorable. "The work pulled us all together."
According to Herrera, the students
have gained a better sense of their
student experiences while w 1dng
The Meux·" House:·Muse#m aijd{tliEk .= Vie~n~s'°-4-Lun·e s 7: UC Irvine· will
Foundation for .
Perpetuation:.
host th~ SACNAS confrence for HCOP
St. John's -C athedral will present ·a · stude~ts:
.
.
. -·
the··
of.
feslivalfrom5.:00p.m.-9:00p.m._atSt.
·-
·.· ·
John's Historic District. The Festival: _..: Febrero:.:_:
·
· ·
.
_ will feature Ballet Folklorico YMa- · Jueves 7: CLASE will be holding the ·
· rimbadeFresno,Award winningpoets first meeting of the spring semester
~uan Felipe Herrera and P~lip Lev- ·today at 4:\J p.m. in the College Stu. ine; Ebo African Performing Troupe; dent Union. Ch_eck the glass casefor
and much ~ore . . For more infornia- TOO..ln·number.
tion please ~ontact The Foundation . ·Ju.eves •21: There will be a CLASE ..
frence ·wmmittee is .std£ :
:;_in n~ed ofBD-100 Afonit• ·
,._ ers for tlieir upcoming
: . QYC. Ifyouare_intrested
_- in fie[ping, pfease contact
Jil.maliii at 225• 2311.
•.
DATA continued from page 1
who might want to obtain sources
through
the inter-library loan syssaid that although there are not many
tem.
periodicals held in the library from
"Many "mainstream" journals
the database there ar~ a lot of books.
such
as
Forbes, American Educator,
You might ask yourself, "Well
what is the purpose of the database if Architecture are available through
the library doesn't have the materials the Chicano Database," Carter said.
The database has information
we need?" The answer is simple.
Titles that are available in the data- from as early as 1967 up to 1989.
There isn't any late information bebase can still be of some help.
"It gives access to know that cause as Carter said, "It's so new."
things are out there," Carter said. The latest material is expected to come
The library does not have some infor- in the Spring Semester 1991.
mation but it is helpful to students
The Chicano database has been
used more anci more over the semes-
ter, Carter said. "The faculty are
u·,ing the database on a regular basis." Chicano Latino Studies Department uses it the most.
Changes made will be from constructive criticism Carter said. "It's a
new product and they [U.C. Berkely]
In Memory of Danny Enriquez
California State University, Fresno
Monday December 10, 1990
CLS 116
Will Print
Survival
Handbook
By Jill Soltero
La Voz Staff Writer
Experience is often the best teacher.
Professor Juan Felipe Herrera's
Chicano and Latin American Studies (CLS)ll 6 class has plenty of academic experiences to share.
The class, "Chicano Culture and
Change", is producing a CSUF student survival guide to be sold during
spring 1991.
The guide, entitled "Living on the
Academic Edge: Great Minds That
Survived at CSUF," is part of the
CLS 116 curriculum and is produced
by the students under Herrera's
supervision. "It's a self-related journal that relates to survival on campus. It's self-generated, self-directed
and self-designed," said Herrera.
Students created the format and
contents of the handbook. In addi-'
tion to photos, it will feature entries'
Angel De Jesus/ LaVoz de Aztlan
by students written on several categories including the classroom expeA Selma mother and daughter pick out winter clothing during Saturday's coat give away in
rience; difficulties encountered by
Selma.
The clothes were gathered as part of Professor Juan Felipe Herrera's Chicano Latino
students in the university setting
Studies 05 classes' project, "Coats for Kids".
and how students respond to them;
meetingprofessors;reentrystudents; .___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___J
university social life; and writing and
study skills.
A CSUF services and organization
directory will also be featured in the
handbook. The handbook will also
list campus department and office
phone numbers.
Chicano Youth
Confere nee 1991
Preview
By Jill Soltero
La Voz StaffWritter
More than 1,600 teenagers representing 50 high schools are expected
to attend the 18th Annual CSUF
Chicano Youth Conference (CYC)
Jan.12.
Sponsored by CSUF MEChA and
funded by the Associated Students
Inc., the conference will feature college information workshops, career
workshops, general interest workshops, a college faire and entertainment. Keynote speaker will be publisher and author Dr. Uvaldo H. Palomares.
CYC monitors are needed. If you
can help the CYC by being a monitor, contact Martin Hernandez at
278-2656.
Profiles of CSUF programs and
organizations, in the handbook, will
include interviews with CSUF program and organization leaders from
Counseling Services, the Student
Health Center, the Educatiop.al Opportunity Program office, MEChAand
the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Students Alliance. Students will have a
dedication and a "Dreams and Visions" section as well. They've also
created a collec~ive poem for the book.
Some ofHerrera's students said the
handbook will serve as a tool for encouragingand motivating all students.
"Students will take advantage ofit
and look upon it for help. I do hope we
have areas that we can help them
with," said CLS 116 student Lupe
Juarez.
Another student said the handbook
would have been helpful for him earlier in his college career.
"We will be able to help other students. I know when I came in, I could
have used it. It will benefit freshman
especially," said Martin Cobarruvias,
a student in Herrera's class.
Other students said they hoped to
convey a "you-can-do-it" attitude
through the handbook.
"We made a change on campus
See CLS 116 on page 8
Chicano
Database
On Campus
By Virginia R. Madrid
La Voz Staff Writter
This fall the Henry Madden
Library introduced a bibliography on
Mexican-Americans/Chicanos on CDROM( compact disc- read only memory), known as the Chicano Database.
The Chicano Library at U.C.
Berkely collected and distributed the
information on the Chicano database.
The database was made availa~le for
advertisement in the summer and
brought on campus this semester to
compliment the Chicano Latino Studies coui:ses.
Other California State University campuses that have the Chicano
Studies courses available such as San
Jose State also have the database on
campus.
Those who have used the Chicano database at the Henry Madden
Library have found that. some of the
sources are unavailable. According to
Reference and Multicultural Librarian, Trina Carter the reason may be
the recent budget cuts.
Carter said that a lot of the
periodicals that are in the Chicano
Database and are not available are
those that have specialized material
such as Chicano Journals. Some of
the years are also unavailable bec;ause of limited space.
The budget does not allow the
library to get new information."Other
libraries have this problem because of
the budget cuts," Carter said.
Another reason as to why Fresno
State does most of the periodicals
cited in the Database is because the
Henry Madden Library is not a research library such as that of a U.C.
campus.
The Chicano database has over
36,000 citations to articles and books,
and regular updates planned. Carter
See DATA on page 8
'.fable ofContents: :
Letters t.o the Editor... Page 2
Editorials·& Opinions
_
.. ~:.-;Page 2,3,4 & 5
Art ..:.. :........ ~··············· ..·•··Page5
:floetry....... ~ ......:: .•. :.........Page 6 & 7
C1:1fo_1 1~~~ ......... '. ..... '..~ ...I>.~e 8
EDITORIAL ...
Page 2
December 10, 1990
·.•:::.:.:::::::::::::•:
Letters to the Editor
"Devoured" by poetry
[Editors Note] This letter was origI read your paper today. I cannot ionally printed in the Nov. 15 issue
begin to say how much your poetry ofthe Daily Collegian. We would like
meant to me. Every poem devoured to take this opportunity to pat ourm~ as a human being. It was power- selves on the back one more time.
ful, passionate, raw and beautiful. I
enjoyed each and every poem and
look with eager expectation to your
next issue. Thank you, thank you for
those caring poems. I'd like to thank
each and every poet, as I deeply
appreciate exceptional poetry.
A couple of days ago, I was
sitting in The Daily Collegian office
Sincerely,
doing some work for La Voz, when I
Matty Bustamante-Duran.
overheard a few of the Collegian's
staff writers talking about the racism on campus. They were saying
that racism does not exist on camEditor,
pus. One of them said he thought
there was racism, but it wasn't as
I would like to .take this opportu- bad as people made it out to be.
nity to commend the staff of La Voz They began to comment about
de Aztlan for an informative, pro- Frank's editorials and even began to
vocative issue Nov. 12. As a former imitate his soft voice.
staff member ofLa Voz, it was inspirI was frustrated and was
ing to see that the paper has not only about to say something to them but
survived through rocky times, but I was embarrassed. I was embarhas also retained it's sharp edges.
rassed because they were laughing
The editorials by Frank Pancho about the people who are supposAviles, Eloy Garcia, Joe M. Torres edly fighting racism on this camand Lawrence Tovar provided a fresh pus. They were having a great time ·
Chicano perspective on current is- talking about the Chicanos, who
sues of racism and prejudice, issues instead offightingracism were fightthat for the most part have been ing each other. These people, and I
overwritten by pseudo-radicals and .am sure other people, enjoy watcharmchair militants.
ing the Chicanos fight over who
I was also inspired by all the con: holds the power and who doesn't. I
tributingpoets. In particular, I would hope these power hungry individulike to single out Aviles and Andres als realize they are making fools of
Montoya, who along, with countless themselves as well as the rest of us.
others, have been attemptingfor quite
I am not referring to any one
some time now to breathe life into the individual. I am referring to all of
Chicano poets on this campus. The those who have forgotten what we
importance of all your voices is im- are here for. At one point I thought
mesurable. Your expressions exem- we were succeeding, but I realized
plify the essance and spirit of the that we have forgotten what unity
Chicano movement: a return to the is. The day we got together to prosoul, a return to the heritage, a re- test the beating of Frank Aviles, I
turn to the native language-La Voz was overwhelmed by the unity of
deAztlan.
the Chicanos. It felt so good to see us
Perry Angle
fighting for the same cause instead
Fight the Power,
Not Each Other
Fresh Perspective
fit.to,U#.;n?::~x::,:~v~i~g~::: JJq§.ijl:.pie~i\!:r: J~~::w~r~::th~xe,.·~tie.:oheswhQ':w.~r~i~t
li"fl\fililil!IIlirJifiiii~1~ilii!ttl
of fighting each other. ·These are the
things that we must not let go off, if we
want to successfully overcome racism
on this campus and in the world. What
helps us overcome these struggles is
unity as brothers and sisters and not
the efforts of a few individuals.
Before I close this letter I would
like to say something for those who say
they want to help but only care about
getting the "recognition they deserve,"
please don't do us that favor. We, the
Chicano students, don't need this kind
of representation. We need someone
who wants to work for the people and
not for themselves. There have been
individuals who have gotten to positions of power only for the recognition.
These are the ones we should be aware
of.
Con Safos,
Erlinda Cobarruvias
· Welcome Back La Vaz
Dear Editor,
I was so pleased with your November
issue. The art on the front page, the
hard hitting editorials, and the poetry
were just the right combination for
this revolutionary newspaper. Those
rough edges that are the reality of the
Chicano existance are exactly what
La Voz de Aztlan should examplify.
And that is exactly what your last
issue did. This semseter has seen a
rebirth of the true Chicano voice. We
have seen protests, hunger strikes,
poetry readings and La Voz has
gone back to it's roots. The last
couple of semesters, it has been
obviouse that the editors of La Voz
have been more concerned with
journalistic style and apperance
than with the red'l Chicano issues.
For this reason, I would like to
commend Mr. Garcia. He has done a
great job of presenting the real
issues to the Chicano students. Keep
up the good work . .
La Voz reader,
Jose Martin Juarez
December 10, 1990
Page3
Who Are The Authentic Phonies?
Due to the potentially divisive
views and grossly misleading information put forth in the editorial entitled "Who are the phonies?" (November La Voz issue) and a recent
letter to the Collegian written by the
self-proclaimed, all powerfu..11 CSU
Fresno "RADICAL LEFT," it is imperative th at we respond with a statement of clarity. This will assist many
who are confuseC: by the authentic
phonies currently slinging empty
rhetoric and lodging vicious attacks
against longtime student activists at
the university. Furthermore, the failure of these individuals to assist in
our initiate the formulation of concrete proposals or plans of action to
empower the people they claim to represent will be exposed to those of us
that may fall into the category of politiacal activists whom they have ironically labeled "The Exposeres."
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan has launched a consistent, intense struggle against racism
since it'sestablishment in 1969. Links
of solidarity with other people of color
and progressive students and community organizations have forged a
legacy of commitment, dedication, and
passion unrivaled by few other student or community organizations.
Manyformer MECHAmembers
are now actively involved in community organizations such as the Mexican American Political Association
(:MAPA Del Valle) fullfilling one ofthe
fundamental goals of the Chicano
student movement returning to the •
coriiihurtity ·t<>·
"Uie i>'overty.:r
stricken sectors in attempts to gain
the political power necessary to acquire economic independence, cultural
pluralism and social equality.
Being active in the community
is a commitment that is often difficult
since many of us are employed full
ti.me and have a family to support
assist
financially. Any recognition that is Simpson-Mazzoli Committee, Camgiven tous isjustily deserved. Visibil:.. pus Rainbow Coalition or in STAKE
ityin the community, however, is not -an organization whose goal was to
as important as the power our tasks keep university tuition affordable.
provide for the Mexicano farm work- Their involvement in the Student
ers, Chicano youth, cancer-stricken Alliance and Unity-SRG has been
children from McFarland and the sur- marginal at best, and self-serving
rounding Chicano/Mexicano commu- generally.
nity. For this reason, it is imperative
For them to claim to be the
that those of us involved in efforts leaders of any and all progressive
toward community empowerment movements at this university and to
take decisive measures to preservere attack student activists who have been
the integrity of MECHA and chal- intricately involved in the anti-racist
lenge those individuals whose sole struggle on campus and in the comp11rpose is to destroy the unity long munity is a grandiose feat indeed,
fought for and built by activists truly given their history ofnon-involvement
committed to the anti-racist, anti- in student and community politics.
sexist struggle.
The attacks against students
Unity-SRG was forged by a whohavebeeninvolvedinthestruggle
coalition comprised of students of against racism demonstrate a lack of
color,progressivewhites,andgayand unity, sence of principle, and isolalesbian- students. It is extremely tionfrom the anti-racist struggle. We
arrogant for one individual to take or must hold each other accountable to
assume credit for this accomplish- the anti-racism movement and proment. Thepredecessorto Unity-SRG, tect our community from people desthe Student Alliance, was founded by perately clutching a personal agenda.
Arab, African-American, Asian, ChiIt may be hard to work together,
cano and progressive white students to be sure, but common ground can be
as a result of racist attacks on people found within our community and with
of color at CSU, Fresno in 1981.
other communities through our deIn 1983 the Student Alliance siretoresisttheattackswagedagainst
campaigned for and successfully us. Since it's formation !ViliCHA has
elected Andrea Hedgley to the office successfully realized unity with other
of student body president, the second people of color, an important factor
woman and the first African-Ameri- crucial for student and community
canto beelectedtothatpositionin the empowerment. MECHA's power is
history ofCSU, Fresno. Furthermore, vividly reflected by a historical strings
an attempted ~ecall ofMs. Hedgely by for our people.
the conservative forces wa~ soundly
Collectively, it is possible to
defeate~-~?'-.U:!~_tu~:mt.Alh~~~e. and ~ devel9p'"an effective strategy to comtlie progres1ve reserves mobilizecfby bat racism. We must combine the
them.
knowledge and sacrifice of the past
Members of 1,he self-pro~al1med with the energy and events of the
~IC~ LEFT have not been present to have a successful move11:1vloved m MECHA, or a~y progres- ment towardjustice, peace and equal~1ve s~udent movemei:it with _a cred- ity. This involves the mutual under1~le history of struggl~ng aga~st ra- standing among African-Americans,
c1sm. They were not mvolved m th~ Chaicanos, and other oppressed
Coors boycott campaign, the Anti groups that unity presents the sole
.1.
path toward empowerment; the alternative is to suffer the stagnation
brought by arrogance, mistrust, and
stupidity. We cannot afford to become casualties of our own lack of
vision.
Those who are attempting to
usurp the power of MECHA must be
warned that MECHA is the only
Chicano student organization that has
remained loyal to the goal of empowering the Chicano/Mexicano community. There are no substitutes and no
organizations or group ofindividuals
seeking to undermine the authority
and credibility ofMECHA should even
thinkofthepossibilityofescapingthe
wrath of a firm, correct and humane
line of just argumentation.
We must maintain the strenght
and integrity of the movimiento and
protect it from the designs of opportunists attempting to usurp leadership when they have failed to demonstrate the merest ounce of political
activism before the community. We
must continue resisting the colonization of our gente with fuerza and
defend our banner of liberty which
has been relinquished in our hands.
This can only be achieved by working
with great passion for the people we
~epresent. Acuredense, nLa Union
Hace La Fuena!!
En Solidaridad,
SandraGutierrez,
MECHA Chairperson, 1989-90
George Martinez,
MECHA Chairperson, 1986-87
•
Rick Chacon,
MECHA Chairperson, 1983-84
Albert Robles,
MECHA Chairperson, 1985-86
_M E~hA's Response
YES! YES! YES! You are soooo
right! Let me be the very, very first
one to thank Rick Chacon and Sandra
Gutierrez, George Martinez and Al
Robles, for their enlightening and
encouraging article "Who Are the
Authenic Phonies."
Y01;. say in your article that any
recog11ition given to_you is justly deserved. Aga4'. I say YES! YES! ~S!
Especially since youhave given a fiery
and impassioned de-fense ofMEChA
against those people who would like
to see IT lose legitimacy so that their
own personal agenda's may be fulfilled.
Since I am a board member of
MEChA and a copy was given to us by
its authors, I was able to see, in advan,~, the article "Who Are the Authenic Phonies." In talking to the
other MEChistas, it was apparent that
we were all a little excited about it. I
ffi)"self was extremely happy, seeing
past -...fEChistas respecting, supporting, and even vehemently defending
MEChA's stance, recognizing them
as people who are able to analyze the
current political trends and then
adequately act on those analysis'.
After a while and after reading the
article a couple of more ti:f1'es, however, it -became apparent that they
never named from whom they are ·
protecting MEC~. After ~iscussing
this undersight with some other
MEChistas, we all assumed, and quite
logically, that their have only been,
aside from the normal attackers(white
conservative racists), a couple of
p~ople attacking MEChA. We all
assumed that they must be talking
about Karen Cogely and Jose Lopez,
both of whom have attacked MEChistas and MEChA in open, public forums, attacking the leadership of the
Chicano Student Movement, while
at the same time, claiming to be the
authenic activists and the vanguard
of the stud~nt movement.
Since the letter was already turned
in,andbringingtheerrortotheattention to the authors would have little,
if any effect, it was suggested to me by
my fellow MEChistas that I wriie-an ·
article to clarify what was left out of
"Who Are thP, Authenic Phoniest and
in this way rule out any misconceptions that might be used to cause
devisiveness amongst the people. At
the r~ame time this allows :ne to thank
Rick, Sandra, George, and Al for their
asstute letter. It's sooo good to see
that not all community radicals have
to fall into the line of marching with
status quo liberal activists who fail to
recognize the changing dynamics and
atmosphere of the Chicano Student
Movement, an atmosphere where
bourgeois elitist and often stalinistic
leaders are being supplanted by the
people. La Raza is finally and truely
taking the reins of leadership from
those who would keep us in bondage.
I would also like to tell ofmy reliefa nd
joy, seeing that these older MEChistas do not come from an arrogant
position, but instead come from a
position that recognizes and respects
MEChA'sintelligenceandsovereignty
in terms of deciding the directions of
the Chicano Student Movement,
understanding that we [MEChA] cpmprehend the struggle as it nows tands
here at CSU, Fresno. Acurendense,
!/La UnionHaceLaFuerza!I
En Solidaridad con La Raza,
Andres Montoya,
MEChA Sgt. ofArms, 1990-91
Irma Serrano,
MBChA Chair, 1990-91
Manuel Ramirez,
MEChA Vice Chair, 1990-91
Lalo Garcia,
MEChA Sgt. ofArms, 1990-91
Salvador Cuevas, MEChA Historian, 1990-91
Beatriz Salcedo,
Chair High School Outreach, MEChA,
1990-91
Matt Polanco,
Vice Chair Semana de la R aza,
MEChA, 1990-91
P .S. Fight "the power"
December 10, 1990
Page4
CSUF's Poli_tical Climate
Everybody Listen! Something is
happening at Fresno State and it's
happening to all of us. The people on
this campus are beginning to erupt
and no matter where you try to hide or
how fast you try to run, your going to
hear the noise. In fact, you are most
likely going to be one of the persons
that screams. Rich White men, rich
Chicanos, poor African Americans,
poor Native Americans, middle class
Whites, middle class African Americans, poor women of color, upper
middle class Asian American women,
middle class Indians and etc ... If you
look very closely in the Collegian and
the Insight you'll see that the eruption or rather the uprising is a "class
struggle." The working class (poor),
middle class and the upper class(rich)
have each made requests to their
constituents. And each has requested
a different means of action and have
offered different solutions of empowerment.
In the 11/30,issue of the Collegian,
Patrik Boylan, one of the Collegian
editors, clearly defines the rich students as the ones he represents when
he defines who the real power of this
campus encompasses.
For
example,when he says "... the real
(White) powers.... ", he implies that
the real power is the "White power";
moreover, those that control (the
upper class). In his column he refers
to his student constituency (the real
power) as "we" and the other students
as "they" And he warns the real
power about "The Agitators (those
who Bitch)... ". Although his words ·.
state that, he see's us (the working
class) as Agitators, when he says "They
are loud, annoying, and possibly effective instigators..." he acknowledges
that we are, in fact, "effective" and he
requests action from his people to
protect themselves, or rather their
power. He decries "Know thy enemy.
Break bread with them....for your own
sakes, learn how the hell to TALK to
them;" In fact, he goes on to say "... go
to the Bucket and have a beer and
throw around some ideas at each
Qther~ ... d~n'tscrewup so badly there's
no other alternative than putting the
blame on someone else." The only
advise Boylan forgot to give the White
power was how to hold your cross
while your burning it.
A couple other students consciously
or unconsciously, also, lend their
support to the upper class in the Collegian. In a story (column) about
theft in the 12/5/90 issue, Wendy J.
Karsevar stated"... we enjoy the rights
and privileges that we enjoy: Life,
liberty, and pursuit ofhappiness. We
expect, or hope, for others to respect
us and our property. Just like we
would respect theirs." Who are these
people that enjoy or have access to
rights and privileges and property?
Obviously, its the rich. Wendy is nice
enough to admit that they (the rich)
"would" respect our property ( that's if
we, the working class, had any).
Finally, in the 12/7/90 issue, Danny
Good, in response to an editorial
wrote proposing economic parody for
the poor in the 12/4 issue, adamantly
defends the rich. In paranoia of a
threat to his conservatism he says "It
is my opinion that Frank should go to
East Germany..." According to his
quote I, the working class, should be
sent out of the country if I want economic equality (i.e. a piece of the pie).
Moreover, he implies that equality for
the poor is a crazy idea when he states
at the end of his letter that "Frank is
short a few marbles." He seems to
come to these conclusions only after
reading ofmy plea to help the poor.
The voices of the middle class can
als;o Bebeard from ·~~r. Iri'Fespcins~
to a 11/27 issue in which a group of
working class students attempt to
scream for economic parody through
radical social change, a middle class
representative, Katherine Shackelton, in the 12/4 issue bombards the
students with the wordiest letter ever
used to defend a constituency. Shackelton verbosely states ~In the long
run, a movement of the left has no
chance of success, and deserves none,
unless it develops an understanding
of contemporary society and a vision
of a future social order that is persuaI
Strong.QpiAiori ·
>
~
•
;
I was suppose to present my sec- higher income families, against poor
ond · ~gment co~cerning the fight Chicanos who don't want to join their
against · racism today, but recent ,oppressive party of deceit and lies.
event~ have made me disgusted.
My time is limited. I will have to
When I read the Daily Collegian, I wait until next semester to present
see the names of Frank Aviles and my second segment. The next segAndres Montoya being slanderecfand ment will present the detrimental
their accomplishments beiJ:igdenied. ·_ejfects~of denying leade~s, · such as
This sl~nder ~s coinin~•from fue- Frank Aviles and Andres Montoya,
;/
group ofcommumsts, specializing in leadership positions. In addition, I
Stalinist tactics. The Stalinists are _will present the importance of
jealous, because Frank and Andres MEChA's break with the Stalinists
have accomplished things .without and how the new MEChA leadertheir permission. Frank aqd Andres ship- the best rve ever seen- has the
· have contributed a si~ifican_t responsibil~ty of dire~ing the moveamount to the struggle agamst-ra- ment. Lastly, theimportanceofthis
1
c~sm without~laiming an! recogni- -semesters La-Voz will be anal~ed
tion. They are only worned about for its effectiveness and brilliant
getting the job done.
editorship:My only fear next semesIt wasn't enough U.t the Stalin- ter is thJ.t Eloy Garcia will not'be
ists. took credit for Frank and . reinstat.ed by the Media Council for
Andres'saccoip.pl~shments, now they · his committment to strc-ng journalwant to degrade·and lie about th~m. ism. .
·
.! see oppression. Oppression fijom
the Stalinists, who.often come from
Lawrence
·Tovar~
...
...
sive to a large majority of majority of movement was taken by a group of
the population." She basically says individuals who came from a middle
that the left has to work within the class political perspective. And this
limits of the system in order to de- semester their middle class politics
velop a social movement in which are threatened and have been chaleveryone can participate. She articu- lenged by the working class. This
lates to her constituency that they became apparent when a group of
need something that is "persuasive" working class Chicanos and Chicanas
to a large majority of the majority. In requested and demanded that the
other words, upward mobility; middle students mobilize and move the pubclass getting shot at becoming rich lie opinion against the "real power"
and working class getting a shot at (the administration). The middle class
becoming middle class. Her ideology vanguard (which is also the controlis reflective of this and other myopic ling element of the political agenda of
beliefs. It can be seen in the last the coalition on campus) deemed the
paragraph of her letter when she demands of the working class as non
states
"As
a
'libertarian strategic, irrational, and spontanesocialist'.... changemustcomethrough ous. It's obvious that the actions of
education, access to information, co- the working class will always appear
operation, and commitmep.t to long- idealistic or intangible to the middle
term goals ...." Although they wouldn't class since the interests ofboth classes
know it by reading her letter, the rich are different.
might actually like her. Shackelton
In the column written by Pabelieves in being cooperative and trik Boylan, he points out his amusecommitted to keep the longterm goals · ment with the internal conflict with
of the system. Fortunately, for the in the coalition on campus. A conflict
rich she isn't a threat or rather an between the "Agitated" (middle class)
Agitator. Maybe they'll still "Break and the "Agitators" (working class).
bread" with her over a pitcher of beer He refers to these groups as "poor
and possibly throw "out" her ideas.
suckers." Boylan points out that there
Amidst all this chaos, another is a weakness in the group of Agitastruggle goes on. The poor on this tors. Mostlikely, theweakne~sliesin
campus, the majority of whom are the battle that the working class are
Chicanos are ready to explode. The constantly facing with both the upper
working class Chicanos have become class and the middle class every time
class conscious. Yes, the emerging they challenge the administration.
giant of a giant of a people have risen The middle class call for such actions
from Aztlan. The working class Chi- as a task force committee, open focanos have become aware of the class rums, cross-cultural retreats, and
t;o which they belong, the poor. And othersolutionswhicharemerelyseen
.,tlieyhave also become aware of tl)e as "pacifying goals" to the WQJking
..J:~
=:
wuerence
in t h e type of actions they class.
must take in order to solve the social
When the working attempted to
problems of today. Supporters of a combine their agenda this semester
vanguard who for many years per- again with that of the middle class,
ceived themselves as "the movement" they were banished from the decision
weren't expecting the Chicanas and making process. In the 10/9 issue of
Chicanos to become class conscious the Collegian Avitia and McCollister
en mass. In a letter to La Voz in the (representativesoftheworkingclass)
12/1 Oissue a group of vanguard sup- stated 'they often aren't aware of the
porters state that those who a~e at- decisions being made for the coalition
tempting to "usurp" the power of a even-though they are the co-chairs of
particularChicanoorganizationmust the coalition meetings.' In another
be warned that the organization is statement Ralph Avitia says me
the only Chicano student.organiza"'.. decision -making pr-ocess has 1>een
tiQn that has remained loyal to that made by Green and Daves and what
goal of empowering. The vanguard they really want....they are leading
supporters signed the letter as chair- their own agenda." And this is true.
persons of the Chicano organization The agenda being lead is politically
, which implies that they are the power that of the middle class. One that
ofthis organization; moreover, imply- promotes working within the system
ing they have "usurped." (refusing to like that of Katherine Shackelton,
acknowledge the working class as a another representative of the middle
legitimate people). The organization class. She was the one who believed
which is presently chaired by a work- that we must "cooperate" (with the
ingclassChicana with a workingclass system) in order to accomplish our
Chicana agenda has taken a new goals.
Those who represent the
direction. One different from that of working class view' on the other hand,
the past three years which was reflec- . believe like McCpllister that we must
•tiveofamiddleclassagenda. Through "try to think'.ofnew ways to address
. •afastandprotesttbissemesterwhich things rather than the established
was'Spearheadedbythew-0rkingclass way.?' The working class politics is
. Chicap.a agenda, a tan~mount·Chi.: also reflective ofa statement made by
cano populace._became empowered. Andres.Montoya wl_;ten he says" ... we
. This semester many Chicanas and need to change the system. We only
. C~icanoshavebecomepoliticallyand get bread crumbs from it now." .For
inte)_!ectually ~powered.
The these reasons ( i.e. working within the
worlungclassChicanasandChicanos system vs. worktng to change the
are once again united.. A vanguard is system) there is a ~oriflict between
no longer perceived to ha~e the mo• theworkingclass~dthemiddleclass.
nopoly on Chicano thought and intel- The conflict results in a lack ofdemoc.
racy for the working <:lass,
in
· .
,
. other
1ectual1Sm~
•T he class stniggle has also ~ken- words, being locked out of the deciroot.m the leadership.-of,the overall sion making.process. This leaves.the .
mov.:ement on,campus: For ~iample/ door open for the middle class to clasin the past, the leadership .o f ,theSee CLIMATE page 5
a
+
..
f"'
,.
I
Page5
December 10, 1990
CLIMATE continued from page 4
sify the working class as "marginal~
members of the coalition. This classification is just one of the middle class
political tactics used to segregate the
working class. And to continue pushing their own agenda. This is a political mistake in building a coalition (i.e.
U nity-SRG) often made by the middle
class vanguard.
This is the true political campus
climate at FSU. We can no longer
continue to say that there
are"personality" problems or conflicts.
Students are going to handle political
situations according to the conditions
of their class struggle. It is time for a
true coalition to form which addresses
the agenda of the working class. The
working class Chicanos have emerged
and they are demanding action. Our
needs can no longer be ignored!
Frank Pancho Aviles
America; Love it or Leave if
•
:fe{iz 9{g,vidad
y Prospero ano
nuevo
'E,11,
Jfonde {a
u.t
, r.,
fe{icidad y e{
amor reyne en
i
·
1•,J,J
Qi'l.l
::>1t::(l'Q 'QCT , v'li')~()
.:iR
~
SUS
fwgares.
~cJpan ·un
'
I
-~~:
cafuroso.' \r
sa{ucfo y
fraterna{
abrazo desu
periodico
Chicano,
La 'Vo~
- - le
Jtztlan.
lJy Manuel Cortez
Influenced By The · Brown B~ffalo
t.
i. •.
l
•
•
.: -~and ~ome time l~t~r. i w_
ould b_
ecc;,rne Zeta, the world-famous Chicano
lawyer who helped start the last revolution ...
-Oscar Zeta Acosta
. Lately rve been noticing a moveThere have been sightings of will either fear me, hate me, or follow
menthereatFresnoState. Could it be Acosta in Calcutta buying nine year me to Mazatlan. I think I'll buy myself
a revolution, a brown revolution :per- old girls off the White slave market.
a brown beret and raise my large
haps? We do have some bonafide He's also been sighted in the cockpit 'brown fist in the air. The words "Viva
radicals on campus and Ignacio San- of a cigarette boat with an uzi in one la revolucion" will echo and shatter
chez's editorials are proof of this radi- hand, heroine in the oth~i- and shout- the unbreakable glass.
·cal behavior. Could there be a sudden ing old testament versus in spanish. ·
rebirth of the Brown Barets?
" There are other sightings. Oscar
B Markanthon Alvidrez
There are angry Chicanos flow- AcostahasbeenseenatFresnoState.
ingthrough the bloodstream ofFresno I have seen him here and there. I saw
Mr.Frosty
State. They ate the "Radical Ones." him in front of tne M.E.Ch.A.booth
They speak through protest, litera- when- Frank Aviles and Salvador
ture, conversation, and through the Cuevas were attacked -on campus.
sehool paper.
Acosta, a.k.a. the Brown Buffalo,
Oscar Zeta Acosta was a 250lb protested against the violent act by
Chicano lawyer from the Bay area. fasting. On Sunday nights-, 6p.m.- .
He quit practicing law in 1967, be- 9p.m.,heplaysmusicforhispeopleon
cametheleaderoftheEastLosAnge- KFSR 90.7. Acosta is has also been
Jes Chicano Movement, and mysteri- seen at the Chicano Writers Artists
ousely disappeared in Mazatlan, Association(CWAA)poetryreadings.
Mexico in 1974. However, before he He occasionally sells tacos for Chicadissappeared,hepublishedtwobooks. nos in Law. Acosta is all over. He
~e Autobiography Of A Brown· guides the "radical ones."
·.- Buffalo," was an autobiography of a ·
TheBrownBWfalowantstounite
confussed-Chicano trying to fi:nd out his people:The young revolutionaries
who he was, trying to find his revblu- here may speak violently, but there
tion. His ·second book, "Revolt of the · hasn't been any violence on their part.
Cockroach People," dealt with· his Will there be.bloodshed in the future?
actions in the E-ast L.A riots. His Will the "Radical Ones" cut the wrists :
advent.;ires included a .357 magnum, of Fresno ·state Uhiversity? These of
LSD, Poco Harum, tequila, . and a course .are the fears of th~ of the ,
burning Safeway.
41tadical Ones'" enemies. The Brown
His books· have recently been Buffalo was~seen as a trouble maker. · ·
republished by ·his son. Acosta's vi- Thatisthefabel beingstamped on the . · · ·
., siQnS and experience with the brown foreheads of the radicals. ' - ' . . ,: . .:.. :, ~ ',,
_ revolution was straight forward and _ Like I said, the Brown Buffalo is . -: · ~. ,
r fnghten1ng. The few radicals who here and there. He· helped me write
,'
. might be.come the many are blessed this article to start a br_own revoluwith Acosta's dreams.
tion. After reading this article, people -
December 10, 1990
Page6
Chicano Poetry
Mark.Anthony November 2nd, 1990
Obituary taken from The Tucson Sun newspaper
Mark
They say
was stabbed 69 times
with the broken end of a spatula
in a Jack in The Box
somewhere east in Tucson Arizona.
ELLA
Las manos de ella trabajan
putting on make-up and
perfecting beauty.
Ell a trabaj a in 1os restaurantes
y sirve la comida en los platos.
E11 a
aprende en
Ja
universidad
las ideas del mundo del
nombre.
She
is stiff and tense
because of her rigid
clothes.
She is curious . about being in the
man's world
learning his ideas,
his science,
his history.
"Qui en soy yo," says La Chicana in
CLS 3
Donde esta la liber.tadad para las
mujeres
las peliculas da l as mujeres?
"Yo soy i ndependi ente de 1 e1
hombre," ·
thinks la chica on the city bus, who
reaches for his hand hoping for
strength in hi s wisdom but gets
fond) ed instead.
"P iensa s que soy haci !"
"Piensas que soy haci ! "
I am mor e than th i s .
. I am not a thing.
I
am
a person.
by Joe M. Torres
Lou the assistant manager told me,
"Mr. Alvidrez was loosing it,"
and before he died
-he jumped onto the counter
with a pound of hamburger meat
in his hand, looked at the mid-day crowd
and shouted,
"Eat!
Eat my flesh for it is good.
See what I see
fields of black lilies
and bleeding rosebuds.
Hear what I hear
the buzzing of electric razors
shaving us all -everything.
Do what I do"
Lou the assistant manager then said that
Mark Swallowed a chunk of meat
and flung the rest to the customers.
He then jumped onto another counter
took a bucket of hot grease turned to the crowd
and exclaimed,
"Drink!
Drink my hot blood. Drink and feel
the azteca in his glo_ry through his veins.
Come with me; eat and drink,"
and he splashed the hot grease onto the crowd
burning an old man with a cowboy hat.
A man with two years of vengeance on his mind.
Tortured by the vision of a man running up to him
slapping him and running away.
And that's all this cowboy hat wearing man saw
as he poked into .mark .
with the broken end of a spatula
again
and again.
•
-victor canales
The Ch icano Writers and Artists Association(CWAA) is now accepting
submissions for the premier issue of its Arts Journal to be published this
Spring. Submissions should be concerned with the following theme:
The Chicano Experience
Categories include:
Poetry
Fiction
Non-fiction
Art and Photography
Submissions with self-addressed stamped envelope can be dropped off or
mailed to:
CWAA Arts Journal
c/o English Department
CSU, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-0098
or
Deadline February 18, 1991
CW AA Arts Journal
c/o CLS Department
CSU, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-0097
Page7
December 10, 1990
Chicano Poet-r y
yes,wecome
yes, we come
from the earth,
shaking the dust
from our bodies
like a child shakes
death with a
scream.
yes, we come
from the brotherhood
ofworms,
eating the moist
mud, the taste
of blood
in our mouths.
yes, we come
from the earth,
we have broken the
soil like
a fragile egg,
we have seen the
grey sky
and we are hungry.
we will
be nourished.
twenty-four years of solitude
-Andres Montoya
prax, or eddie, if you will
i want to revisit you
once again, my
friend, i want to see
; the•wiIYf.er-moon
I.
reflected in your eyes,
to see how
easy it is for
life to be
deflected.
you were scared
that night.
johnny had the good
stuff, kj' s always good
in the cool spring, and
you m~de me promise
to protect you
if anything
came down.
remember,carnal
when we talked
about God
over alen.o,
and dreamy eyed,
we toasted
peace and cursed
the rich
gavacho, butts.
you drove too fast
that night, and
some say a little
too high,
✓
and you left me this
world, this night, to write
about you, to finally
plant your cross
on the roadside.
-Andra Montoya
mr. and mrs. white the insane conservatives
with capitalist blood in their veins
look down.
below are the brown faces along.with
other shades of death.
when i use a credit card, they make
a credit check with god.
they don't trust this
mexicanolocovatochicanoestewayese.
god only trusts brad andjoanie
with the credit cards.
. who cares
i don't even have credit cards.
when i walk to school or to the store,
they think i can't afford a car.
they're right
.
those gente can't see what I see.
i see la llorona, cucarachas singing
to women, dancers at funerals, and beer
soaked clothes.
i have the advantage over mr. and mrs. white
all they see is plastic verdent
ever so green gardens so green.
i don't see that shit.
i'm ralistic, i only see copper
eyes with magenta hair that bounces
at night while flying carpets piloted
by talking cats travel slow.
that's all, nothing more.
i'll burn my make believe cards and
kill my boss and then live this advantaged
filled life until a flying carpet
and talking cat comes for me.
bymarkanthoneyalvidrez
Page 8
December 10, 1990
. •.
~-', ~ureiidit:ti~ , , '.
e:~!'f!:F.elizN~viJ~~!
.tit!![;dance~. P!.• ~~~'!t zjJ!,~,!i~:~t ~; · . for ~t;,JOh~~:~;~eJvfou~ii;~se !!i~; ;i(~~!;tl w•~tirigto~~ inthe G~llege:.•. · - ·. •· · ··
,. ·.
· • · ,. .,. ·r:: .:::. _SatelhteCoUegeUI)lQn.~:qdw.ij.lbegin •· seum·at 485::::6210 ::485-6211:: o.r:233- .. : · ·- ··· ·•· ·· ··\ · ., ·· . · · ···
·=•: ••.
. .:-:--·-.-.-·..
·:'Jlie Cft-ica.no'Youtfi''con
1rabajadores de fa Raza
is holding a warm
cfothes drive for the
people e, Oaxca.
If you are intrested
in donating clothes
please contact Virginia
Sanchez at 278-2550 or
Martina at 278-4405 or
222-8204 . Your help wiff
greatly be appreciated.
:: . : , :Light: !_,.- C~lebn\!i.on. -~(Archit~c~ .. .:please·sign-up "at :the _HCOP officeJft\ ::-:·
. ture and ·cultllriil·Tra<litfons'\· ,.:... :;call 278:-4 748 for.tnore information:_:: :. ...
PLS 116 continued from page 1
because there is a high number of
·: studentswhodopoorlyinschool.Alot
offactors lead to doing poorly. I think
. this book will share stories to make a
~ change and [encourage others to] do
better in school," said student Bonnie
Perales.
Perales said working on the handbook has made the class more memorable. "The work pulled us all together."
According to Herrera, the students
have gained a better sense of their
student experiences while w 1dng
The Meux·" House:·Muse#m aijd{tliEk .= Vie~n~s'°-4-Lun·e s 7: UC Irvine· will
Foundation for .
Perpetuation:.
host th~ SACNAS confrence for HCOP
St. John's -C athedral will present ·a · stude~ts:
.
.
. -·
the··
of.
feslivalfrom5.:00p.m.-9:00p.m._atSt.
·-
·.· ·
John's Historic District. The Festival: _..: Febrero:.:_:
·
· ·
.
_ will feature Ballet Folklorico YMa- · Jueves 7: CLASE will be holding the ·
· rimbadeFresno,Award winningpoets first meeting of the spring semester
~uan Felipe Herrera and P~lip Lev- ·today at 4:\J p.m. in the College Stu. ine; Ebo African Performing Troupe; dent Union. Ch_eck the glass casefor
and much ~ore . . For more infornia- TOO..ln·number.
tion please ~ontact The Foundation . ·Ju.eves •21: There will be a CLASE ..
frence ·wmmittee is .std£ :
:;_in n~ed ofBD-100 Afonit• ·
,._ ers for tlieir upcoming
: . QYC. Ifyouare_intrested
_- in fie[ping, pfease contact
Jil.maliii at 225• 2311.
•.
DATA continued from page 1
who might want to obtain sources
through
the inter-library loan syssaid that although there are not many
tem.
periodicals held in the library from
"Many "mainstream" journals
the database there ar~ a lot of books.
such
as
Forbes, American Educator,
You might ask yourself, "Well
what is the purpose of the database if Architecture are available through
the library doesn't have the materials the Chicano Database," Carter said.
The database has information
we need?" The answer is simple.
Titles that are available in the data- from as early as 1967 up to 1989.
There isn't any late information bebase can still be of some help.
"It gives access to know that cause as Carter said, "It's so new."
things are out there," Carter said. The latest material is expected to come
The library does not have some infor- in the Spring Semester 1991.
mation but it is helpful to students
The Chicano database has been
used more anci more over the semes-
ter, Carter said. "The faculty are
u·,ing the database on a regular basis." Chicano Latino Studies Department uses it the most.
Changes made will be from constructive criticism Carter said. "It's a
new product and they [U.C. Berkely]
In Memory of Danny Enriquez