Latino umbrella student group elects new leaders

Penn's Latino students may soon be in a position to get a whole lot more out of campus life. The newly-elected board of the Latino Coalition is expanding, enthusiastic and eager to get started. The coalition, which unites all of the Latino groups on campus, plans to hold the year's first meeting early next week. Already looking to the work that lies ahead, College junior Nico Rodriquez -- the board's new spokesman, who will lead the organization this year -- explained what it meant for the Latino population to only comprise about four percent of the Penn community as a whole. Far from being discouraged by that number, Rodriquez said the small size of the community motivates its members to unite. "Because we're small, we have to double our efforts to get to know each other and expand to the greater community as a whole," Rodriquez said. More than a dozen groups comprise the Latino Coalition, with currently has around 350 to 400 active student participants. Rodriquez hopes to expand these numbers and create a "stronger infrastructure for Latino underclassmen." Rodriquez added that improving retention of Latino students at Penn will also be a central goal for this year's board. Personally, Rodriquez said he hopes to "stimulate more sponsorship and coordination for dialogue" during his upcoming tenure on the board. Similarly, the coalition's returning secretary Celia Castellanos plans on increasing cooperation. "We want to bring the small Latino community closer together and also unite with other groups on campus," the Wharton sophomore said. Although the board has many broad goals this year, it will also focus on some smaller objectives, Rodriquez said. "In order to do the broad stuff, you have to get specific." The seven-member board Rodriquez optimistically praises includes Veronica Lara, a College junior and the new student government correspondent, who he described as a "dynamic leader." Wharton freshmen David Rodriguez and Mayra Hernandez with take on the role of special projects co-coordinators. "She's only a freshman, but she's actively involved," Rodriquez said of Hernandez. The incoming board also includes College sophomores Katherine Aguero and Efren Olivares, who will take over as admissions strategies and initiatives co-coordinators. So with extensive plans ranging from mentoring programs to pre-frosh recruitment projects, the new board of Penn's Latino Coalition has only one thing left to do -- get started.

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