The Latino Coalition elected its new board for the upcoming year last night in Huntsman Hall.
An umbrella organization for Penn's 23 Latino-interest student groups, LC tackles a broad range of issues including Latino faculty recruitment and increasing admission of Latino students.
The organizations under the LC elected Wharton sophomore Rami Reyes as chairman and College sophomore Mayra Garza as vice-chairwoman.
College junior Angel Jacome, and Wharton sophomores Rodolpho Loureiro, Paola Barranco and Jose Barreiro were also elected to the newly-appointed board.
Reyes and Garza sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to discuss their visions for 2008.
The Daily Pennsylvanian: What are your goals for next semester?
Rami Reyes: My goal is to increase the presence of the Latino Coalition and the Latino community on campus. I want to bridge the gap between our coalition and other organizations on campus. I [also] want to work closely with the administration.
Mayra Garza: We also really want to engage non-Latino students in our events so that we can increase awareness of our culture in general.
DP: Why did you decide to run for a position on the Latino Coalition board?
RR: After having done the Latino Ivy League Conference for the past two years, I had seen how passionate Latinos at other schools were about strengthening the Latino community at their schools. And this motivated me to work as hard as I can to do the same and more at Penn.
DP: How do you propose to encourage communication and collaboration among the constituent groups?
MG: I think something we both agree on is showing that we are interested in listening to their concerns. After seeing our efforts, groups will want to collaborate more as a whole.
DP: Do you have plans to work with other cultural groups on campus?
RR: We definitely want to reach out to other groups such as UMOJA and cultural houses such as the Pan-Asian American Community House. We also want to reach out to larger organizations such as the United Minorities Council.
DP: What is the greatest problem facing the Latino community at Penn?
RR: I think it's the fact that we have one of the lowest numbers of Latino students compared to other Ivies. Only 6 percent of the total Penn population are Latino students.
DP: How would you describe the presence of LC currently at Penn?
RR: I would definitely say that it has a strong presence on campus and it has been increasing.
It is a building process, and we are continuously growing.
DP: Any last words?
MG: We are both really excited to be on the new board and we will continue the progress of the Latino Coalition.
RR: I am so proud to represent the Latino Coalition and I will do my best to promote the strong image of the coalition.
