\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1n los mexicanos?<\/p>\n
Where are the Mexicans?<\/p>\n
This racially charged quip is something we often think about when walking around San Diego State University\u2019s campus. Considering the university\u2019s history, one would assume the Latinx culture would be larger. As Mexican-Americans from Latinx-dominated communities, we immediately noticed our cultures weren\u2019t as prominent as we\u2019d expected.<\/p>\n
During orientation, we didn\u2019t see faces that looked like ours or the Hispanic culture that the university prides itself on. We gravitated toward one another because we looked like one another. The lack of representation became blatant, from classes to residence halls. Our Latin roots feel buried on a campus that\u2019s supposed to reflect our country\u2019s diversity due to lack of resource promotion, program disappearances, and lack of transparency.<\/p>\n
This begs the question: Is SDSU the Hispanic-Serving Institution they claim<\/a> to be?<\/p>\n The Statistics<\/strong><\/p>\n A CSU earns the HSI title<\/a> when at least 25% of full-time undergraduates are Hispanic and half the student body is low-income. Under the HSI designation, universities gain access to federal grants and funding to expand student opportunities. SDSU exceeds this, with Hispanics and Latinos making up 35.3% of full-time undergraduates.<\/a><\/p>\n SDSU\u2019s numbers come from the Office of Analytic Studies and Institutional Research, which relies heavily on what students report on their applications. Since California banned race-based considerations in 1996, applicants can select \u201cDo Not State,\u201d leaving large gaps in ethnicity data. To fill those gaps, the university uses voluntary surveys \u2014 a method that often produces response bias because only certain students choose to participate.<\/p>\n Federal OMB<\/a> guidelines further complicate the picture. CSU campuses aren\u2019t required to offer \u201cHispanic\u201d or \u201cLatino\u201d as an ethnicity category, meaning some students only see options like \u201cOther\u201d or \u201cMulti-ethnic.\u201d Students with Hispanic heritage may not see themselves reflected in these limited categories and either misclassify themselves or skip the question entirely. As a result, the data used to define SDSU as an HSI may not fully capture the campus population.<\/p>\n If the numbers are blurred by incomplete reporting and voluntary responses<\/a>, it raises a larger question: could this be why so many students feel a gap between SDSU\u2019s HSI statistics and the reality they experience on campus?<\/p>\n Regardless of what the data shows, being an HSI is more than a percentage \u2014 the campus should feel Hispanic-serving.<\/p>\n The Student Opinions<\/strong><\/p>\n We visited the Latinx Resource Center to ask students whether or not they think SDSU feels like an HSI. Most said the LRC\u2019s location reflects the issue itself. Though its location is officially recognized<\/a> as the first floor of the Love Library, the center is actually sub-ground in the basement. Windowless and hidden, the space leaves students feeling \u201cswept away.\u201d<\/p>\n A first-year general business major, who decided to remain anonymous to avoid administrative conflict, commented on this oddity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was kinda weird that we\u2019re all the way down here, like, stranded,\u201d the student said.<\/p>\n A friend of the student, who wished to remain anonymous for the same reason, added, \u201cIt\u2019s like we\u2019re being hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n A third-year finance major echoed that \u201cno windows, no sunlight\u201d contributed to feeling isolated. He chose to remain anonymous, similarly to avoid conflict. He didn\u2019t even learn the LRC existed until his second year.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t told about this,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 I found out through people telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n Students in the LRC agreed that the university doesn\u2019t promote Hispanic resources well, despite them making up the largest percentage<\/a> of SDSU\u2019s undergraduate population. Many still feel underrepresented, like Yaneiry Morales-Medina, a first-year child development major, who shared her experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to go out of my own way to look for more Hispanic groups.\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While SDSU has Latinx focused groups like M.E.C.H.A., Ballet Folklorico, and Latin Student Union, many students are unaware of these organizations\u2019 existence due to lack of promotion. Left to rely on word of mouth and self navigation, students find themselves discovering organizations from peers rather than the institution, thus missing out on opportunities.<\/p>\n Choosing to remain anonymous in his quotations to err on the side of caution with administration, another student shared this opinion in commenting that \u201cthe school doesn\u2019t really promote [Hispanic resources].\u201d<\/p>\n Events like the Carne Asada Cookout and the Pachanga are widely appreciated by students of all ethnicities on campus, but because they fall during Hispanic Heritage Month, students wonder: Are we only relevant from Sept. 15 \u2013 Oct. 15?<\/p>\n A second-year mechanical engineering major, who chose to remain anonymous to avoid tension with administration, said representation does exist.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a whole center dedicated for Latinos,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Students agreed the LRC is a place of comfort, but all concluded the same: Outside the LRC, it isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n The Allocation of Funds<\/strong><\/p>\n HSI status brings funding meant to expand opportunities for Latinx students. SDSU received $3.8 million<\/a> from a five-year federal grant in 2021. But where does that money go?<\/p>\n SDSU is required to be financially transparent, yet its budget documents are difficult to access and filled with jargon. Other HSIs, like CSU Dominguez Hills<\/a> and CSU Northridge<\/a>, use OpenBook, a clear, interactive transparency platform. SDSU\u2019s financial information, by contrast, is buried and hard to interpret without a platform, opting to use a pdf instead.<\/p>\n This becomes concerning when essential resources remain unfunded \u2014 especially translation services. A first-generation student, who decided to stay anonymous out of a wariness of backlash, shared his orientation day experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of just assumed there would be some sort of translation,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 My parents don\u2019t speak English all that well.\u201d<\/p>\n After a 10-hour drive from Northern California, his parents were unable to understand the event they paid $80 to attend.<\/p>\n \u201cComing down to San Diego, I expected more of that [prioritizing bilingual representation],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Students often expect SDSU\u2019s HSI title and location to reflect real inclusivity, only to find that representation lacking. If SDSU receives HSI funding, shouldn\u2019t some support translators? With 35.3% Hispanic students \u2014 many with Spanish-speaking families \u2014 the need is obvious. Discrepancies like this make HSI status feel more financial than genuine.<\/p>\n The Inconsistencies<\/strong><\/p>\n SDSU\u2019s DEI page<\/a> promises to advance \u201cdiversity, equity, inclusion, belongingness, and social and racial justice.\u201d The campus has been recognized nationally for this, including the 2013 HEED Award<\/a>. The HEED application, which is what universities submit to be considered for the national honor when they believe they\u2019ve shown commitment to diversity, collects data on racial identity provided by a university. Participation is voluntary. Critics argue<\/a> these metrics push universities toward indirect racial quotas, but SDSU maintains that they guide equitable opportunities. Still, many feel reduced to statistics rather than supported as students.<\/p>\n During our research, we found inconsistencies between SDSU\u2019s stated commitment and its actual practices. The HSI Affairs page<\/a> includes several tabs, but aside from \u201cPrograms,\u201d most haven\u2019t been updated since 2022.<\/p>\n The biggest gap is the HSI Student Advisory Board, created in 2021 to hold SDSU accountable. While active on social media, its official page only links<\/a> to 2022 documents. Recommendations from 2022 intended to run through 2024 remain posted with no updates. La Colectiva \u2014 one outcome of those recommendations \u2014 isn\u2019t listed anywhere on SDSU\u2019s site and appears only in a buried Google folder<\/a>. Even the 2024\u20132025 HSI report<\/a> reuses verbatim content from the 2022 file<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Black Resource Center<\/a> also has outdated sections, but overall has more current information, demonstrating uneven upkeep between diversity initiatives.<\/p>\n SDSU\u2019s website is updated collaboratively, but each department maintains its own pages. This raises the question: Why has the HSI section fallen behind? As an institution that identifies as an Hispanic Serving Institution, Asian American, Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution, and LGBTQ+ inclusive, accountability should be consistent.<\/p>\n The Solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a clear need for more Hispanic representation on campus. Students consistently cited poor promotion of Hispanic resources. Many didn\u2019t know the LRC or related programs existed. Solutions are simple: more flyers, better social media presence, regular email updates, and accurate website information.<\/p>\n Two second-year students, Delilah Tadeo and Jazmin Sandoval, also suggested murals or a cultural hall, more acknowledgment of the land SDSU stands on and stronger education around the transborder community we belong to.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you guys are doing is definitely something we should be doing more,\u201d Tadeo said.<\/p>\n These two students emphasized the need to shine light on our heritage and hearing from Latino voices all year around. SDSU does celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, but Hispanic students shouldn\u2019t only be recognized once a year.<\/p>\n We were drawn to this issue as Latinas and as freshmen searching for community. It was a shock not seeing faces like ours, especially at an institution that labels itself HSI, AANAPISI, and more in its title. Statistics say we\u2019re represented, but the campus experience says otherwise.<\/p>\n We acknowledge the efforts of the LRC<\/a>, the Monarch Unity Center<\/a> and student-led Latinx organizations that work to connect us all. Events like the Pachanga and the supportive environment of the LRC matter. But we shouldn\u2019t rely solely on them. SDSU, as an administrative whole, must commit to truly reflecting the students it claims to serve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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