A Brief History of
Chicano/as and Latino/as at Washington State University
1950-1990
By
Jose M. Alamillo

1950s: La Primera Decada
The presence of Chicano/as at Washington State University dates back to the 1950s.  The first graduate student was Ruben Durán who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After high school he joined the U.S. Navy and after military service he paid college with the G.I. Bill. Ruben was accepted to graduate school in the Department of Plant Pathology and along with his wife, Rita, traveled to Pullman. After he received a doctoral degree in 1958 he worked for the USDA in California and in 1961 he returned to WSU and became the first Chicano professor to be hired and receive tenure at WSU. In 1971 Ruben discovered a new strain of wheat not known around the world. Durán was instrumental in hiring of additional Chicano faculty to WSU mentoring Chicano students, serving as faculty advisor of MEChA, helping to establish the Chicano Studies Program. Ruben helped recruit Zenaido Camacho to join the same department until he left in 1975 and is now Vice Dean of Texas Tech Health Science Center in El Paso, TX).  Ruben was a popular teacher and mentor to many students until he retired in 1989. Ruben’s wife, Rita Durán also completed her degree at WSU and was very active in the Chicano community, YWCA and was later appointed by the Washington State Human Rights Commission. Both Rita and Ruben now reside in Hemet, California.(1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Dr. Ruben Durán with doctoral student, Carolina Roybal-Allan, 1974. WSU Chicano/a Archive

1960s: The Chicano Movement Comes to WSU
On August 1967 five Chicano migrant farmworkers enrolled in the High Equivalency Program (HEP) and after graduation remained at WSU to earn a college degree. The next year a larger group enrolled at WSU which totaled thirty-two students.  Former student, Moises Terrescano described the climate these students faced “Academic assistance was minimal, and homesickness occurred quite often….no one could deny the fact that they were seen quite ‘differently’ by teachers and students. Their presence seemed not welcomed.”(2)  To overcome isolation and build a sense of community in a predominantly white college town, students organized the first student organization, Mexican American Student Association (MASA) in October 1969. Soon thereafter MASA changed their name to MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) to become part of the national Chicano Movement. Margarita Mendoza de Sugiyama and Rudy Cruz were two MEChA leaders that brought stability to the organization and made connections to the Mexican communities in the Yakima Valley.  When the United Farmworkers Movement arrived in the Yakima Valley, MEChA brought the UFW’s Grape Boycott Campaign to Pullman forcing Safeway and WSU Dining Services to stop selling non-union grapes. This MEChA victory was possible because of the alliances they forged with the Black Student Union, Native American student group and progressive white students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: (L) Margarita Mendoza de Sugiyama holding a Racism Workshop Program. (R) Chicano/a students and faculty sitting on the steps of Wilson Hall, circa 1970s. WSU Chicano/a Archive.

1970s: Building a Cultural and Institutional Presence at WSU
In January, 1970 a subcommittee was formed by Chicano/a faculty and students to write a proposal for a Chicano Studies Program. The subcommittee comprised of three faculty members (Silvia Lemos de Sharma, Ruben Durán and Zenaido Camacho,) and a MEChA student (Margarita Mendoza de Sugiyama).(3) The proposal was tabled until students staged mass protests in May 1970 forcing the president to concede to student demands which included organizing racism workshops, establishing ethnic studies departments and appointing a special assistant to the director of minority affairs.(4)  In a letter to President Glenn Terrell representatives of MEChA and BSU wrote, “As unified and vital forces on campus, are currently in the throes of screening candidates for the position of Special Assistant to the President of Minority Affairs. You will recall this position was created during the strike negotiations last spring to replace the previously ineffective Human Relations Board now disbanded.”(5) According to 1969-1970 student records, there were 42 Chicano Studies enrolled in the Experimental Education Program and 10 through regular enrollment.(6) During summer 1970 Rudy Cruz was appointed the first minority Assistant Director of Admissions.  In collaboration with two Chicana/o, two Black, and two Native American Students, Mr. Cruz developed the first minority recruitment program.  At the end of 1970-1971 approximately 200 students of color were recruited; about 40 of these students were of Mexican descent. According to 1974 Financial Aid reports there were 60 Chicano students.(7)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: (Left) Elsa Gomez, 1st Chicano Studies Secretary (Right) Quinto Sol Folklorico Dance Group. WSU Chicano/a Archive

On May 28, 1970 the president and the faculty senate approved the proposal for a Chicano Studies Program to begin fall semester 1970.(8)  Reymundo Marin, who earned his doctorate in the Spanish Department at Pennsylvania State University, was hired as the first director along with two staff positions and two tenure-track positions (these positions were split into six graduate assistant positions).(9 )During the first year 35 students were majors taking courses such as Introduction to Chicano Culture, Introduction to Literary and Musical Forms of Chicano Culture, Educational Problems of the Chicano in the Public Schools, Chicano History, The Chicano in American Society and Chicano Spanish. According to Marin, “The Chicano Studies Department took seriously its commitment to the community. Because of the long distance between the community and the university, professors and students make extra efforts to participate in community groups such as Northwest Rural Opportunities (NRO), State Advisory Migrant Education Committee, Chicano Education Association (CHE), United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) and Mexican American Self-Help (MASH).”(10)After Ramirez left to become Colegio Cesar Chavez’s top administrator, he was replaced by Chicano artist, Pedro Rodriguez.  Texas-born Pedro Rodriguez came to Washington State University to teach in the Art Department in 1973 and then became director of the Chicano Studies Program until he left in 1981 to return to San Antonio, Texas.(11) After three years Reymundo Marin left to work for the Northwest Rural Opportunities in Granger, WA and was replaced by Salvador Ramirez who served as director until 1977.In fall 1972 the Chicano Student Counseling Center was formed to better serve the growing Chicana/o student population. Santiago Estrada served as the first counselor followed by Esteban Sena who lasted until 1978.  In addition the Chicano Faculty Commission and the Chicano Graduate Student Association were formed in the mid-1970s.

1980s: The Decline of Chicano Studies during the Decade of the "Hispanic"
The growing conservative climate and rise of "Reaganomics" of the 1980’s had a profound impact on Chicano Studies and recruitment of Latino/a faculty, staff and students. By fall 1981 the total number of “Hispanic” student enrollment was 178 and by fall 1989 there were only 245. The low Chicano/Latino enrollment in the 1980s was due to the lack of a Spanish speaking recruiter, 50 percent decline of Chicano faculty (24 in 1979 to 12 in 1988), and the demise of the Chicano Studies Program who had its own recruiter from 1977 to 1982.(12) After twelve years the President Terrell decided on May 1982 to consolidate the ethnic studies programs under a newly created department called Comparative American Cultures (later renamed Comparative Ethnic Studies). Claiming budget cuts, this decision was met with student march and demonstration at the French Administration building chanting “No to Consolidation” for several hours. Despite student protests, the President promised that existing faculty and courses will remain intact under the new CAC Department.(13)Frustration with the lack of recruitment efforts in the Chicano community students created a recruitment program in 1984 called Project Esperanza. During the 1980s the MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement) program that involved community members and private industry working with WSU to recruit more minority students into the sciences. Also four new organizations were formed:  Mujeres Unidas which aimed to empowering Chicana and Latina student leaders; O.L.A. (Organization of Latino Americans) was a pan-Latino organization that organized cultural events on campus. By the late 1980s Tony Sandoval, Tony Leija, Philip Duran, Hiram Perez, and Anthony Cisneros formed the Hispanic Association at WSU and produced two important reports: "WSU Hispanic Student Concerns" and "WSU Hispanic Staff Concerns" to make the administration accountable for lack of recruitment efforts consistent with Affirmative Action goals. Two Latino faculty members, Manuel de Jesus Hernandez and Fernando Padilla, with joint appointments in CAC, were very active in advocating for more recruitment of faculty of color. Hernandez served as the founder and editor of Revista Apple, a literary journal that was published from 1989 to the early 1990s.