La O Fostered Division

Harvard-Radcliffe's liberal monthly newspaper Perspective featured an article by Marina C. Santini entitled "Learning from the Past: Activism and Latino Solidarity" in this month's issue. In this rather scattered and ambiguous editorial, Santini discusses her frustration with what she feels is a lack of unity among Latinos on the Harvard campus, particularly Puerto Ricans who have, in her opinion, lost "the initial momentum" they once had. This momentum--completely well-hidden because I have never personally seen it and I am now a junior and Santini is only a sophomore--she believes, was encompassed in the less than progressive and profitable era of La Organizacion Estudiantil Boricua (La O)--an organization which is now defunct, to Santini's dismay.

Santini says she and other eager classmates decided to reactivate the organization in hopes of establishing a Puerto Rican voice on campus. And La O did get off to a promising start. But members began to drop out and Santini was left feeling a bit sad and disappointed because there was no more "momentum." In closing her article, Santini asks the question: "Why?" And her answer is a most profound one: "division." Oh really?

I understand Santini's frustration with La O and with the lack of a progressive and unified Latino voice on campus. As someone of mixed background, I often fumble with the notion of joining an ethnic organization on campus. The problem is that there are so many that I get turned off from the idea. I don't know where to go. The existence of so many varied ethnic organizations is a sign of disorganization and more than anything else it promotes the very disunity and division to which Santini refers.

What is interesting about Santini's article is that she has fallen into that trap herself. While advocating the establishment of a forum solely for Puerto Rican students, she also says, "As Latinos we are divided among Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, etc., and as Puerto Ricans we align ourselves as either from the island or the 'mainland.'...By creating divisions we can only weaken ourselves." She indicates that division is something we must avoid. Doesn't Santini see that the establishment of yet another ethnic organization on the Harvard campus for yet another Latino group would only exacerbate this division?

There is certainly something to be said about creating a forum of cultural appreciation for different ethnic groups. And some of these organizations do just this. Dinners, dances and gatherings held by the various clubs do bring members closer together and do promote an overall appreciation of the culture. This should not be denied. But what Santini seems to be looking for is club that will provide an arena for political movement--political activity similar (maybe less violent) than the Young Lords Organization which started in New York in 1969. This is ridiculous. To place this kind of political pressure on Harvard clubs and students is unfair. Certainly, Puerto Ricans, like so many others, are suffering economically in this country and Santini points out some crucial figures. And getting students involved in political activities which affect their various ethnicities is important.

But maybe members of La O dropped out because political activity wasn't really what they wanted was just to chill with people who shared their interests in food, music and culture. "Working together," as Santini says, does not necessarily come through establishing further divisions in hopes of being the Young Lords of the 1990s.

Working together does not mean having a bitter attitude towards those students who prefer not to get involved in the political debates and battles of their countries. Perhaps if Santini's agenda was not provoked by a readiness to "combat" and teaching "the man not to mess with us" but instead with an eagerness and a willingness to hear what other Puerto Ricans on campus are feeling, or what they have on their agendas than maybe we could be more "prepared to make history."

Nancy Raine Reyes' column appears on alternate Saturdays.