Minority student organizations abound at Yale

The adjustment to college life can be very stressful, and minority students often feel the heat, perhaps more so than others. Fortunately, students and administrators have developed a variety of ways to help minority students make a smooth transition and find their niche within the broader Yale community.

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH Cultural Houses like La Casa Cultural de Julia de Burgos offer a place for the entire community to join together.

Many minority students find Yale's cultural houses to be great places to meet people with similar backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Yale's Afro-American Cultural Center, founded in 1969, served as a model for the Asian-American and Chicano houses, and for La Casa Cultural de Julia de Burgos, a Puerto Rican cultural center.

Each cultural house contains kitchens, libraries, computers, and other facilities. They are often used to host parties, meetings, concerts, and film festivals. These sites foster a sense of community within an ethnic group, according to Terri-Anne Davis, SM '99, a co-moderator of the Black Student Alliance at Yale (BSAY). "Cultural houses are great because they're a place where we can come together as a community, whether it be for meetings, parties, or just to spend time with each other," Davis said. "They serve as a unifying force because the African-American community is divided among the residential colleges."

Yale has long promoted the study of various ethnic groups by offering programs such as African and African- American Studies, East Asian Studies, and Latin American Studies. In March 1997, the Administration approved a proposal to create Ethnicity, Race, and Migration (ER&M) as a secondary major. The young department allows students to choose courses from a variety of disciplines, such as history, anthropology, and foreign languages, while concentrating on one racial or ethnic group.

Yale also boasts many organizations that address the needs of particular ethnic groups. In response to concerns that the large number of Asian-American groups encouraged fractionalization, the Asian-American Students Association (AASA) reconstituted itself in 1993 as an umbrella group. AASA brings together the Chinese-American Students Association, the Filipino- American Students Association, Korean-American Students at Yale, the Taiwanese Club, the Vietnamese Student Association, the Asian-American Women's Group, and the South Asian Society.

A number of student groups also help foster a strong sense of community among African-Americans. BSAY organizes many events and sponsors the annual celebration of Black History Month. Other African-American student organizations include the National Society of Black Engineers, the Black Undergraduate Law Association, the Black Women's Caucus, the Yale Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Black Political Forum. Many of these organizations, as well as some fraternities and sororities, are closely affiliated with the Afro-American house and encourage students to become more involved in minority activism.

Latino students also enjoy an active cultural community at Yale. Despierta Boricua (DB), created in 1974, works with New Haven Puerto Ricans on a variety of service projects. DB was instrumental in creating La Casa, where it now hosts many cultural activities. The Mexican-American community is also highly visible, with many activities organized through the Movimiento Estudiantíl Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA). In the fall of 1996, Chicano students from across the country flocked to Yale for Pachanga, a national conference organized by MEChA.

While Yale's Native American population is small compared to those of other Ivy League universities, it is developing a greater presence on campus through both student and faculty activism. The Association of Native Americans at Yale (ANAAY) invites speakers and encourages action on a variety of environmental and social issues.

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