Though Latino (non-international) students only make up 6 percent of their student body, the University of Pennsylvania has 23 Hispanic organizations aimed at the different interests of each of its members.

One of the first Hispanic organizations recognized by the University was the “Asociación Cultural de Estudiantes Latinoamericanos” (Cultural Association of Latin American Students, or ACELA for its initials in Spanish) founded during the 1950’s and which promotes community service in Philadelphia.  This Association presently collaborates with the Norris Neighborhood Project, in the northern part of the city.

“Our organization seeks to promote community service and learning about all cultures”, explained Mexican Lany Villalobos, who studies Finance and is the president of the organization.  “Our aim is to expose university students to the different Hispanic communities in Philadelphia.

According to Villalobos, creating various groups has been unintentional; the students’ need to identify with a specific group has led to their forming part of a particular cultural group.

“The University houses Hispanic groups that are diversified according to their cultural identity and social interests (…), however, they are all represented by Coalición Latina (the Latino Coalition), which is the Hispanic voice at the University”, explained Johnny Irizarry, director of “Casa Latina” at the University of Pennsylvania.  The continued growth and diversity of interests  led to the creation of Coalición Latina, founded in 1997 to unify Hispanic students, stated Rami Reyes, president of this coalition, who also clarified that any student can join, not only Latinos.

The largest groups are ACELA, Wharton and Onda Latina, each with around 50 members, and el Quisqueyano –Irizarry specified—which is different because it unites Dominicans born in the region and that have arrived from the island.

Some others are Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (The Chicano Student Body Movement from Aztlán, or MECHA for its initials in Spanish) and Mexicanos en Penn (Mex@Penn), which share the same Mexican culture, though not always the same interests.

One of the main differences between these groups is their social-economic level, since the majority of Mexican students that come to Penn from abroad (not from local communities such as Philadelphia) have the financial resources to pay thousand-dollar tuitions, stated Edgar López, who studies Business and is the president of MECHA at the university.

“Our objective is to create awareness about the rights of Hispanic communities in this country and to seek justice in social and political matters affecting our society, in addition to being committed with the Chicano students at the University”, he said.

“Though efforts have been made to create a single organization for all Latinos at the University, it has become more and more difficult since our ethnic diversity clearly leads participants to frequently focus on other issues, he added.

For its part, Mex@Penn is a social and cultural student body organization founded in 1999, which seeks to promote Mexican culture and traditions in the community.  Maya Dadoo, president of Mex@Penn, says that efforts have not been made to unite the two groups.

Many Mexican-Americans feel more identified with MECHA, since they were born into the two cultures. This is why the majority of students that actively participate in Mex@Penn are Mexicans raised in Mexico and that come to the US to earn their degree”, she pointed out.

The Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering student said that the organization seeks to promote union and coexistence between Mexicans of the University community as well as to disseminate the Mexican culture.

“The difference between these two organizations is basically that Mecha is a national student body association representing Mexican-American students in the US, while Mex@Penn represents Mexicans and Mexican-Americans at UPenn”, she explained.

“A social-economic difference does in fact exist between these two groups since the admissions process for international students is subject to proof of income”.

She explained that a Mexican student without an American passport or permanent residency that applies to the university must prove that he/she has the income to pay for his/her four years of studies.  In the case of Meixcan-Americans, however, first you are accepted and then the University grants you a scholarship, if you need one.

“Despite this difference, we are very close, especially when it comes to parties.  Mex@Penn and MECHA come together to celebrate patriotic parties, such as September 16th, “día de los muertos” (All Souls Day), “posadas” (symbolizing Joseph and Mary’s travels before the birth of Jesus) and others.  We also work together on social service activities and other events at the university.”

According to Irrizary, many Latin American students that come to study at Penn have easily adapted to the changes offered by a cosmopolitan city such as Philadelphia.  “Though there have been some cases in which students, due to their ignorance,  make comments that certainly do not define Latino groups”, he said, referring to stereotypes.

“The University seeks to create an environment of diversity.  I don’t think that a radically racist person would choose this environment to complete his/her studies.”