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El Laberinto, 1971-1987
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For the first time on campus, Chicano and Indian students recognized a common cultural heritage and united. We developed a spirit of collectivism and unity. For the most part we were traditional and non-traditional Chicanos and Native Americans with differing levels of awareness due to our individual experiences and backgrounds. Somehow we managed to fuse differences into a single body of thought and functioned as an organization striving for single goal equality. We were students who initiated the Chicano and Indian movements on campus. This established the tradition of student involvement in programs designed to determine our roles and destiny at school. The relationship with our respective communities became our life line. Within a short time community members like Ernie Rodriguez from Davenport and Juan Cadena from Muscatine joined us at some of our meetings. Without their support the small gains made today would not have been possible. People unselfishly gave us their time, support, and encouragement for our survival. While this may sound like everything went [n?]eat and that we were all cooperative, it wasn't the case. The unity that grew was a result of much struggling among ourselves. The one thing that kept us together was our common demoniator, culture. Though new students in the following years brought more diversity, and thus conflict, we were still able to overcome our differences and recognize them as a strength. [arrow going across] As a sort of adjunct to what the essay above has described in closing, and as a necessary prologue to the satirical piece on p.13 let me cite a recent example of what the CIASU has been embroiled in. Over the summer, with the arrival of the new CIACC Resident Manager, Darlene Wind, --she's the woman who lives in"the house"-- an attempted break-in of her living quarters was perpetrated. The door leading to the two rooms she occupies was kicked in. No entry into the rooms themselves was gained however. The work of a crazy person? Perhaps. Then, as the fall semester was about to begin, and CIASU Orientation had gotten underway, a second incident occurred. The center's stereo was taken by a Special Support Services administrator without advance notice given to the Resident Manager. He had every "legal" right to do this (almost everything in the center, including the center, "belongs" to the University of Iowa; has been bought and sold by it). Yet this opprobrious action--to "teach (the CIASU) a lesson" in security measures--and the consequent belligerent behavior displayed at a Union meeting when asked to respond to certain questions led to further trouble. To make a long story short, great suspicion and bitterness remained after all was said and done. And then, a third incident occurred. Another break-in attempt--this time successful--was perpetrated in October once again against the Resident Manager's apartment. Nothing was ripped off, nothing disturbed; only the door had been jimmied and the room left opened. It was scary there for a while; scary because, in the first place, at the time which, in the second place, made it so "easy" for anyone who would want to do harm to walk in and commit some felonious deed. It was especially scary for our Resident Manager who has since all this transpired found a few more canas on her head. The center was temporarily closed. All locks were changed and keys given to only a few trusted individuals. While the center is still not open as it has been in the past, and although some of us had been assigned as "security guards" holding shifts so that the center would be open at all! I am not willing to admit or concede to anybody that the worse is over. How could it be? There is still much apathy and lack of participation, support, and critical evaluation on the part of Chicano and Indian students on the campus. If this university wanted to take the center away, as it's taken away a good deal of our budget over the years, would there be anyone to holler about it? Would there be anyone to get up in arms about how they're whittling us away? 4
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For the first time on campus, Chicano and Indian students recognized a common cultural heritage and united. We developed a spirit of collectivism and unity. For the most part we were traditional and non-traditional Chicanos and Native Americans with differing levels of awareness due to our individual experiences and backgrounds. Somehow we managed to fuse differences into a single body of thought and functioned as an organization striving for single goal equality. We were students who initiated the Chicano and Indian movements on campus. This established the tradition of student involvement in programs designed to determine our roles and destiny at school. The relationship with our respective communities became our life line. Within a short time community members like Ernie Rodriguez from Davenport and Juan Cadena from Muscatine joined us at some of our meetings. Without their support the small gains made today would not have been possible. People unselfishly gave us their time, support, and encouragement for our survival. While this may sound like everything went [n?]eat and that we were all cooperative, it wasn't the case. The unity that grew was a result of much struggling among ourselves. The one thing that kept us together was our common demoniator, culture. Though new students in the following years brought more diversity, and thus conflict, we were still able to overcome our differences and recognize them as a strength. [arrow going across] As a sort of adjunct to what the essay above has described in closing, and as a necessary prologue to the satirical piece on p.13 let me cite a recent example of what the CIASU has been embroiled in. Over the summer, with the arrival of the new CIACC Resident Manager, Darlene Wind, --she's the woman who lives in"the house"-- an attempted break-in of her living quarters was perpetrated. The door leading to the two rooms she occupies was kicked in. No entry into the rooms themselves was gained however. The work of a crazy person? Perhaps. Then, as the fall semester was about to begin, and CIASU Orientation had gotten underway, a second incident occurred. The center's stereo was taken by a Special Support Services administrator without advance notice given to the Resident Manager. He had every "legal" right to do this (almost everything in the center, including the center, "belongs" to the University of Iowa; has been bought and sold by it). Yet this opprobrious action--to "teach (the CIASU) a lesson" in security measures--and the consequent belligerent behavior displayed at a Union meeting when asked to respond to certain questions led to further trouble. To make a long story short, great suspicion and bitterness remained after all was said and done. And then, a third incident occurred. Another break-in attempt--this time successful--was perpetrated in October once again against the Resident Manager's apartment. Nothing was ripped off, nothing disturbed; only the door had been jimmied and the room left opened. It was scary there for a while; scary because, in the first place, at the time which, in the second place, made it so "easy" for anyone who would want to do harm to walk in and commit some felonious deed. It was especially scary for our Resident Manager who has since all this transpired found a few more canas on her head. The center was temporarily closed. All locks were changed and keys given to only a few trusted individuals. While the center is still not open as it has been in the past, and although some of us had been assigned as "security guards" holding shifts so that the center would be open at all! I am not willing to admit or concede to anybody that the worse is over. How could it be? There is still much apathy and lack of participation, support, and critical evaluation on the part of Chicano and Indian students on the campus. If this university wanted to take the center away, as it's taken away a good deal of our budget over the years, would there be anyone to holler about it? Would there be anyone to get up in arms about how they're whittling us away? 4
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