Celebrating it’s 30th anniversary, Hispanic student association shows that ‘excellence comes in many flavors’

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Hispanic student association
shows that ‘excellence
comes in many flavors’
…………………………………………………………………

BY JENNIFER EVANS
Rice News Staff

From the time
Richard Tapia began his career in education, he knew he
wanted to reach out to minority students — especially
Mexican-Americans — to show them that they could achieve
whatever they put their minds to. Tapia, the Noah Harding
Professor of Computational and Applied Mathematics, knew
the difficulties they faced and the possibilities ahead
because he already had traversed this road. He escaped the
barrios of Los Angeles to earn a Ph.D., teach at prestigious
universities across the nation and earn national honors
and awards for his work in science and engineering.

“I felt
that my job was to give back and guide those who were similarly
situated,” he said. “I’ve been there. I navigated
the waters.”

His desire to
show others the way led him to create a student group at
Rice that recently celebrated its 30th anniversary: HACER
or Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice.

Begun in 1972
under the name RAMAS, Rice Association of Mexican-American
Students, the organization had three goals: To provide support
to Mexican-American students at Rice — let them know
there were other people like them on campus who had similar
concerns and problems; to recruit Hispanic students from
high schools throughout Texas; “and to teach and share
with the Rice community who we are, what’s important
to us, our perspectives,” said Tapia. “To show
the Rice community that excellence comes in many flavors.”

Immediately the
club became a tight-knit group, holding a variety of events
and activities, including La Posada, a traditional Mexican
Christmas celebration and one of the biggest of the club’s
events even today, said Tapia.

RAMAS wasn’t
the first organization at Rice for Hispanic students to
connect with one another, but it was among the first Hispanic
campus-based groups to go beyond academic fellowship. In
the ’20s, Los Buhos gave students a venue to practice
their Spanish-speaking skills. Other clubs such as Sigma
Delta Pi followed but still were focused more on academics.

Mexican businessmen
in Houston created a social and cultural organization for
Mexican-Americans, Club Mexico Bello, in 1924. Despite it
being an off-campus club, some Rice students became active
members, including Primitivo Niño ’28, who was
a founding member.

But having an
on-campus support group like RAMAS was an important element
to the Rice experience for Hispanic students.

“[RAMAS]
was a life raft for us, an oasis at the school,” said
Donald Niño ’79. “For many of us it was
the first time away from home. It helped to get together
with a group of people who were brought up with similar
background. You have an immediate connection.”

Maria Govea Villenas
’91 said the club was the center of her social life.
“I really missed the serenity of my home and the warm
personal contact my relatives always had for me. I could
manage to fill that void only when I was in prayer or having
fun with my HACER friends.”

Slowly the student
population at Rice became more diverse, in part because
of the recruiting efforts of RAMAS members, who were playing
a larger role in drawing minority high school students to
Rice. By 1984 members of the club included not only the
Mexican-American students but also students of other Latin
American backgrounds. The decision was made to change the
organ-ization’s name to reflect the broader cultural
background of its members, thus RAMAS became HACER, Hispanics
Associated with Cultural and Educational Revitalization
(a name which later was changed to Hispanic Association
for Cultural Enrichment at Rice.) Club activities grew to
include bringing Hispanic music, food and films to campus,
participating in the university-wide International Night
banquet and performing community service and outreach projects.

“What impressed
me most about how HACER has developed over time is that
it is less of just a social organization and more involved
in recruiting minorities to Rice, educating the community
about Latinos, becoming involved in civil rights and so
much more,” said Niño.

Thirty years
after the creation of RAMAS, Rice is ranked by Hispanic
Magazine among the top five universities that are succeeding
in recruiting and retaining Hispanic students, and it has
been top-ranked four consecutive years. The magazine lauded
the many academic opportunities and social activities in
which Latino students can participate.

Villenas said
that a return trip to campus to attend a HACER party amazed
her as she observed the transformation in Rice culture.
“When I walked into the room and saw so many brown
faces, I was so surprised to see the growth of the club.”
She said she was even more surprised “when at one point
during the party a group of students went up to the front
and did a demonstration of how Tejano music is danced. One
of the students came to my table to ask me to join the group’s
demonstration. I could not believe I was dancing Tejano
in front of a Rice audience — sharing my cultural heritage
in Farnsworth Pavilion! I credit HACER for this change in
the Rice culture.”

Today HACER members
include Mexican-Americans, Cubans, Venezuelans, Latinos
of all types, said Heather De La Garza, current HACER president.
The organization continues to work to educate the Rice community,
offering an opportunity for immersion into a culture that
goes beyond what books and lectures can offer. It also hosts
a leadership retreat encouraging students to take a greater
leadership role at Rice and is a link to off-campus resources,
such as the Hispanic consulates, the Institute of Hispanic
Culture and respected Hispanic figures and professionals,
all of whom can share their experiences and provide networking
opportunities.

To find out more
about HACER or to get involved, visit the club Web site,
<www.ruf.rice.edu/~hacer>.
More information about HACER also can be found at the Woodson
Research Center at Fondren Library, which houses the Rice
Hispanic History, created by Alberto Roca, HACER staff adviser.