Campus Event - M.E.Ch.A.

One of the campus events that I have gone to on campus is the Mexican Club (M.E.Ch.A). At first, the leader of the club introduced himself and explained what the club was about. He explained some things that are important to the club, such as being a Chicana/Chicano, which is anyone who acknowledges and works toward the betterment of all under represented communities. Raza, which is translated to the word genre, means the people, all people -- we are all people, we are all Raza. Cultura is also important to the club, which is culture, history, traditions, customs, rituals, dances, and beliefs of a group of people. Then we learned the "anthem" of the club, which we recite at the beginning of every meeting: "Tu eres mi otro yo, you are my other self. I am you and you are me. If I hurt you, I hurt myself. If I love and respect you, I love and respect myself." We then proceeded to play an ice breaker game, and we had to pair up with someone we didn't know, and we had to close our eyes while they led us around the room, and then we would switch. The  goal of the game was to develop trust with a stranger. Afterwards, we discussed some of the upcoming events of the club. Raza Week, which was September 17th - 21st, Dia de La Raza which is on October 11th, and Dia de Los Muertos, which is on November 1st. We came up with some fundraising ideas, such as selling Mexican food at the events. We came up with ideas on what type of foods we should sell, and voted on them. We also discussed other M.E.Ch.A. related events on and off campus, such as the national M.E.Ch.A. conference/meeting at U.C. Davis which will be coming up soon. Overall, it was an interesting and enlightening experience going to the M.E.Ch.A. club. I am planning on attending future M.E.Ch.A. club meetings. I enjoy getting involved in clubs and events that promote civil rights and equity, so I plan to attend other clubs that do so as well.