The International Hispanic Association and various other Hipanic organizations on campus will host the 11th Annual Tejano Student Unity Weekend on March 2-4, 2001. Lupita Sauceda, the public relations chair, said this is the first time the conference will take place here at Sam Houston State University.After attending the 10th annual TSUW at the University of Texas in Austin last year, they turned in a proposal for SHSU to host the 11th annual TSUW, and Sam was chosen out of 10 other Texas schools to host the event, Sauceda said.The history of the TSUW was started in 1988 when leaders from the University of Texas at San Antonio chapter of Mecha Movimento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Atzlan attended its national conference in Denver. During their time in Denver they began to recognize the lack of communication that existed between Latino students in Texas. Inspired by the camaraderie among students at the conference they began to formulate solutions to the problems they felt were plaguing Latino student groups in Texas. The lack of educational opportunities and organizational structure, as well as the need for unity and interaction among Latino organizations, were at the forefront of their concerns. From their ongoing discussion of the concerns at hand, the student leaders laid the foundation for what is now one of the most successful Latino student organized conferences in the state. The Tejano Student Unity Weekend is organized to unite Latino college students from throughout Texas and provide a forum in which important issues are addressed. This conference also allows participants to become educated about various opportunities available to them, Saucedo said.Sauceda also said the purpose of this years Tejano Student Weekend and their mission is to unite, educate and empower the importance of the Hispanic culture while focusing on issues such as: education, politics, cultural beliefs and music. We will be able to recognize the contributions of Hispanics in our society today. Furthermore, it is an aspiration to teach all cultures about the importance of diversity.The conference will consist of various guest speakers that will speak on Latinos in different businesses and the legends and myths about the Hispanic culture. Carlton Green and Dr. Crimm will be among some of the guest speakers. The weekend will also consist of a comedy show, featuring Ernie G, a comedian out of Hollywood who has appeared on Comic View, and comedian Sheila Rivera who is from Houston, said Sauceda. She also said schools such as the University of Houston, University of Dallas, Stephen F. Austin, Southwest Texas State University, the Universities of Texas at Austin and San Antonio and various members of the LULAC organization will be attending the conference. The conference is open to all students of all cultures and the three main goals for the TSUW are to educate all students about the Hispanic culture, give high schools students the opportunity to gain knowledge about college and the need for a higher education and to establish a Memorial Scholarship Fund for Marissa Merino, who was a member of Kappa Delta Chi. Early registration for the Tejano Student Weekend will start Wednesday, Feb. 21 in the mall area and onsite registration will be on Saturday March 3.For more information and a list of details contact Lupita Sauceda at (936) 435-0936.
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