University of Michigan. Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs.

Office established to meet the academic and social needs of the university's minority students.

In 1977, the Office of Minority Student Services (MSS) was created by the University of Michigan in order to help meet the academic and social needs of its minority students. MSS added to its campus programming by establishing a new division to handle the diverse student population. The Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs was set up in 1983, as a campus and community environment for minority and multi-ethnic students to succeed. Supporting the students through a variety of academic, social, economic and personal counseling services, as well as coordinating student cultural and multi-cultural organizations and programs were the goals of this office.

The Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs functioned as a non-elected representative organization for minority students for University of Michigan programs. These representatives were hired for their experience in working with students of diverse cultures and backgrounds. The staff included but were not limited to: Asian American, Native American, African American, Indian, and Hispanic/Latino/a.

The first Hispanic representative, Rosa Lopez, served from 1983 to 1988. Lopez was succeeded by Katalin Berdy from 1988 to 1997. The Hispanic representative was responsible for sponsoring student organizations, programs and activities within the university. For the organizations, the Hispanic/Latino/a representative served as a staff advisor, working with the students and helping them reach their social and academic goals. The student initiated organizations were comprised of both academically and socially motivated programs. Some of these organizations included the Socially Active Latino Students Association, (S.A.L.S.A.), the Hispanic Business Students Organization, the Council of Hispanics for Higher Education, Alianza, Puerto Rican Association, Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Lambda Gamma Sorority, Inc., and the Latino/a Network. The Latino/a Network (L Net) served as an elected body for all the other Hispanic/Latino/a groups on campus. As a governing board, L Net contained two representatives, either voted for or appointed, from all the other organizations and made decisions on planning what university activities, especially the Hispanic Heritage Celebration, would occur.

The Hispanic/Latino/a representative also acted as a liaison to the larger, Michigan minority business and government community, and social action organizations. This included involvement with the United Farm Workers Support Group, New Detroit, Inc., and LA SED, Inc., (Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development). These community organizations helped students protest the serving of California grapes in university dining halls (because of poor working conditions and treatment of the United Farm Workers and other minority farm workers who pick the grapes), motivate campus leaders into action, and provide opportunities and work experience for student volunteers within their organizations. Many local governments, businesses, and organizations aided in support for the annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration, which originated as a national festival in the early 1980's