The UCSD Chicano/Latino Staff Association presented the 14th annual Cesar E. Chavez Celebration Kickoff Luncheon and Awards Ceremony in Price Center Ballroom East on April 1. The event was meant to introduce the month’s upcoming celebration of Cesar E. Chavez and his legacy.
The luncheon also served as an opportunity for the association to recognize individuals who it believes have furthered Chavez’s ideals in their communities, including this year’s UCSD undergraduate essay contest winners.
The luncheon opened around 11:30 a.m. with the farmworker’s unity clap, a signal typically used at farmworkers’ meetings to call attention and show unity, according to the events hosts.
The theme of farmworker solidarity continued with a moment of silence to consider those who made possible the meal provided at the event.
The new Vice Chancellor of Student for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Becky Petitt, spoke for the first time after being appointed on March 23. Petitt encouraged students to view this month as an opportunity to consider what contributions they wanted to make happen in the world.
The keynote speaker of the event was Mexican-American cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz. Alcaraz is most well-known as the author of “La Cucaracha,” the first nationally syndicated, politically themed Latino comic strip, and as a producer and author on the upcoming Fox program “Bordertown,” created by Seth MacFarlane.
During his speech, Alcaraz spoke of how to best honor and celebrate Chavez.
“We can start by becoming strong citizens,” Alcaraz said. “We can honor our parents and our families, and by that I mean honor our culture, also.”
Alcaraz went on to present several of his cartoons that addressed topics such as the farmworkers movement, Arizona SB1070, the shooting of Michael Brown and the Murrieta Crisis.
The time was also taken earlier in the luncheon to announce the winners of the first UCSD Cesar E. Chavez Undergraduate Essay Contest. Two first-place recipients were awarded a cash prize of $600, a second-place recipient awarded $500 and a third-place recipient received $200. All also received a certificate.
The prompt for the essay competition, which was open to all undergraduates, asked students to discuss which of Chavez’s 10 core values they most identified with and explain how they hoped to use these values to effect positive changes in the Chicano community and greater society. Furthermore, participants were asked to write on how they have contributed to equity and social justice at UCSD in particular.
One of the two first-place winners of the undergraduate essay contest was Thurgood Marshall College first-year transfer student Alexis Buz.
Buz chose to write on the values of sacrifice, service to others, preference to help the most needy and determination. He further indicated to the UCSD Guardian that his background greatly affected his choice of topic.
“Since I arrived to Stockton, CA at the age of two, I grew up in an area that was a historic part of where the United Farmworkers Movement took place,” Buz said. “I’m also the son of two immigrant agricultural field workers. I’ve lived this experience and I know how important it is to advocate for the often-forgotten field workers that to this day are not paid or treated with dignity and respect.”
Chicano/Chicana Alumni Council Community Service Awards were also presented to three student winners, again including Buz, who received a $500 cash prize and certificate. These students were recognized for their involvement in various outreach programs targeted at the Chicano/Chicana and Latino/Latina community.
Buz’s work, for which he received the award, includes increasing nonpartisan, nonprofit voter registration and organizing voter forums that brought candidates to Latina/Latino districts. According to Buz, his participation has much to do with wanting to further the ideals put forth by Chavez.
“It’s me trying to embody what I can of his legacy and continue it in my own ways in order to make sure that the movement does not die,” Buz said.
Finally, the event recognized an alumnus, a member of the UCSD staff and a member of the community, based on their service and dedication to the local area. The organizers chose to honor these individuals as ones whose work is not traditionally observed.
The luncheon ended with the announcement of several raffle winners, who received gift cards, tickets to UCSD sporting events and passes to the Birch Aquarium.
Tickets for the event were available to both members and nonmembers of the association, and proceeds from the event benefited the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan’s Raza graduation ceremony, a student organization that supports higher education and cultural and historical recognition among Chicano/Chicana students.
