Hispanics face lack of community, representation at UM

When Eduardo Contreras stepped onto campus as a freshman, he was met with swarms of people with physical features vastly unlike his own. As a California Latino, he had never been immersed in a place with so few Hispanic people before.

Contreras came to the University of Montana in the fall of 2010 to study wildlife biology and explore life in a place that was different than his home of Los Angeles, Calif., but said he was surprised to see so few students like himself.

Montana has seen a nearly 1 percent increase over the past 10 years in the Hispanic and Latino population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The population increased from 2 percent to 2.9 percent, an increase of 10,000 people, between 2000 and 2010. The country's Hispanic population increased by 43 percent during the same time frame.

Despite Montana's increasing Hispanic population, UM has kept a steady 1 to 2 percent population of Hispanics, said Diane Flamand of the UM Registrar Office.

Contreras said that he was amazed by the lack of Hispanic people on the UM campus, especially considering Montana's participation in the Western Undergraduate Exchange scholarship program. WUE gives qualifying students from 14 different states in the West, including California, reduced tuition based on GPA and standardized test scores.

In the fall of 2010, 11 percent of the student population at UM identified as an ethnic minority, while 3 percent of those students identified as Hispanic.

According to the Diversity Advisory Council, a committee made up of faculty, staff and students at UM, there isn't a Hispanic-run club on campus, or a club dedicated to Hispanic culture or traditions. Although clubs such as Mount of Olives for the Arabic class and students, or the Kyi-Yo Native American Student Association for the Native American students, exist at UM, Contreras said there's no similar club for Hispanic or Latino people because of their small population on campus.

"It would be really cool for the Hispanics to have a club, just so we could have that representation on this campus," he said.

While UM does have a Spanish club, Contreras said it doesn't really pertain to the people who speak the language as their first language or grew up listening to it.

"It's mostly a bunch of white students looking to find help to get good grades," Contreras said. "They ask me to help sometimes, which I think is cool, but it's nothing like a group to celebrate your heritage."

There isn't a position on the Diversity Advisory Council for a Hispanic representative either, which may be reflective of the lack of a concrete Hispanic community on campus. There are, however, positions on the council for the Lambda Alliance, Afro-American Student Association, International Student Association and the Kyi-Yo Native American Student Association.

Despite the shortfalls in UM's representation of Hispanic and Latino students, Contreras said he's not unhappy with the school or Missoula.

"This is Missoula," he said. "It is a pretty open place, and being Mexican isn't a big deal."

Contreras said that although he is a proud Hispanic student from Southern California, he doesn't define himself by his race or ethnicity.

"I think people are pretty open about it, and it's as much of a new experience for the people around me as it is for me," he said. "Sometimes my friends joke around about my race a little, but I laugh too."

Although he feels welcome in Missoula, he did acknowledge an understanding of the role that race can sometimes play in rural areas like Montana.

"I know there are racists out there, and they tend to be the people away from the big cities, but I guess I am lucky in what I do," Contreras said, referring to his work in wildlife biology.

"I consider myself a Mexican Redneck, so I get along pretty well with the people who would usually hate me."

The University of Montana's strategic plan emphasizes preparing students to live and work in a "global century," but without a seat for Hispanic students on the Diversity Council, Contreras said there's room for improvement on campus.

"Obviously, this campus wants to create diversity through the (Western Undergraduate Exchange scholarship program) and the University's mission, but they have a weird way of going about it," Contreras said.

candace.rojo@umontana.edu