Graduating with a Bachelors and Institutional Baggage.

Trauma and Burnout, the consequences of Institutional Neglect and incompetence to serve Latina Student Activists.

Presenter: X’andrí Diana Garcia Bautista

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Patricia Kim-Rajal

Department: Chicano and Latino Studies

Funding Source/Sponsor: Other

Abstract:
This paper centers the importance of Latina Activism on college campuses, it demonstrates the importance of Latina scholar-activistas role establishing institutional support for students left at the margins and in between the gaps of higher education. By conducting Transgenerational Platicas, through Oral Histories and open-ended semi structured interviews, I will document the experiences of Latina Activistas at a predominantly white Northern California state institution, in translation with their ongoing work as Latina Activistas in Higher Education Institutions. Primarily centering their work during 2016- 2019 in which Uva University received HSI designation, Latina Activistas organized and hosted social justice oriented programming, conferences, and community spaces. These programs left a lasting impact upon the academic institution and student body. The result of a collaborative community effort in which cultural, social justice oriented student organizations demonstrate the importance of scholar-activistas' contribution to the college experience of underrepresented students. This research documents the experiences of the Mujerxs who led and participated in these organizing efforts and provides insight to how they created comunidad, on the basis of social activism and empowerment. Additionally this research serves in honoring the legacies and student labor of latinas that has influenced the progression, inclusivity, and diversity of campus programs. Lastly this research serves to amplify and highlight the institutional inequalities faced by Latinas that have significantly impacted the academic trajectories and resulted in their reACTION!