Latino center inaugurated

Ron Bilbao was sitting in a Carolina Hispanic Association meeting his freshman year when someone suggested starting a Latino Center.

He couldn’t get the idea out of his head.

Now a senior, Bilbao witnessed the fruits of his labor Friday evening at the unofficial kickoff of the Carolina Latino Collaborative.

The network hopes to unify Latino groups on campus, work with the Latino Studies minor program and collaborate with other minority and advocacy groups.

John Ribó, graduate assistant to the collaborative, said when he came to UNC from Texas a few years ago, the only Latinos he saw were working in Lenoir Dining Hall and the Spanish department.

He wanted to change that.

“It’s been a long time coming and a lot of work ­­­— it’s just one big collaboration,” Ribó said.

After receiving input from two different chancellors and creating a task force, former Provost Bernadette Gray-Little granted permission last spring for the collaborative, a less-expensive option than a formal center.

The collaborative’s new facility on the first floor of Craige North residence hall features a multi-purpose room, offices and a “smart room” with seating.

After reading an excerpt from his book, “A Home on the Field,” journalism professor Paul Cuadros led a discussion about the Latino community and American identity.

“It’s a great day not only with the launch of this collaborative, but also with the courageous decision of the Board of Community College System in North Carolina, which decided to admit undocumented community college students to the state,” Cuadros said.

Cuadros said to collaborative leaders and the Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity that Hispanic students are expected to be the largest minority on campus in coming years.

“This will be the fountain from where voices in this community and this state will be able to speak,” he said during his discussion.

Bilbao said he’s excited for what the collaborative will provide.

“We’re going to show this campus that this is the best thing they’ve created in a really long time,” he said.

And with a year to prove the value of the collaborative to administrators, Bilbao said he is confident in its success.

“Our goal is not to duplicate work but to bring together all the work happening in this community and make it worthwhile,” he said.

“There’s no failure allowed in this collaborative.”


Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.