Some students and professors believe that Harvard is falling behind other ivy-league school in its representation of Latinos in its cultural diversity organizations and gathering places, and are advocating for an on-campus pan-Latino meeting center.
Several students and staff at the prestigious school argue that Latinos are the nation’s largest ethnic minority, accounting for 16.7 percent of the U.S. population and expected to make up 30 percent by 2050. Latino students make up 11.2 percent of students for the class of 2016, according to a recent article in the school’s news site.
Plans for a Latino center at Harvard range from a social space to a center or institute for scholarship and research opportunities. With the exception of the university-funded Native American Program, with offices and space dedicated to the school’s Native American community, no cultural student groups on campus have school-funded centers.
The Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations was created in 1981 and set up a space for students of different races and cultures to meet and discuss issues. Since then, the foundation has sponsored several events, panel discussions, and forums. Guests have included Shakira and U.S. Treasurer Rosa Rios. The foundation also sponsored a writers’ series and student dialogues on race.
