Students of Change Timeline
1930s – 40s:
Mexican American laborers answer the call for increased agricultural labor in Central Washington. The Yakima Valley becomes a well established stop on the “migrant circuit” – a seasonal progression of families working crops across the Western, Southwestern and Central United States. Among these families are U.S. born Mexican-Americans, or Chicanos, as well as Mexican nationals.
Early 1950s:
Erasmo Gamboa’s father, who has worked the migrant circuit since the 1940s decides to relocate his family from Texas and settle in Yakima.
1953:
Jesús Sanchez’ father dies in an accident in the hops fields. His mother decides to stay in Toppenish, where his father is buried.
April 1955:
Anita Garcia Morales’ family moves from Ohio to Sunnyside.
1957:
Bertha Ortega’s sister marries a Washingtonian and moves to the Yakima Valley. Bertha’s father decides to follow, and moves the rest of the family to Toppenish.
1950s-60s:
Many of the students of 1968 grow up in the valley, splitting their time between school
and daily stoop labor in the fields, harvesting asparagus, onions and other crops.
1961:
Erasmo Gamboa joins the Navy.
1965:
Rogelio Riojas’ family settles in Othello, Washington.
1965:
Teatro Campesino, a farm worker’s theater group, performs in Sunnyside, bringing news about the strike in Delano and carrying a message of worker empowerment.
January 1968:
African American students at the University of Washington form the Black Student Union (BSU). They do an analysis of the racial breakdowns within the student body at the UW and discover that, of 32,500 total students, there are only 63 African American, four Latinos and two Native Americans. The BSU declares the University an institutionally racist organization and begins action to improve minority enrollment.
March 1968:
The Black Student Union at the UW takes over the President’s Office to demand greater efforts to recruit minority students, as well as minority faculty, administrators and counselors. Among the student participants is Larry Gossett.
1968:
Student actions lead to the creation of the Special Education Program (SEP) which would later be renamed the Office of Minority Affairs.
Summer 1968:
Members of the BSU, under the auspices of the University, travel to the Yakima Valley and recruit the first major group of Chicanos to the University of Washington.
September 1968:
The first sizeable cohort of Latino students register and begin classes at the University
of Washington. This inaugural group of about 30 students includes Students of Change subjects Erasmo Gamboa, Bertha Ortega, Jesus Sanchez and Anita Morales. Although this is the first large group of Latino students to enroll, some Latino students who had enrolled earlier as individuals should be noted. They include artist Alfredo Arreguín and community organizers Roberto Maestas and Ricardo Aguirre.
October, 1968:
Chicano students at the University of Washington found a chapter of the United Mexican American Students (UMAS) which is modeled after the UMAS at the University of Southern California. The UW UMAS chapter was the first in the Pacific Northwest and the first Chicano organization at the UW.
Fall 1968:
A boycott led by UW UMAS results in grapes being taken off the menu at the main food venue on campus, the HUB.
Spring 1969:
The first Mexican-American studies course, titled “Mexican-American History and Culture,” is offered.
1969:
UW UMAS organizes a Chicano student conference in Toppenish. The ultimate goal is to go into the community and establish student organizations at the high school level.
February 1969:
Following the lead of UW UMAS, Chicano students organize themselves to form a
chapter of the Mexican American Student Association (MASA) at Yakima Valley College.
Fall 1969:
A second cohort of Mexican-American students starts classes at the UW. Among them is Student of Change subject, Rogelio Riojas.
Fall 1969:
UW UMAS changes its name and becomes a chapter of the national Chicano student group, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MECHA).
December 1969:
MECHA brings United Farmworkers leader, Cesar Chavez, to campus in connection
with actions to support farm laborers.
1970-1973:
Original members of the first classes of Latino students complete their undergraduate degrees. While some move directly into the workforce, others pursue advanced degrees. Still others become leaders in emerging community organizations committed to serving economic, educational, cutltural and health-related needs.
Early 1970s:
In a time of continued activism, key Latino organizations began to take form. Many of the students of ’68 would play pivotal roles. Some of these organizations continue offering services to this day, including Sea Mar Community Health Centers, the Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic, and El Centro de la Raza. In addition, new departments in the University of Washington such as the Office of Minority Affairs and courses that would later coalesce as the Department of American Ethnic Studies would be part of a national trend toward greater inclusion and accessibility in higher learning.
