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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

    Guest speaker honors and remembers the legend of César Chávez

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    TCU remembered the life and contributions of César Chávez Wednesday night, with firsthand memories of the Chicano fight for civil rights.

    Chávez was the leader of the fight for civil rights for Latinos and farm workers. He is best known for co-founding the National Farm Workers Association, later the United Farm Workers of America.

    “It’s American history,” said Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez, who worked and marched alongside Chavez. “It’s American labor history. It is also a person who utilized the guarantees of the civil liberties of the first amendment, made them real and won.”

    Now a practicing lawyer and professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, Gutiérrez gave a history of César Chávez and the ideals of equality he worked to instill in the American workforce.

    Gutiérrez’s lecture was part of CommUNITY Week, a week dedicated solely to the celebration of diversity. It was coordinated by Inclusiveness and Intercultural Services and student organizations with the help of various departments on campus. 

    Wednesday, even though actually the day after the national holiday made in his namesake, was dedicated by CommUNITY Week to César Chávez. It was the first César Chávez Celebration, but they plan for it to be a tradition. 

    Leslie Chanthaphasouk, the program coordinator for Inclusiveness and Intercultural Services, is originally from California and familiar with the groundbreaking work of Chávez. She said she wants the student body to learn about the other cultures of our world.

    “If you’re in a area or a group or a college campus where everyone is homogeneous, you don’t get to learn about what the rest of the world is like,” said Chanthaphasouk.

    Dr. Gutiérrez reiterated Chanthaphasouk’s view on campus diversity.

    “You know you’re not alone in the world,” said Gutiérrez. “TCU is a little capsule. Out there is another world. It’s good to bring that world to the campus so people have some familiarity with other people, other cultures, other languages, other views, other positions and so on.”

    This “capsule” actually has a large Hispanic presence. According to the TCU Office of Institutional Research, the student body in 2014 was made up of 10.6 percent students of Hispanic or Latino descent.

    “There is a large number of Hispanics here, but we are here in the TCU bubble,” said Chanthaphasouk. “We don’t go out of that bubble and get that experience.”

    Some students did get that experience, though. The event gave sophomore childhood development major Jordan Talley a better understanding of the life of César Chávez.

    “I think it’s important because César is a very important political leader and Chicano leader in America. He did so much for the community, especially California,” Talley said.