Latina/o College Student Organization Involvement and its Effect on Members Twenty Years After College Attendance

Abstract

Former members of one large umbrella-type Latina/o student organization at a four-year public, flagship university located in Texas were interviewed approximately twenty years after their college attendance. The participants were involved in the organization between the years 1988 and 1992. The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to learn more about the possible long-term effect of Latina/o student organizations. The study found that former members still worked to promote the organization’s goals of cultural advocacy, awareness, and pride twenty years after their college involvement. Recommendations are provided for further investigations on ethnic student organization involvement and its longterm effects.
 
 Editor’s note: The research in this paper was conducted with a TACUSPA research grant.