Sensitivity in South County when it comes to Mexicans? No way! But something good is being attempted by students by Saddleback College's Diversity Student Council (DSC). They are trying to have the school modify its Gauchos mascot, which currently looks more like a Mexican greaser than a cowboy of the pampas.
The group wrote a resolution, recently passed by the Associated Student Government's senate, that calls for what I wrote in the last sentence. “Whereas, Saddleback College, an educational establishment, reiterates institutional racism through caricatures of a minority that misrepresent it, and Whereas, the inaccurate depiction of the Gaucho suggests a climate of tolerance towards stereotype,” the resolution states before asking for the “halt of Saddleback College merchandise and school publications with the image of the current Gaucho.”
Next step: Saddleback's Consultation Council.
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DSC head Jessica Ochoa told the Weekly she has presented the resolution to the council–made up of Saddleback's president, its deans, and the presidents for the Academic and Classified Senate–and is preparing to meet with another group of school leaders to have the gaucho mascot modified. Not replaced, mind you: modified. Good luck!
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