Hello from the other side, which, for me, means that I am now a tenured associate professor of education at USC. I’ve joined a privileged group: Latinx faculty make up 167 of USC's more than 2,445 tenured faculty.

At the Rossier School of Education, that group includes Dean Pedro Noguera, Stephen Aguilar in educational psychology, and me in higher education. My Chicano identity is a salient part of who I am. When the opportunity to contribute to the Pullias Center newsletter opened, I asked to write in October to reflect on Hispanic Heritage Month and to elevate the needs of Latinx students, families and communities, as higher education has been noncommittal and relatively silent about Latinx students in a critical moment when students need it most.  

From my vantage point, a hush has fallen over Hispanic Heritage Month this year. Personally, I find it difficult to celebrate knowing that more than 70% of people held in ICE detention have no criminal conviction. Let me repeat — seven in 10 people in ICE detention have NOT been convicted of a crime. Not all people in ICE detention facilities are Latinx; Asian, African, European and other immigrants are also unjustly confined to deplorable spaces, and reports of human rights violations in these facilities have become commonplace.

Meanwhile, families across the country are being separated daily, and children (who are often U.S. citizens) are unsure where their parents or guardians are being held, whether hugs will be exchanged, if they will share a hot meal, or if they will walk to school together again. The silence around Hispanic Heritage Month shows up in how few of my peers and colleagues are scheduled to give talks about Latinx issues and in my own inbox. In previous years, I received multiple invitations from colleges and universities to share my research and best practices on Latinx students and communities, but this year—not one email. I recognize that institutional budgets are strapped and that fears of layoffs are palpable. Still, it feels like Latinx communities have been pushed to the sidelines.

This restraint is not what Latinx students and communities need. We need advocates from across the racial, ethnic, and religious continuum to speak up and out against the unconstitutional attack on Latinx communities and to elevate what research has repeatedly documented: immigration enforcement contributes to adverse childhood experiences for Latinx students. It is linked to a diminished sense of belonging in schools and communities, to mental health challenges that undermine persistence and engagement from K-12 through college and, tragically, to death by suicide.

The USC Event Calendar listed two Hispanic Heritage Month events: one sponsored by the Price School of Public Policy and another by LA CASA. As reported by USC Annenberg Media, university administration is tasking students with cultural events or sidestepping the time commitments and resources needed to host large-scale events. Cultural celebrations are important, but where are the discussions about democracy and the Latinx community? Or the policy and economic implications of mass deportation on local, state, or federal budgets? So, I’m standing on my soapbox for increased engagement with Latinx students and communities, more focused research on the pressing economic and socioemotional needs and advocacy.

In my research efforts to promote democracy and engage the next generation, I am co-leading a new collaboration with the USC Keck School of Medicine and the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation. In this youth participatory action research (YPAR) project, Black and Latinx students at a local continuation high school, whom we call Students Advocating for Growth and Equity (SAGE) Fellows, will study how schools can better address gangs, mental health and school connectedness. We will serve as their coaches: teaching them research skills, helping them develop a project that addresses the needs of their peers and future students and building their confidence as capable researchers who can contribute to social change. We need more SAGE Fellows who can serve as leaders and teach university researchers and K-12 educators to be attentive to students’ needs. That, to me, is how we honor Hispanic Heritage Month in a year like this one.