The the first ever Chicanx Latinx Faculty & Staff Association (CLFSA) meet and greet was held in the Diversity Center last week. The purpose of this event was to connect Stan State students to the support system the CLFSA has curated.

The two co-founders of the CLFSA, Lissett De La Cruz, Enrollment Services Evaluator, and Carolina Alfaro, Admissions and Outreach Assistant Director, were in attendance for their recently revived program.

Cruz said, “we have a lot of ideas, right now it is in the beginning stages.” Alfaro added, “we definitely want to  be able support students, number one, and then secondary support all faculty and staff that are Chicano and Latino on our campus.” However, Cruz elaborated that the program was open to all students.
One of the main goals the two founders had in mind was to raise scholarships for students. For them it is all about finding ways to help students whether that be through networking, political activities, cultural activities and educational activities. “The main thing is to really bring in that inclusivity that the university strongly supports,” said Alfaro. 

Although this affinity group is relatively new, there were a lot of faculty and staff at the CLFSA meet and greet. Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Paz Maya Oliverez was there to show her support. “This kind of event is critical in terms in building this sense of community and that sense of belonging on campus, and for students to build strong relationships with staff and faculty,” said Oliverez. She also mentioned when students have those strong relationships with people on campus they have a higher retention rates. 

When asked about the support CLFSA receives from faculty and staff, Dr. Thomas Gomez-Arias, Dean of the College of Business Administration, said, “I think there’s a lot of support from faculty and staff. I don’t know of any who are not supportive of these kind of initiative on campus.”

Gomez-Arias is not alone in this opinion; Counselor in Psychological Counseling Services Julia Rosas-Nieto added, “the doors are open are we are there to support them.”

Student turn-out was also great for CLFSA’s first meet and greet. When asked how programs like this made her feel, Ysbeth Nydia (sophomore, Sociology), responded “it feels good to have a community to fall back on when I feel I can’t do it anymore.” Nydia said she just feels grateful to have this support system, especially during finals week.

CLFSA members are confident the Nydia will not be the only student that feels this way for years to come.