Student group focuses on education
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan is Spanish for the Chicano Student Movement of Atzlan, better known as MEChA.
"The sometimes-controversial and often misunderstood student organization known as MEChA has been at Lindhurst since 2002.
"It is geared for the motivation for students to continue their education and the discovering of themselves," said Jesus Moreno, adviser to the Lindhurst MEChA chapter.
Students meet three times a week in the mornings and once after school.
The first meeting is dedicated to reviewing internal reports and addressing issues to the chapter. The next meeting holds educational segments, which vary from history not taught in school, such as Brenden Ancheta's report on the Filipino warrior's physique, reviewing the lyrics of conscious hip-hop music and even the recital of the revolutionary poem of "Yo Soy Jaoquin" by Rudolfo "Corky" Gonzales.
MEChA has helped lessen the likely possibility of students receiving no education after high school and has been the catalyst for students to attend colleges such as Cal State University, Long Beach; California Polytechnic University; California State University, Chico; and Mills College.
Numerous other MEChA students continue their schooling at junior colleges in the area.
The third and final morning meeting of the week is an officers meeting, where chapter decisions are presented and made final. MEChA strongly urges the sharing of cultures of all backgrounds, not just Chicano.
Since its start in 2002, the Lindhurst MEChA chapter has struggled; however, it has remained true to its ideals and purpose to help students achieve a better life.
Along with the strong support of the students' families and chapters all over California, the Lindhurst chapter is recognized throughout the state and is one of only two high school chapters with voting rights at the annual national MEChA conference.
Kameron Dansby is a senior at Lindhurst High School. His column appears about every sixth week in Education. Lindhurst senior and MEChA member Ben Alvarez contributed to this column.
