The event was organized by the students of MEChA from the University of Oregon chapter and chapters from across the Nation, as well as CAUSA, Oregon's immigrant rights coalition, with the help and support of various UO Departments, PCUN, and Eugene community organizations.

The Rally for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Immigrant Rights is taking place from 2:30pm on Courthouse steps outside Peter DeFazio's Office in Eugene. (405 E. 8th Street, Eugene).

SOURCE:

Letter from MEChA de University of Oregon

Saludos National MEChA,

   We hope that you are doing well en sus respective comunidades, we wanted to take this time to inform National MEChA about MEChA de University of Oregon. Our MEChA chapter has existed at the University of Oregon for over 30 years and has done continuous work supporting Raza in Oregon and nationwide. Some of the major issues that MEChA de U of O has worked towards are labor justice issues by supporting various boycotts and actions on grapes, tomatoes and lettuce as a means of solidarity with farm workers. We have historical coalitions/relationships with organizations around the state including CAUSA, an immigrants rights organization based out of Portland, and Pinero y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), located in Woodburn. We also have strong ties with social justice organizations, businesses, and schools because of some of our programs, like Ganas, an after school program in which we go to different middle schools and help them with mentoring, homework and building relationships with the students. Because of our history and our continued pursuit in helping Raza in our communities, we would like to propose to National MEChA to have the 16th Annual MEChA National Conference at the University of Oregon, hosted by MEChA de U of O.

   We believe that it will be a great opportunity to have Raza from around the nation come to the northwest, and the state of Oregon more specifically, to gain some knowledge of the issues affecting our community locally. Such as the anti-immigrant groups that have been actively trying to criminalize "undocumented" people throughout the state; the Executive Order #07-22 of Governor Kulongoski to only give drivers licenses to people who are documented; Tuition Equity, a bill allowing undocumented high school students to attend a public university with in-state tuition; or the local ICE raids that have been on the rise. Most reported nationally has been the Del Monte raid in Portland, Oregon in June 2007 where more than 165 people were held, many deported and some mothers with young children were held under house arrest to take care of their families. These issues are affecting Raza everyday, and these struggles are ones that we hope that National MEChA would like to hear by having the National MEChA conference in the city of Eugene, Oregon at the University of Oregon.

   MEChA de U of O would also like to keep in the tradition of MEChA and challenge ourselves to think of new ways to progress as an organization and work more effectively for the community. Some of the ways we would like to do this is by thinking of communities within Raza, Chicanas y Chicanos that we often don't address in a conference through workshops, speakers and entertainment. Issues of dis/ability, gender oppression, heterosexism, trans y queer/jotería are all things that we would like to address in the conference following with our advocacy agendas y otros papeles. We believe as a chapter that we have strong relationships on our campus where we can gain support from staff, professors, and administration. MEChA de U of O creemos que tenemos a unique opportunity to provide a space for National MEChA to learn about new things, learn from one another, organize Raza y también have a good time. We hope that National MEChA, and each individual region and chapter strongly consider coming to Oregón and having MEChA de University of Oregon host the 16th Annual MEChA Conference.

In Solidarity,

MEChA de Univeristy of Oregon

After the meeting was adjourned I was approached by various Blue Diamond workers and I was informed that even until today there are many remarks made directly to the employees by management that the "ACTION ON THE 21ST HAD NO IMPACT, AND THAT THE STUDENTS HAVE NO POWER AND MADE NO DIFFERENCE". Now, let's go back in time to Friday March 21st, 2008 the day of our national action, and remember that on that day more than 500 MEChistAs showed up and that there was a minimal amount of workers at the plant. If students truly had no power, how is it that even though after over 20 years, the company chose that day to give its workers the holiday (Good Friday) off?! Yea, students have no power. Because according to the workers that I talked to, everyone knows we were there even though our chalk art with strong messages of solidarity was washed off the next morning.

So I think it's right to assume that this company obviously wants to prevent its workers from knowing we and everyone else support them. It is also right to assume that we definitely made an impact, and that will it continue onto the future of this campaign. As it passed in the resolution circle at nationals (I will send a copy of that as soon as I get it) we have made the commitment to stand in solidarity with these workers.

The ILWU and specially the Blue Diamond workers send their gratitude for all our support and gladly look forward to further work with us.

If there are any questions don't hesitate to ask.

In solidarity,

Guambry Santillan
MEChA de Sac City College
Alta Califas Norte MEChA Región

NEWS ADVISORY: Sacramento City Council to intervene in Blue Diamond union standoff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008
Contact: Marcy Rein, ILWU Organizing Dept., 510-847-4443. Para información en español, favor de llamar á Agustin Ramirez, ILWU, 916-606-4681 (cell)

Attention: Daybook/Assignment Desk

Sacramento City Council to take hard look at Blue Diamond Tuesday, will offer plan to end stand-off over union vote

SACRAMENTO - The Sacramento City Council will vote Tuesday evening on a proposal to intervene and end the long-running standoff between Blue Diamond Growers (BDG) and its workers who want to join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

A rally and news briefing will be held at 5:30 p.m. TUESDAY outside City Hall (915 I St.), prior to the City Council meeting at 6 p.m. (Blue Diamond is expected to be the first item on the agenda).

The proposal calls on Mayor Heather Fargo to create an ad hoc committee of no more than four members of the City Council to meet informally with representatives of Blue Diamond management, workers and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to mediate the longstanding conflict over how the workers will decide whether or not they want a union.

The workers now say they would be willing to have a secret ballot election, as long as the company agrees to some additional ground rules to ensure it will be a "free and fair" election.

Blue Diamond has so far refused to consider any changes to the flawed NLRB process. A panel of eight community leaders including Councilmember Steve Cohn and State Sen. Darrell Steinberg wrote to BDG in December urging the company to adopt fair ground rules for a union vote. Blue Diamond CEO Doug Youngdahl let two months lapse before sending Sen. Steinberg a dismissive reply.

The Council will also get an update on Blue Diamond's compliance with the economic development agreement it signed with the city in 1995.

DQ Univerisity is California's ONLY tribal college. There has been an on-going struggle between DQU students and the DQU Board of Trustees since 2005 when the school lost its accreditation. Incompetence and negligence on the part of the former school administration cost the college its accreditation in January of 2005. Following that, a group of DQU students, with community support, vowed to stay on campus and take charge of their own education, turning the campus into a healthy, self-sustainable, and self-determined living environment!

On February 20th, 3 students from DQ University were arrested under the false pretenses of trespassing, unjustly by the Board of Trustees. Earlier this week, another 18 were arrested with the same charges!!!

The students need your support!!! We ask for your presence on this date to show the board and the courts that the community is behind us and WE WANT OUR SCHOOL BACK!! NO MORE UNJUST ARRESTS!!!

For more information contact Christal West (MEChA de UC Davis) at: christal@nationalmecha.org

Below is the Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday March 31, 2008

Press Contacts:
Manuel Santana: (408) 914-1079 spicband@yahoo.com
Ignacio Barragan: (714) 423-0716 ibarragan@ucdavis.edu
Lupita Torres: (408) 529-3849 peetuhpocket@yahoo.com

D-Q UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND ELDERS ARRESTED EARLY THIS MORNING
Vigil Planned in Front of the Yolo County Detention Center Later This Evening

Davis, CA- Student Leaders at Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl are preparing a demonstration at 5:30 pm tonight in front of the Yolo County Detention Facility after a series of arrests that took place today on D-Q University campus early this morning around 9:30 am. Seventeen Youth and Elders were arrested, most without being given the option of leaving.

The Board of Trustees, accompanied by the Yolo County Sheriff's Department have attempted to remove all the students from campus and brought in a locksmith to replace all the locks. One supporter remains on campus - having climbed up a tree, with the Sheriffs waiting to remove her. Another community supporter was threatened by the police to have the CPS called on her when she begged the Sheriffs to get permission to remove her baby's diapers and needs from the campus.

The Associated Student Body of D-Q University is sending out an urgent appeal to the community to come and show their support against this great injustice. They encourage community members and media to arrive and participate in the student's demonstration action and vigil. On its own, the Student Body of D-Q U is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that currently holds the only classes at D-Q University, California's ONLY Tribal College.

The Board of Trustees has not functioned to serve its purpose towards attaining re-accreditation, holding classes on campus, hiring a new administration, and/or bringing in funding for the school in the 3 years since their inception. The board has also been canceling meetings, having not met for the last 2 months, which highlights their inability to manage, run or organize a functioning institution.

In response to this neglect, the community has united with the students to implement a new board. The current Student Leaders hold numerous programs and workshops such as the Indigenous Perma-culture Program, bio-diesel workshops and bi-weekly ceremony on campus, despite constant harassment from former board members. Students are actively searching for teachers who can further develop a new curriculum and new board members to apply for membership.

The Native and Chicano communities around Yolo and Sacramento Counties agree that the Board of Trustees are incompetent and has repeatedly failed to re-implement the educational mission of the school - a mission that seeks to unify all Indigenous people and create a harmonious relationship with the community. This embodies continued commitment towards both traditional and formal higher education for all Indigenous people.

Please support the D-Q U 3 on their court date
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 8:30am
Yolo County Superior Court
725 Court Street
Woodland, CA 95695
(530) 406-6700.

We are requesting letters written by the community be sent to the CA Office of the Attorney General Jerry Brown in support of the Associated Body of D-Q University.

The Associated Student Body will be hosting a Pow Wow on Sunday, April 6, 2008. The community is invited to attend a Planting of the Corn Ceremony, which will happen in conjunction with the Pow Wow, to welcome in the new Spring Season and celebrate Mother Earth. Applications for enrollment into the new Board of Trustees will also be accepted on this day.

For more information visit http://www.myspace.com/dquniversity or contact one of our coordinators.

Copy and paste the following code onto your page or on comments to spread the word:
<center><a href="http://www.nationalmecha.org/national_forms.html"><img src="http://www.nationalmecha.org/images/chicanoIdol.gif" width="450" height="588"></a></center>

Joaquín Castañeda of MEChA de CSUS has been named the 2008 Frederick A. Cervantes Undergraduate Premio recipient. The announcement comes in the Pre-Conference issue of Noticias de NACCS.

Joaquín will present his work during the student plenary on Friday, March 21, 2008 at the NACCS conference in Austin, TX. His paper is entitled: “The Oak Park Redevelopment Plan Housing Policy Implications for a Community Undergoing Early Stage Gentrification.”

Joaquín Castañeda was born and raised in La Puente, east of Los Angeles, California. He is currently a senior majoring in Government and Chicano-Latino Studies at the California State University, Sacramento with plans on entering a Doctoral program in the area of Sociology or Education Policy in the fall of 2009. His commitment to research and community praxis has been shaped and fueled by his passion to remedy the very same inequities he and his community has and continues to face. His experience of an urban upbringing and the environment of inequities has motivated his deep desire to promote social justice and social change. Joaquin refuses to view the struggles he has encountered thus far as forms of victimization, but rather as opportunities for developing a critical perspective and a deeper fundamental understanding of urban education, politics, and culture.

He states he is someone who never formally graduated from High School and spent years taking remedial courses to reach college level material. Upon reflection, Joaquin is grateful for his Chicana/o Studies courses for they have provided him with the space and discourse to make links between the material conditions of his community and scholarship. Mechistas, profesores, comunidad, and his familia have been instrumental in the process and continue to be an insatiable source of inspiration, ganas, and the greater sense of purpose in his academic endeavors. He is thankful for their unconditional support!

A leader in MEChA de CSUS, he serves as chair for both Public Relations and the Political Committee. In 2006, he help organize a successful action in the advocacy of student space at CSUS by organizing students, faculty and staff to demand that a permanent Director for the Multicultural Center be made a priority of the University. He was not going to originally submit his paper due to the conflict of schedules between the 2008 National MEChA Conference and NACCS Annual, but was highly encouraged by a faculty mentor to submit his paper. Joaquin feels very honored by this recognition and as his mother would say "le dio un patatus." His paper addresses gentrification and displacement of a Raza neighbor in Sacramento. His research was funded and supported by the campus McNair program.

Good job Joaquín!

The group will focus it's energy on raising funds to assist in house reconstruction. Money will be raised and given to ProViVah, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Mexico, who will build a house for every $2,000 raised.

For more information you can go to: http://mecha.stanford.edu/tabasco/ or you can email MEChA de Stanford at: mechadestanford@gmail.com.

You can join the Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22194091344

The Border Patrol made three arrests: Steve Murphy, Erik Wackernagel and one other person. All three have been charged with impeding a federal officer and are scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge Tuesday morning. The detainees maintain that they partook in a peaceful protest and were shocked by the Border Patrol's brutal attack. All others who were temporarily detained on the street have now been released.

More than 500 people participated in the No Borders Camp during the week of November 7-11. The bi-national camp was a networking forum for activists opposed to the militarization of the border. Actions during the camp included a rally and march on November 9 at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in El Centro, CA and a memorial service on November 10 at a cemetery in Holtville, CA where the remains of some of the more than 4000 migrants who have died crossing the border are buried. All activities during the camp were peaceful and intended to build connections across borders. Sunday's march and rally was the culmination of the No Borders Camp.

SOURCE: http://www.noborderscamp.org/

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers recently announced the MARCH ON BURGER KING HEADQUARTERS in Miami, Florida, to coincide with Burger King’s annual shareholder meeting. This march is part of the current campaign toward an agreement with Burger King to address human rights abuses in Florida's tomato fields.

MEChA, along with the Student/Farmworker Alliance and other organizations, have supported the CIW in both the Taco Bell and McDonald's campaigns. MEChA continues to support the CIW as we take on the King.

Mark your calendars for Friday November 30th, 2007 and start organizing today to join the CIW at Burger King’s headquarters in Miami this November for:

A weekend of events to follow, including a Concert for Fair Food on Saturday, December 1st and activities with Miami-area faith communities on Sunday, December 2nd.

Email workers@ciw-online.org for more details on the upcoming action. Check http://ciw-online.org/2007_BK_March/ for more background and campaign information, it is where you can find all the information you need to join the march on November 30.

As MEChA we feel that the actions of those individuals who created the website are not to be taken lightly, and view this incident as yet another malicious attack on our community and those who fight for social justice. Their actions have not only caused us to receive large amounts of hate mail, but have also undermined the hard work and efforts of those investigating the true cause(s) of the fires. In addition, these acts have created an atmosphere of animosity towards the Chicana/o Latina/o community at large and the community as a whole has felt the negative consequences. We are thankful to those who helped to expose the hoax as it could have led to violence against members of our community.

Currently, MEChA is working in collaboration with other social justice organizations and community members to build solidarity. Our community is tired of the passive responses to discriminatory and oppressive acts and they stand beside us as we look into pursuing further legal action.

The pre-registration form can be downloaded from the National Confernce forms page. For more registration information, please visit the registration page at: http://www.nationalmecha.org/registration2008.html.