In honor of Latine Heritage Month, La CASA, a resource hub for Latine students on campus, held an event on its history and hosted Darline Robles, one of the voices that led to the creation of La CASA and the associate dean for diversity and community engagement at the Rossier School of Education.

La CASA was founded in 1972 as El Centro Chicano after students of the time, including Robles, campaigned and advocated for a space for Latine students. They faced resistance right from the start, Robles said.

“It was first met with ‘No, not gonna happen,’” Robles said. “Then many of the other student groups said, ‘We do need some type of a center.’ They didn’t use these terms, but to be authentically who you are, to have a sense of belonging, to be around students, because at that time, the Latino population undergraduate, maybe 8% … They wanted to make a place for the Latino students.”

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Robles was a graduate student at the time, one of 20 Latine students in her 44-person class, she said. The program was supposed to allow students to interact with different communities in Los Angeles, but when the students expressed interest in working with the Latine community, the University ignored them.

“In addition to working with our community, we wanted to make sure that we had experience,” Robles said. “We were struggling with, ’What’s going on? Why aren’t they listening to us?’ We wanted to push back. We decided that a few of us would meet with the president … He never met with us. He refused to meet with us.”

The students were frustrated with the results they were seeing and decided the best course of action was to protest against the University, Robles said. Of her class of 44 students, nine of them participated in the protest.

“We wanted to serve our Latino community, and we boycotted and didn’t go back to school. We didn’t go to class,” Robles said. “We met with them again mid-semester, and they said ‘No, either come back or get expelled’ … And the nine of us were so committed to saying, ‘No, we’re not going to be co-opted by a degree and the money, that’s not going to happen.’”

Thanks to her upbringing, Robles was raised to always stand proud and know that she is representing her culture. She was taught by her family that she cannot let them down and that she has to have strong ethics and values.

“Never give up your heart, your soul,” Robles said. “Just don’t, because we have to live with it. If I had stayed and compromised, I don’t know where I would be. But I will forever look in the mirror and say I did the right thing.”

Ruth Sanchez Mendez, a sophomore majoring in sociology, works at the Joint Educational Project and helps tutor elementary schoolers. She said hearing what Robles had to go through was inspiring.

“Sometimes you see things that you don’t agree with, and you’re kind of like ‘Oh, can I stand up for them?’” Sanchez Mendez said. “Hearing her story, especially how she stood up and continues to fight for the education system, it’s just very empowering.” 

La CASA provides many resources for its students, including mental health support with their embedded counselor and an area to take a nap if students need it, said Leticia Delgado, the center supervisor for La CASA.

“La CASA continues to support students, students who look like me and they could see students who look like themselves in here, but more importantly, we give them guidance,” Delgado said. “It serves as a home away from home for them.” 

As a thematic option student, Sanchez Mendez feels like she is often the only Latina in her classes, and feels supported in La CASA seeing people from her background.

“La CASA has been here since then, supporting Latinos in their commitment to become all that they can be, to strive to be who they want to be, and to serve them,” Robles said. “A great place with great leaders, and La CASA is here to serve you, and I hope you’ll make them proud, and then you’ll be here in 40 years, sitting here giving your story.”