Briefs

MU new hispanic neighbor, halo

By Eliza Gorman
Adelante staff writer

The University of Missouri’s Hispanic American Leadership Organization, HALO, has had its ups and downs. Six years ago, HALO consisted of sixty members. Last year, former HALO President Mary Guerra was the only member. By second semester, only three others had joined. There was almost no outreach from other Hispanic organizations because to most, HALO was dead.

“HALO had to be completely rebuilt. It’s been a constant challenge to remain on campus,” Guerra said.

This year, the University of Missouri-Columbia is working with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to breathe life back into HALO. When 15 people gathered for the first public meeting on Sept. 11, Guerra smiled with excitement. “Can you believe it?”

The group plans community service projects and social events to gain more recognition and raise awareness of the Hispanic and Latino student population on campus. “HALO is an up-front, in-your-face Hispanic voice. Recognize us,” Guerra said.

The University has not fully recognized the organization, however. “We’re easy to be overlooked, and because of that, Hispanic and Latino students don’t feel support from the University,” Guerra said.

Pablo Mendoza, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, agrees. Before 1995, the Office of Multicultural Affairs was primarily concerned with African American organizations. “A lot of the dialogue was exclusively black and white,” Mendoza said. Asian American, Native American, Hispanic and Latino organizations began to voice their concerns. In response, the University and supportive faculty members offered organization leaders advise and resources.

"We’ve made an effort to support other groups. We're slowly changing, but it takes a while," Mendoza said.

It wasn't until this year that the University offered its monetary support. HALO is one of eight minority organizations on campus to receive $300 per semester and help with advertising from the University. Previously, minority organizations like HALO received little or no funding.

"There are so many different people in the spectrum that aren't getting attention. We want to change that," said HALO President Jesse Berrios.

HALO aspires to become a leading Hispanic student voice on campus. Unlike the Latin American Student Association (LASA), HALO is geared toward students that are not necessarily first generation Latin Americans, rather Hispanic and Latino students who want to stay in touch with their cultural roots. The meetings are conducted in English and are designed to educate members on the Hispanic culture.

Although HALO feels new support from the University, HALO’s agenda remains limited, Berrios said. "More funding would be incredible for larger events. We're grateful for the amount we were given, but we could be doing so much more."

HALO meeting: 7 p.m. Wednesday nights, Walt Disney Room, Memorial Union, MU Campus.

Spanish news program
seeks better air time

by Suan Pineda
Adelante staff writer

Central Missouri’s first Spanish news program was broadcast to a small handful of viewers on Aug. 24 – not because no one was interested, but because hardly anyone was awake. After weeks of waiting for the highly anticipated program, members of the Hispanic community discovered that the program would be broadcast at 2:30 a.m. Nonetheless, the program produced by the news channel KOMU-TV 8 in Columbia had a small audience. After weeks of waiting, the news program was broadcast at 2:30 a.m.

NBC, the network with which KOMU-TV 8 is affiliated, did not give space in the local programming to broadcast the program, said Jessica Pacheco, producer of the news program, A rebroadcast date has not been determined, said Stacey Woelfel, news director for KOMU But there is a possibility for a rebroadcast on the same channel, or on a local cable channel, at a more accessible hour.

The news program, 30 minutes with commercial breaks, contains reports on medical, religious and social services directed at the Latino community, and a feature on the community of California, Mo., more than a year after a much publicized fire in which five young girls and the father of one of the girls died.

It is a program by and for the Hispanic community, said Pacheco.

To stay up to date on the station’s plans for rebroadcasting the program, call KOMU at 882-8888.