Autonomy_Letters

These letters show a good faith effort on my part to stimulate change
behind the scenes avoiding controversy or embarrassment for anyone.

Letters

Autonomy
For
Los Mejicas
De UCSC

Key Issues
1. Misleading Course Description
2. UAW - Academic Student Employees
3. Dance Instruction / Peformance
4. Judicial Handbook / SOAR
5. Outreach / Retention

Erik Hansen Home

Letters

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California Law



	Letter 01 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors / SOAR "Intervention" 2000 Letter 02 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors / SOAR "Student Authority" 2000 Letter 03 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors "Unspoken Influence" 2001 Letter 04 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors "Second Banana" 2002 Letter 05 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors "Devolved" 2003 Letter 06 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors "Forging A Bond" 2004 Letter 07 - UCSC CEP "Student org or class?" 2005 Letter 08 - UCSC CEP "Faculty sponsor /oganizational sponsor" 2005 Letter 09 - UCSC SOAR "Non-students may not represent" 2005 Letter 10 - Handout "Four Regions" 2005 Letter 11 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors "You both teach children" 2005 Letter 12 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors "High Esteem" 2005 Letter 13 - UCSC Whistleblowers 2005 Letter 14 - UC & UCSC CEP 2007 Letter 15 -UC Regents

Letter 01 - Los Mejicas Co-directors / SOAR "Intervention" 2000 This is to let you all (Core) know that i am doing an intervention. As a dancer in Los Mejicas require strong, authoritative leadership from you. Traditionally, during the first 20+ years, Los Mejicas had unequivocal student control. This is the intended purpose of recognized SOAR campus organizations. The present situation where the "staff" instructor of LALS 129 has veto power over anything and everything has diminished the authority and effectiveness of the student leaders. The directors of the last four years had their hearts broken. they were given a task, dance production, that is extremely technical, requiring years to attain the level of skill required to do the job. At the end of the 1997, 1998, and 1999 academic years a master level instructor, Alberto Morales, was brought in to fix what the students could not. This was not a fun position for him. It was humiliating for the students directors who were NOT to blame. Last year Al changed his email. For the last 2 years, attendance was half capacity for both nights. The dancing always has enough Mejicas magic to be good. The thing about the arts is, you have to be more than good to build an following. 3 rehearsals a week, for 9 months, after 28 years, and "This is all you've got?" is a reaction I sense from audiences. We are not seasoned performers because we have not performed. How could we? We finish learning the routines hours before the spring concert rather than months before. This should not be. A group as excellent and attractive and spunky as yourselves should be knocking audiences DEAD. You need to work at your own pace with a do-able amount of material. Invite some other cultural groups in to fill the bill. Los Mejicas should be an icon in this school. Los Mejicas should have a national reputation. For this to happen you must be free to follow YOUR ideas. an observation: Just as dating is not allowed between students and instructors because of the enormous power differential, student organizations are in a similar position with regard to a tenured prof who 1) turns an advisors position (you can have as many or as few advisors as you wish) into a class "Just so you can get credit" then 2) turns the power of a class instructor into a controlling position, "Los Mejicas and LALS 129 are the same." To expect students to deal on an equal footing with a tenured prof and her/his entire academic, administrative, and social support network is not realistic. The statements "Los Mejicas and LALS 129 are the same." and "I'm the professor. This is my class." demonstrate that Los Mejicas is no longer an autonomous student organization. If a prof were administering a field study where students were put to work at Barrios Unidos or the Familia Center that prof would not claim "I'm the professor this is my class." and try to control those organizations. Organizations directly involved: 1. SOAR 2. OPERS 3. LALS 4. Unions (TA, Faculty) 5. Senates (Student, Faculty) Levels of response: 1. Talk 2. File a written complaint 3. Go public 4. Take legal action

Letter 02 - Los Mejicas Co-directors / SOAR "Student Authority" 2000 If Los Mejicas is shown to be student controlled at the first rehearsal (this Friday) I will not immediately write the above organizations requesting action. These will be convincing evidence of student authority: 1. The verbal presentations are made by the students. 2. Los Mejicas hands out its own flier with "Los Mejicas" and the names of the officers at the TOP of the page rather than buried somewhere in the middle of a paragraph at the bottom of the page. If you choose to facilitate LALS 129 by distributing its flier, that is, of course, your call. Any leader will tell you that the first meeting is where you take control of an organization- or do not. We dancers need for you, the elected core, to re-acquire the aura and authority of real leaders. I am sending a copy to each member of Core, except Emilio whose email I do not have. Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will speak with Jose at SOAR again. He can contact Olga. One personal note. I spoke with a number of Latino/a people in much greater detail about "la situation" and heard: "You have to do something" "It is obligatory" also "Don't quote me or I will deny it" and concern about administrative retaliation. The last statement makes the first two true. In conclusion, while i speak as one of the troops, I did in the past teach, direct, and choreograph dance at major universities and present shows at places like Disneyland where professional standards are expected from community performers. When I say that Los Mejicas will excel that is a professional assessment.
Letter 03 - Los Mejicas Co-directors "Unspoken Influence" 2001 A student organization can become known as "Professor X's" group if the professor has unrestrained control. Those who have a say in Professor X's next promotion, appointment, grant, speaking engagement, etc. will now exert an unspoken influence on what the organization does or does not do. I have heard a student use the expression "the high throne" when referring to an attempt to promote an idea to "the powers that be". There may be much rhetoric about student creativity, freshness, and inovation, but when a student does get an idea "better run it by X" is the first reaction. Not for discusion but for approval since X is known to enjoy absolute veto power. Since anything outside X's expertise is a possible threat to X's control, anything beyond the usual variations is not approved. The students understand all this and do not make waves. A stuffy hidebound atmosphere maintains itself and audiences dwindle.
Letter 04 - Los Mejicas Co-directors "Second Banana" 2001 Meeting with Carolina & Elizabeth has convinced me that this year's Core is no rubber stamp or second banana, which is a huge relief since now I do not have to contact: 1. SOAR 2. OPERS 3. LALS 4. Unions (TA, Faculty) 5. Senates (Student, Faculty) Why did I not contact Core first before talking to SOAR? 1. With the Alumni Association as backup, and less need to be concerned with any kind of payback, it was easier for me to "do the dirty work", involving no one else. 2. My experience over the last four years (continuous) indicated that the tail was wagging the dog. 3. Olga doing the initial presentation, using her handout with Los Mejicas buried in the bottom of the page, taking Mejicas information and departing just when those names and addresses should have been contacted by Los Mejicas with a "Bienvenidos de Los Mejicas!", gave the appearance that Los Mejicas Core was not at the top of the pecking order. Appearance counts. Now it seems that you were moving to realign things on your own. Your being ticked at me is understandable. Please take into account that my experience spans 6 concerts and you are the first to show this degree of autonomy. Please recall that when some people were advising against electing first year students, I said "These people look capable to me." None of this is against anyone in past years. They worked hard and they worked smart. Things have to evolve in their own time. You were already on top of the need to write out and codify some guidelines. This is a first. The whole business of a student organization that you can receive credit for joining is new. Your work will not only provide guidelines and safeguards for future Mejicas, you will be setting a standard for all student organizations that wish to offer credit. Applausa. As long as it is clear that Los Mejicasis in charge, not a prof's class masquerading as a student organization, you avoid these pitfalls: 1. SOAR The code specifies that students are to learn specific skills such as public speaking and final decision making. This is what they get funding for and you get funding for. 2. OPERS East Fieldhouse facilities are specifically offered for SOAR, OPERS, and Recreation classes. They are NOT for academic activities passing as student orgs. There are some people who are very jealous of the unique rehearsal setup we all take for granted, why be vulnerable to disgruntled criticism? 3. LALS Los MejicasCore certainly has the ability and the authority to deal directly with any academic entity you choose to utilize. You can hire, fire, and set things up to suit your needs. 4. Unions (TA, Faculty) If "LALS 129 is the same as Los Mejicas" then you are into union issues. If Los Mejicasis a class then you should receive TA pay or 5 units/quarter for your prodigious efforts. 5. Senates (Student, Faculty) The power differential between a tenured prof and a student has been addressed by these august bodies on several occasions. That it took until 1987 to acknowledge that faculty/student dating had an ethical dimension, shows you how slowly things can move. Your efforts in codifying guidelines will eventually be reflected in legislative policy. There are any number of viable models for independent studies. If you wanted credit for working with, say, Defensa De Mujeres, how would you go about it? How would the academic discipline interact with the independent agency? Who would have authority over what? How would things be negotiated as conditions evolved? Whatever you come up with, I am sure it will be effective.
Letter 05 - Los MejicasCo-directors "Devolved" 2003 A few years ago I expressed my opinion to the Core that Los Mejicasthe dance company had devolved into a footwork club with a recital. I got hate looks for a about a year, as I knew I would, and there were a few changes. You seem like you can handle a difference of opinion without feeling attacked. A good quality in a manager, no? I plan to just unload my thoughts to Las Robles now and then let it go. right now i have to go play piano, but i will finish tomorrow or so. You know how you go into an office and one person says, "Oh, i'm sorry the computer is closed. Nothing we can do about it. come back tomorrow." and another person says, "Here, let me take your money, put it in an envelope, give you a receipt, and i'll take care of it in the morning." Which one is Los Mejicas?
Letter 06 - Los Mejicas Co-directors 2004 "Forging A Bond" "Recital" is the term given to a performance after a period of study for friends and relations. "Concert" is the term given to a performance by a seasoned dance company. Performing in front of an audience is the only way to learn to perform in front of an audience. The bond that is forged cannot be created in rehearsal. This bond is the defining attribute of a good dance ensemble. It cannot be faked. You can see this bond in the UCSC dance company Haluan. When they walk in the door they show the bearing, demeanor, and presence of a successful team. Los Mejicas has devolved from a dance company to a class. The students spend 9 months rehearsing for a performance they cannot deliver because they have never performed it before. Why a 2 hour, 8 region concert? No real dance director gives students more than they can dance well. 8 regions = 40 songs, twice as much as can be effectively done. Why? Prestigious folklorico companies such as Guadalajara, Colima, Los Luenos (San Jose), and Esperanza Del Valle all have 2 hour shows. UCSC appears to be at their level, on paper. A concert with singers, musicians, poets, dancers from other companies would bring real directors into the bubble.
Letter 07 - UCSC CEP (Committee On Educational Policy) "Student Org or Class?" - 2005 I am a UCSC 1996 Alumnus who has participated since 1996 in El Grupo Folklorico Los MejicasDe UCSC, a Mejicas organization, the oldest on campus at 33 years. The issue is whether a group can be both a student-run organization and a class. This course description provide a viable solution: Anthropology 100P. Cultural Performance: Filipino American Experience This course offers two credits to students participating in the production of the Pilipino Cultural Celebration (PCC). A cultural performance held annually which includes four aspects: theater, folk dance, choir and contemporary dance. Audition required. May be repeated for credit. (2 Credits) O. Najera Ramirez. "Participating in" is the key phrase. Professor Najera Ramirez in effect offers a wholesale field/independent study. The autonomy of the Pilipino Cultural Celebration (PCC) is not in question. The Pilipino Cultural Celebration has since withdrawn from this arrangement, presumably over the issue of autonomy, but the wording is still useful. This course description is problematic: LALS 129. Mexican Folkloric Dance (2 Credits) Provides instruction in the aesthetic, cultural, and historical dimensions of Mexican folkloric dance tradition. Each year a specific repertoire of dance from various regions of greater Mexico will be taught in preparation for public performances both on and off campus. The staff. LALS 129 enrollees became members of Los Mejicas , but other Los Mejicas members were not required to enroll in LALS 129. The material was taught by Mejicas "core" members most of whom were learning to teach on the job by the bootstrap method. When LALS 129 was introduced, members were assured that "nothing is changed" and "this is not a top-down organization". Over the years this morphed into "Now that Los Mejicas is institutionalized..." and finally, "I'm the professor. This is my class". The LALS 129 course description does not mention "Los Mejicas". There is ambiguity about authority and autonomy here. The students are under the impression that Los Mejicas in a class and that the professor has final authority in their organization, as authorized by the University. In my opinion, based on 10 years in Los Mejicas, the last 8 contiguous, tudents do not receive the full benefit of being an independent student organization unless they enjoy complete autonomy under the policies governing student organizations. I have just spoken with the head of the Anthropology Department and find that the Committee on Educational Policy has accepted an Anthropology 80 class for Mexican Folklorico. If you can insert: "This course offers two credits to students participating in..." thereby delimiting the authority and autonomy of class and student organization, as with Anthropology 100P. Cultural Performance: Filipino American Experience, that would be most helpful. Thank you, Erik Hansen
Letter 08 - UCSC CEP (Committee On Educational Policy) "faculty sponsor /oganizational sponsor" - 2005 --- "William A. Ladusaw" <vpdue@ucsc.edu> wrote: > Dear Mr. Hansen, > > Your message about LALS 129 and its relation to > the Los Mejicas as a > SOAR organization was forwarded to me from the > web manager for the site > to which you submitted it. It is a question in > the purview of the > academic senate's Committee on Educational > Policy. I am therefore > forwarding it to them for their comment. Thank you. I could not find an email address for CEP. could you please forward this? Thanks again. ============================================== There has been a realignment involving LALS, Anthropology, and the student organization Los Mejicas . LALS 129 will continue to use Los Mejicas members (students and community members) as instructors and Anthropology 80 will now do the same, also using the same Los Mejicas members as instructors. It became apparent during preparations for the Spring Concert that the ability of the student directors to lead Los Mejicas is undermined by their lack of autonomy. When the professor appears at the end of the quarter making obvious observations (footwork off beat, lines not straight, lack of partner interaction) and stating a few truisms, the implication is that the student directors are incapable of seeing the obvious and doing something about it. Their carefully constructed authority unravels when they are demoted to under assistant status. The change in demeanor of the student directors is pronounced. After the professor uses command voice the student directors posture, voice, smile, all change from "in charge" to "used to be in charge". Students who had been taking direction now continue to talk when asked to "listen up". This cascades to a general slackening of the tautness required in a performance group. Field and Individual Studies make a clear distinction between faculty sponsor and organizational sponsor. Each maintains autonomy and full authority in its respective area. "This course offers two credits to students participating in..." inserted in front of the course descriptions of any offerings that act as wholesale coordinators clearly delineates these autonomous areas. Erik Hansen
Letter 9 - UCSC SOAR "non-students may not represent" 2005 The core members of Los Mejicas are under the impression that SOAR supports non-student core members. they say that SOAR people have OK-ed the election of non-students in the past. if "authorized representative" does NOT mean "core member", please inform us. If it does then your people need to understand that. I have seen a mid twenties alumni core member raising his voice to a first year student who broke into tears. This should not happen. 70.00 POLICY ON REGISTERED CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS 70.12 A student organization seeking recognition as a registered campus organization, including sports and recreation clubs, student media organizations, and college clubs, shall furnish a document that includes: l. a provision that non-students are welcome to participate in its activities, but they may not represent the organization as an authorized representative. Thank You, Erik Hansen
Letter 10 - Handout "Four Regions: Quality vs. Quantity" 2005 Every community performance group I have ever known balanced the desire for new material with the need to look good in performance. Self-organizing intuition determines the amount of material in the repertoire. The performance rate was also poised between keeping the dancers excited and not burning them out. About one performance per month is a generally agreed upon minimum. this is the FULL company in costume. These observations come from ten years of full time work in dance instruction, dance direction, and dance production as a choreographer in ballroom, square/contra, and western forms. Coordinating with live bands is a specialty. I had teenagers and young adults dancing everywhere from rodeos to DisneyLand to basketball courts and many hotel ballrooms. Latin social organizations were our best audiences because we closely resembled a quincieniera. During this time, I was a faculty member at USC running the ballroom classes there and had various programs at UCLA, Cal Poly, and UCSC. I ask you to considerer making the Spring Concert a diverse event featuring singers, poetry, actos, etc. The Pilipino and Indian students do just this. here are some advantages: * the tickets SELL OUT. * the extra money finances 100% live music for dance, singing and instrumental interludes. Someone like Russel Rodriquez could put this together for around $2000 for two nights using multi-instrument virtuosos. * Los Mejicas can get back to being the hot performing company it used to be. Your Folklorico means a lot to a lot of people who do not get to see you. * at least one easy song in each region and adroit costume changes assure that everyone dances at least once in every region. * you recruit more people during the year when your curtain call includes 12 guys and twice as many mujeres. anything else looks weak. * you don't get stressed by finals because you had the 4 regions down cold by March and, now seasoned performers, you do not require extra practices before the last week. * your soul is transformed by the gratitude of all the people whose lives you have brightened. Erik Hansen
Letter 11 - Los Mejicas Co-Directors "You both teach children" 2005 Hello Co-Directors, As you both teach children, this may sound familiar to you. The first time I was a waterfront director, an old hand advised me to take firm control at first, then ease up as things settled in. I did not believe in the authoritarian approach or playing "head games" with people so i ignored his advice and was swamped! It took a month of hard-nose directing to get things to where we could all relax and enjoy ourselves. Of course these were wild kids in summer. unlike young adult university students, most taking a course for credit. There is a parallel however. Your effectiveness will double if there is no doubt whatsoever in anybody's mind that you and you alone are our Fearless Leaders. It is crucial that you establish this in the first hour. You both need to speak first and you both need to speak last. Introduce whatever advisors you wish, but make it clear, with respect, that they defer to you. Otherwise you will find yourself in the position of an under-assistant director, with full responsibility but without full authority. If you read the course description of LALS 129 you will find no mention of Los Mejicas. No Social Science "staff" has any legal authority over you at all. Remember how Hilda, Olga, and Malena all spoke to the dancers last May? that was great but they really had nothing over Jorge and Cowgirl as far as experience directing <on the floor>. Yet the the two co-directors assumed a subordinate role. Their demeanor went from command presence to demoted-from-command presence. They were still in charge of making things happen, but the control they had so carefully crafted over the year evaporated. And the production suffered from it, we all suffered but none as much as the co-directors. This does not have to happen again. If you read, or at least skim the code for SOAR, you will see that you can have as many advisors as you wish (a good way to de-centralize power) or none at all. "advisor" is always lower case. there is no such thing as a Faculty Advisor, just advisors who may or may not be faculty. To put it bluntly, Los Mejicas has total autonomy. This was the Los Mejicas Tradition up until ten years ago. Los Mejicas was a lively bunch who loved to perform for people and were good at it. Well known for it. You Directors need autonomy, but so does the dance company Los Mejicas. There is a self- organizing ability that can lift you back to a higher level as performers.
Letter 12 - Los Mejicas Co-directors 2005 "High Esteem" i do hold Olga & Jose in very high esteem and realize that they work many, many hours for you. we all understand that we all have good intentions. i had to get this last one off now to be done with it for good. there is nothing unsaid. nothing more needs saying. your request for silencio will be honored, of course. you expressed yourself very well, as always. no offense intended, none taken. and yes, Los Mejicas did pave the way for all of the rest.
Letter 13 - UCSC Whistleblowers 2006 I am a UCSC alum (Porter 1996) who has been a participating "community" member of a UCSC student organization for the last 10 years. i have filed written complaints with several UCSC governing bodies regarding the usurpation and subsequent dumbing down of the group by a faculty member...
Letter 14 - UC & UCSC CEP 2007 "in private conversations" "forced to sue the University over its inadequate... because we need to do something to get the U's attention and to force serious negotiations." grandiose see Resume serious consequences more politics than substance The course description for Anthropology/LALS 81A is completely inaccurate. The "Class" is not taught by a professional instructor as implied. Enrolled students are sent to the student organization "El Grupo Los Mejicas de UCSC." Instruction is provided by students who are not professionally trained instructors. They are usually learning the material as they try to teach it. The Concert Some students show promise as potential instruc- tors, some do not. This is the norm for a student club: lots of demonstration, lots of repetition. The job can get done if the teaching load is appropriate to a student organization. The UCSC dance companies Haluan (Filipino Hip Hop) and Sabrosura (Centro Americano Salsa) are examples of student taught companies that are very strong. Los Mejicas, on the other hand, attempts twice as much material as it can handle effectively and is weak despite a wonderful rehearsal area, sumptuos costumes, and smart highly motivated people. The purpose of the program (as stated last year) is to prepare for a a two hour concert in June like the prestigious university companies in Mexico such as Guadalajara, Colima, etc. These universities call on 5 to 10 thousand Mexican people for whom Mexican folklorico is part of their cultural heritage. UCSC has a pool of 500 Mexican American students to draw on. Putting on a two hour concert by yourself sounds impressive and keeps everything in-house. In reality, the results are very weak given the resources and the people. Performance during the year is sacrificed in favor of trying to learn the inordinate amount of material re- quired by "the concert." Most of the first year members have never performed before the June concert. This is in sharp contrast to the tradition of extensive performance prior to Los Mejicasbeing "institutionalized" (made into a class). ==================================== Finals The Filipino students have their concert during the middle of April, before finals. The students in Los Mejicas bring their books to the many extra rehearsals called during May and do their best to get in what studying they can. The effect on the students is added stress and a harder time studying for finals. Misleading Course Description The course description is also misleading with regard to "instruction in the aesthetic, cultural and historic dimensions of Mexican folklorico dance". For years after being "institutionalized", the cultural aspect of LALS 129 was covered by a map of Mexico with the names of the states on one side and the same map with no names provided on the reverse side. Your job: remember the names of the states and fill in the blanks! That was it. Since my complaints began there has been a higher rate of "additional lectures and workshops to supplement the class." Last year we were up to as many as one per quarter. Classroom / Field Study There are two general ways to earn academic credit: 1. normal classroom programs 2. Field / Individual Study programs In Field / Individual study programs there is an organizational sponsor and a faculty sponsor. A third category, wholesale Field Study programs could allow a number of students to conveniently receive credit for participating in an approved organization. Clear ethical guidelines are needed to assure that a faculty member cannot create a personal fiefdom for purposes of career enhancement. For example, if the sole faculty advisor of a "organization sponsor" like Los Mejicas is also "faculty sponsor" for the same Field Study, then there is more political power than students or non-tenured UC employees can deal with. The result, as I have seen, is a politicized, dumbed down organization that looks good on paper but fails to provide the best learning environment for the students. In the dance courses offered by Theater Arts, we danced three times per week, as does Los Mejicas. For a midterm and again for a final we - performed for the class - wrote a one page paper about a performance. Los Mejicas performs as a group for two shows at the end of the year. No papers are written.

		Letter 15 To: The Governing Board Of Regents Of The University Of California Re: Protecting the autonomy of student organizations Background Bad Instruction Bad Retention Bad Outreach Stress During Finals Shakedown Coverup Remedy Credentials in Dance Instruction and Direction BackGround "This is completely misleading." Mike Rotkin, UCSC Community Studies Field Studies Coordinator when shown the course description for Anthropology 81A and LALS 81A. Members of the student folklorico organization "Los Mejicas De UCSC" and non-students are doing the teaching for Anthropology 81A and LALS 81A while credit is claimed by Professor Olga Najera-Ramirez. Students teaching receive no pay and no academic credit for their work. They have no professional background in dance instruction or dance direction. In the late 90's the professor, then an advisor to the group, arranged for members to receive credit for participating in Los Mejicas if they chose. This was not discussed, negotiated, or voted upon by the Los Mejicas membership. The professor has no professional credentials as a dance instructor or director. Bad Instruction "Nothing is changed." stated the professor. Since then, Los Mejicas has devolved from an excellent dance company known for tight spirited performances and a strong commitment to the local community, to a weak third rate activity known in the Social Science division as "Olga's class." Los Mejicas only performs as a full company for 2 performances at the end of the year. Dancing twice as much material as they can handle eliminates the need for guest performers and their directors. Everything is kept "in-house". During the first few years of this program, student directors broke their hearts trying to maintain the tradition of excellent performance during the year while covering the excessive amount of material required for the concert. Every community or university dance organization that I have seen balances its repertoire between the desire for fresh material and the understanding that survival depends upon effective performance. In addition to cutting back on performance, the non-professional instruction is now accelerated beyond what beginning dancers can handle. Bad Retention Statistically 2 out 5 Latinos will flunk out. Of the 5 men who showed up in September 2007 for the first time, we lost: Gillermo Javier Omar Oscar We have kept (so far): Leo These five students came to us not primarily to dance, but to find a human connection. A bond. A family. The hope in their eyes in September slowly dulled. We ran them right out the door. We are a drop-out factory. We retain 2 men every 4 years, one man out of the 20 who come to us. I can remember when there were 12 to 14 men in rehearsals. Advanced dancers generally leave because of the lack of good company performances. The quality has degraded to the point where we received no invitations to perform on Cinco De Mayo 2006. I have never in 10 years of folklorico heard of a company that did not receive invitations to perform on Cinco De Mayo. Extra rehearsals are required for the "small" performances. Material from past years is usually used because this year's material will not be ready until right before the concert. First year people generally do not volunteer, do not get to dance. Every other company has something simple to get people into performance immediately, by October at the latest. Los Mejicas was a kind of family, a home away from home. Now it is a "class". A group like Los Mejicas is the best possible antidote to the alienation and disconnect that precede flunking out of school. The bonding in a performance company has been compared to that of people in combat. This means monthly performances by the whole team throughout the year. Weekly for some. A recital once a year looks good on paper but does not do the job. Bad Outreach The bad "teaching" methods that have mutated from an impossible learning load are taken by Mejicas members into the community to teach kids. Without the lavish UCSC funding, these programs have failed and Mejicas members have gotten their hearts broken. Again. When we do perform for schools we typically have around 8 members performing. Performing as 1 or 2 couples, not at all together in impressive formations. Performances in the community used to function as effective outreach. Community leaders I have spoken with feel that they have been abandoned for ivory tower agendas. They miss Los Mejicas. You can hear the hurt in their voices. On campus, "small" performances by volunteers are few and ineffectual. One student did not join Los Mejicas until senior year because, "I didn't know." (of the group's existence.) The most demoralizing aspect is the way the students are formatted into a culture of mediocrity. They do not realize that they are capable of doing A level work because "program" teaches them that their best efforts produce C level results. A Students plus "A" people + "F" Program = "C" results. The appearance of UC endorsement means that students blame themselves. On paper it all looks good. The funding is not indexed to oversight by performance professionals. Academic entities are free to invent valuable career credentials as dance impresarios. Stress During Finals The other ethnic groups are finished with their Spring Concerts by mid to late April. Los Mejicas puts its people through a grueling schedule during May. What should be a demanding but enjoyable study break is now an unnecessary stressor. During Spring quarter, before and during finals, far too many rehearsals are called. Other UCSC dance groups like Haluan and Sabrosura have their material mastered by early spring quarter and complete their spring concert well before finals. Every other ethnic group at UCSC presents a balanced program of dance, song, instrumentals, skits etc. The learning burden is appropriate to students taught by peer instructors in a student "org.". Shakedown Los Mejicas performances at the Theatre Main Stage have usually been about half full. I just found out after 10 years that the $15.00 we have been paying for practice CD's is making up the shortfall. We have been paying to play. Following this example, a student co-director required Los Mejicas members to buy $10 worth of lottery tickets for the Multi Cultural Festival with which she was involved. Lotteries are illegal so the lottery was called something else. The money paid a name musical act that played in the evening. Mejicas played at 1:30 p.m. Paying to play again. A leader using Los Mejicas to bolster her resume. A cascading culture of corruption. Coverup The "studies" conducted by the Dean did not address any of the above problems. Those responsible held colloquy and determined that they had overlooked nothing. Although I have extensive credentials as a dance director, and made the initial complaint (orally to the Regents) I was not interviewed. Aside from some letters, my website was not perused, they said. Real performance professionals were not contacted for their opinions . You can't be held responsible for a problem of which you claim ignorance. The celebrated cover-ups of our time involve initially small infractions followed by a "lack of transparency" and public outrage at the arrogance of those abusing a power position. Remedy A wholesale enrollment process academically crediting work in student organizations is an excellent idea. Code is needed to assure autonomy for student organizations by providing checks and balances. The very real power of tenured professors with their own career agendas cannot be ignored. A UC system-wide policy is needed protect student organizations from being appropriated by unqualified careerists. Credentials in Dance Instruction and Direction Faculty at USC Workshops at UCLA, CSU San Luis Obispo, UCSC Extensive dance instruction for LA Community Colleges Square Dance Calling Directed dance teams performing everywhere in the LA area from Disneyland to basketball courts to rodeos. The lack of returning students led to community people assuming most leadership positions in Los Mejicas. After my speaking to the regents, UCSC adopted new rules limiting official membership to enrolled students. We community/alumni are now a resource, as is right. This small step took me 10 heavily contested years. I am fully prepared to advocate for another 10 years to assure autonomy for Los Mejicas and all other student organizations. These programs are very important. More detail at <www.erikhansen.org> Erik Hansen Porter College 1996, UCSC erikhansen@ucscalumni.com http://www.youtube.com/erikhans08