MEChA or Moviento Estudiantil Chicano/Chicana de Aztlan, is a student movement whose foundations are based in higher education, Chicano or Chicana culture and history.

Although based on Chicano roots, the club is open to any who share the same ideals as the club or who identifies with them, regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation.

According to Co-Chair Juliet Martinez, along with fellow members, she brought the club back to life because she felt that there wasn’t as much representation for Chicano, Chicana, Latino, Hispanic students on campus.

“You don’t have to identify with these, so we plan to do workshops and hopefully invite everyone on campus that wants to learn about identity or history or current events in our community,” Martinez said.

According to Co-Chair Matthew Botello,

“We’re not only serving the Hispanic or Chicano students on campus. Specifically it began with Chicano students but it’s evolved where it’s for anyone,”

One of MEChaA’s goals is to bring about educational equality; awareness and the idea that a student does not have to assimilate into dominant society to be successful, according to Martinez.

“You can still succeed and be proud of where you come from,” she added.

Botello said, “Stereotypes are dangerous and it’s easy to pigeonhole us into fitting into an idea or a perceived notion to what we’re doing. We want to change how people see us and each other.”

Member Marcela Sanchez, architecture major, joined the club because she had been in a MEChA club in high school and was surprised when she came to Cerritos that there wasn’t much representation for the Hispanic/Latino community.

“For me, MeCha was a pretty good experience for me, I got to earn about education, my history and I got the opportunity to go to one of the Raza Youth Conference and it was touching to me seeing the students and professionals supporting you to go for it,” she said.