I am president of Alpha Psi Lambda National Inc, Villanova Colony, one of missions and purpose is to bring about cultural awareness. As president, it’s my responsibility to act as the spokesperson for the organization when we are treated unfairly and represented inappropriately. Thus, I wanted to point out some underlying issues and voice my concerns on the problematic choices made in this article. This article troubled our membership for stereotyping and using incorrect language. This article was an example of ignorance prevalent at Villanova and we wanted to use this as an opportunity to educate our peers.

First, this article stereotyped Latinxs by merging us together with DACA and immigration issues. I was approached by this reporter via email to promote my organization and inform incoming freshman about A-Psi. In the original interview, also via email, there was no discussion on DACA or whether it affected my organization. The publication of this article shows a misguided understanding of our organization and our membership; it assumed that because we’re Latinx and Hispanic, we must be DACA recipients and immigrants. We acknowledge the Latinx community suffers from the decision and we support them at a time of crisis but this was not the purpose nor the focus of our interview. It’s important to note that approximately 24% of DACA eligible people are not Latinx. The decision to bind the topic of immigration issues with our Latinx interest fraternity seems an inappropriate choice, it created an uncomfortable conjecture that we did not consent to. If the Villanovan wanted to write an article on DACA, they should’ve done this separately and avoided the inappropriate correlation to the multicultural organizations on campus. 

The picture chosen for the article further stereotyped Latinxs. Of all the pictures in our social media and Villanova website, the one chosen was the one of us eating tacos and burritos at a Mexican restaurant. While it may be a subtle and an unconscious decision, it matters because the majority of the United States perceives all Latinxs as Mexican.

The article also incorrectly referred to our membership as people from Ecuador, El Salvador, Colombia, etc when I specifically said “Within our organization we’ve had individuals that were of Ecuadorian, Salvadoran, Colombian … backgrounds and heritage.” There is a distinct difference. Most of us were born in the U.S., and the former wording is a way of othering us. It falls into that ignorant “Where are you from? No… where are you really from?” dialogue that people of different ethnicities face. Its phrasing suggests we are not real Americans.

While the article may have been an attempt to celebrate us and our organization, it failed. The telling mistakes show how naive Villanova can be when trying to address diversity issues. While I am very disappointed that the article did a disservice to Alpha Psi Lambda and the Villanova community, it’s my hope that my response can help the Villanovan make smarter and consciously better decisions in the future.