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Undergraduate Organizations

Service | Cultural and Social | Performance | Pre-Professional | Publications

Service

  • Barrio Assistance (BA): Organized in 1971, Barrio Assistance is the oldest student-run community service program on campus. BA runs tutoring and mentoring programs for middle and elementary school students in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park.
  • Habla En La Noche/Habla En El Dia: Habla is a tutoring program that pairs Stanford students with janitors from the university to work on English language skills. The program seeks to create a strong relationship between the tutor and worker pair, which serves to create a trusting and open classroom environment.
  • Project Motivation (ProMo): ProMo was formed in 1976 to encourage Chicano/Latino high school student students to pursue higher education. The group hopes to create a positive attitude towards higher education and eliminate misconceptions about the high cost, competitiveness and lifestyles of a college environment.
  • Stanford Labor Action Coalition (SLAC): SLAC is a student labor solidarity group recognizes that poverty and discrimination are within an arm's reach.  We organize students and workers to denounce labor injustices on campus and to improve working conditions for Stanford's service workers.

Cultural and Social

  • Caribbean Students Association (CSA): CSA members are first and second-generation Caribbean immigrants and students who wish to gain a greater understanding of Caribbean culture. The CSA seeks to foster awareness around the Caribbean at Stanford.
  • Chicano/Latino Graduation Committee: In honor of the parents and families of graduating Chicanos and Latinos, the Chicano and Latino Graduation Committee organizes a yearly ceremony and banquet for graduates and their families.
  • La Familia de Stanford: La Familia de Stanford is a social and support organization dedicated to the affirmation of LGBTQ-identified and allied Chicana/Chicano and Latina/Latino students in the Stanford community. Meetings provide a comfortable environment on campus to make new friends, and to experience the many different ways people express their identities as a Chicana/Chicano and Latina/Latino and as an LGBTQ person. La Familia is part of the queers of color coalition along with Q&A, BlaQS and SAIG.
  • Gamma Zeta Alpha Fraternity, Inc.: Gamma Zeta Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded on December 3, 1987 at California State University, Chico in Chico, California. It is a Latino Interest Fraternity that emphasizes Latino culture and the success of Latino males in higher education. Although Gamma Zeta Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is Latino by tradition, membership in the fraternity is open to all college males and includes members from various ethnicities including Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, White, European and others. Following its founding principles, the fraternity encourages and creates programs that assist disadvantaged and low-income communities. Its goals are to promote scholarship for Latinos in higher education while instilling a sense of pride in Latino heritage.
  • Hermanas de Stanford: The purpose of Hermanas de Stanford is to serve as a catalyst for Latina empowerment, increase cultural awareness and address socio-political issues pertaining specifically to Latinas within the Stanford and greater community. Our goal is to provide opportunities to develop leadership, education and career skills through community service, advocacy, social support, networking events and academic workshops geared toward Latina undergraduates at Stanford.
  • Los Hermanos de Stanford: Los Hermanos de Stanford is a group of men committed to fostering an atmosphere of brotherhood and camaraderie through our desire to serve. Our group is based on the principle that our purpose is to leave a legacy that outlasts any one individual but strengthens the foundation of our group. We raise money throughout the year in order to fund the Los Hermanos de Stanford High School Scholarship fund. The scholarship is awarded to high school seniors in order to help fund their college finances; we believe that cost should not limit one's opportunities.
  • Lambda Theta Nu Sorority, Inc.: Lambda Theta Nu is Stanford's first and only Latina-based sorority. The main purposes lie in academic excellence, community service, and in fostering strong leaders through educational and professional development. Lambda Theta Nu Sorority, Inc. is not a Latina-exclusive organization.
  • Latin@s Unidos: We aim to educate our Stanford community about the various Latin American and Latin@ celebrations and our rich history, literature, media productions and diverse communities. Latin@s Unid@s is a group of students who strive to equally represent and honor all Latin American cultures and ethnicities within the Stanford community. We focus on celebrating the cultural and social aspects of the Latino community at Stanford University.
  • Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano da Aztlán: "MEChA de Stanford is part of a nationwide network of Chicano/Latino student organizations in colleges, universities, and high schools which works towards progressive changes in the Chicano/Latino community. Our organization strongly believes that a fair and adequate education is a right, not a privilege. Education, we believe, is the key to improving the social and political situation of the Chicano/Latino community. Our commitment to these beliefs is exemplified through our efforts and is translated into reality through the many programs that we sponsor and actions we undertake.
    The Stanford chapter of MEChA seeks to act on the behalf of the rights of the Chicano/Latino community around us, including the rights of immigrants, the working class, campesinos, students, and youth. The Stanford chapter of MEChA also supports cultural events designed not only to celebrate the beauty of the Latino community, but also to educate members of our Stanford community on the Chicano/Latino experience. We believe that learning and sharing in different cultures is a way to foster a sense of community amongst diverse individuals and nurture an environment of tolerance."
  • Sigma Theta Psi Sorority, Inc.: The Delta Chapter of Sigma Theta Psi Multicultural Sorority was established on December 3, 2001 at Stanford University by nine wondrous women who came together to create a place where multiculturalism was not only accepted and tolerated, but also embraced and celebrated. Through the creation of such a space, we thrive as a sisterhood unparalleled to any other and as Stanford's only multicultural sorority.

Performance

  • Ballet Folklórico de Stanford: The Ballet Folklórico de Stanford was formed in the early 1970s to present and promote Mexican culture on the Stanford campus. The group is completely student-run and showcases many student choreographies. However, the group has also had the opportunity to work with renowned choreographers in the area, including: Susan Cashion, co-founder of Los Lupeños de San Jose and ANGF; Marco Romero, student of Emilio Pulido and Rafael Zamarripa; and Jesus Jacoh Coretes, member of Ballet Folklorico de Amalia Hernandez.
  • Flamenco Cardenal: This group is dedicated to promoting and expressing the passionate culture, art, music and dance of Spain.
  • Mariachi Cardenal de Stanford: Mariachi Cardenal was founded in Casa Zapata during the 1994-1995 school year by students of Stanford University. From humble beginnings of a few members, it has grown to over 20 members and become an integral part of the Chicano community at Stanford. The members come from different musical backgrounds but have come together with guidance from professional mariachis from the Bay Area and have evolved into a successful ensemble.
  • Salseros de Stanford: Salseros is a Stanford-based performance group that specializes in the Afro-Caribbean, Nuyorican dance called salsa. Through performances, lessons, workshops and parties, Salseros aims to increase the presence of Latina/o culture in Stanford. We perform at shows and charitable events as well as hold lessons and salsa socials.

Pre-Professional

  • Chicanos/Latinos in Health Education (CHE): CHE's goal is to serve as an academic, social and cultural student group for students seeking health-related careers. This is achieved through the cultivation of mentor relations between undergraduates, medical students and faculty.
  • Derechos: Derechos is Stanford's Latino Pre-Law Society. We are a pre-professional student organization geared toward providing resources and preparation for students interested in the legal profession, with special emphasis in Latino recruitment. Our initiatives include law school admissions panels, mentorship from Stanford Law students, law school visits and networking social events.
  • FoCUS: FoCUS aims to create a network of students who are already addressing social, political, economic or technological issues in innovative ways; and to bring them together to discuss and create proposals with the potential to influence bilateral affairs. FoCUS is product of the collaborative effort of students at Stanford University and at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). Each group of students organizes and hosts events independently on their respective countries.
  • Latino Business Student Association (LBSA): LBSA is a student-run organization that promotes exposure to career opportunities in the fields of investment science, finance and entrepreneurship through mentorship and guest speakers.
  • Society for Entrepreneurship in Latin America (SELA): SELA's mission is to create and educate a network of future leaders in business, technology and social innovation in the Americas for the purpose of fostering a global entrepreneurship community aware of Latin American affairs.
  • Society of Latino Engineers (SOLE): “The Society of Latino Engineers, formally known as the Stanford Society of Chicano and Latino Engineers and Scientists,  was founded in 1972. It was started as an organization dedicated to tutor and train students majoring in engineering and other sciences. Throughout the years, SOLE has undergone immense transformations, with one of the most important becoming part of the national Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).
    Today, SOLE continues to promote the four pillars on which the society was founded: Academics, Professionalism, Familia, and Outreach. It is with these pillars that SOLE has been able to successfully establish itself as the only Latino student organization on campus dedicated to encouraging and aiding undergraduate Latino students in pursuing engineering and science degrees."

Publications

  • El Aguila: El Aguila, A Chican@/Latin@ Magazine, is a quarterly student-run publication that covers current political, social, cultural and economic issues affecting the Chican@/Latin@ community at a campus-wide, local and national level.  This publication also seeks to share the artistic expression of the Stanford Chican@/Latin@ Comunidad with the greater Stanford community through articles, essays, drawings, poems and other submissions.