The Latino caucus, a gathering of leaders and students from ISU’s many Latino groups, met Wednesday evening in the Multicultural center of the Memorial Union. The caucus met to discuss action on discrimination against various Latino groups and the recent immigration law in Arizona.

This was the first time that a meeting of representatives from the many Latino organizations on campus gathered together to discuss a common cause.

Representatives from the graduate studies program, Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity, Latinoamericanos, Latino Heritage Committee and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers were present, and more than 20 students attended the meeting.

The first subject for discussion was the alleged discrimination by the Scott Maas, Memorial Union program coordinator. Group members said Maas had interfered with the Noche Mexicana celebration March 26, and repeatedly asked the group to keep their noise down.

The group had said that the event would be noisy when the registration was completed with the union. And in spite of this, the event was scheduled in the vicinity of other events taking place.

“We understand there’s a lack of understanding by university leaders of the needs of Latino students,” said Frederick Cortes, junior in political science.

GSB funding for Latino groups was discussed, with members of the caucus discussing the motivations of the GSB’s relatively meager funding for the various Latino groups. Most Latino groups on campus are smaller, but some groups such as the ISU Motocross Club, receive more money with fewer members.

There was discussion of the university pressuring the various groups to conduct meetings in university space that was inadequate for events.

The general consensus was that the GSB treats all Latino groups as entities under one roof, and does not show respect for the culture of the group members.

A letter addressing the concerns of the Latino caucus will be sent to the GSB, president and vice president of student affairs, the graduate office and the dean of students Friday.

A digest of claims by the Latino caucus will be sent to various groups and Latino students on campus to create a uniform voice for the ISU Latino community.

Many members of the caucus expressed concern that the Iowa State Daily, and most students, do not pay attention to the activities of minorities. One caucus member mentioned a recent front page that placed priority on a dumpster fire over Asian History Week.

The caucus also discussed the recent Arizona immigration reform law and planned a protest for Friday.

Rolando Chacon, graduate assistant in educational leadership and policy studies, said the initiative will lead to profiling against U.S. citizens. “I’m from Chicago,” Chacon said jokingly.

The group seeks to build awareness in the campus, which one member of the caucus described as “sleepy.”

Though the caucus was concerned the protest and letter of concern may be lost in end of semester confusion, the caucus will be communicating and planning more awareness-raising events in the future.