Agustin Garcia, the founder and national chair of the Lambda Theta Phi Fraternity, visited UW-Madison this weekend to speak about the integrity of Latin culture and also met with university officials Friday to discuss the cancellation of an event celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.
The University of Wisconsin Police Department said the event, originally scheduled for Sept. 15, was canceled due to safety concerns. Lambda Theta Phi representatives alleged the cancellation was due to racial profiling and demand a response from Chancellor John Wiley.
Garcia, however, did not focus on the fraternity during his speech Saturday.
His talk was based on personal experiences as an attorney and civil rights activist and historical references of Latinos marking their place in history.
Garcia demanded that Latin culture be given a place in United States’ society other than the bottom of the social ladder.
“We are a bunch of human beings that have to be respected,” Garcia said.
Diversity, Garcia said, is an inevitable evolution of society.
“As the world gets smaller, the world is no longer homogenous.”
In such a world, according to Garcia, one’s race would become less important. America would eventually have to realize that Latinos are as much a part of America as any other culture. He pulled out a wallet photo of his grandson with Cuban, Colombian and Chinese lineage, and said, “This is the future of America.”
Highlighting Latinos’ participation in World Wars as yielding the most Medals of Honor for any cultural group, Garcia asserted that Latinos and Latinas have earned their right to be called Americans, not aliens.
He also claimed that a “good American” is not necessarily marked by the possession of a diploma but by a person’s fight to succeed.
Throughout the talk, Garcia stressed the importance of family.
“To save your family, to help your
family, should not be a crime,” he said. “It’s a social necessity. The only criminal here is the one who cannot have the compassion to understand that others need help.”
“You are marginalized when you don’t act,” he said to the students seated before him.
Garcia said he was speaking for the sake of family and for those who cannot speak out.
“[Now] I leave a group who can speak out.”
