Every Monday, at the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, students gather fueled with a purpose to challenge injustice. They are part of La Colectiva, a historic campus organization that has long stood for social justice, leading powerful movements for change through grassroots initiatives and activism.
The organization dates back to the 1970s when a letter addressed from La Colectiva Latina asking for a creative space on campus for the Latino population showed up on the Vice Chancellor for Campus Affairs’ desk.
In response, the University founded La Casa Cultural Latina in 1974, providing a space committed to supporting and empowering Latinx students through educational, social and cultural programs.
La Casa became La Colectiva’s operational grounds for tackling Latinx issues, including immigration.
The cultural space would become where students would plan sit-ins and protests for Latinx students on campus.
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On Cinco de Mayo 1992, a protest organized by La Colectiva and allied students took over the David Dodds Henry Administration Building. The protest was held to address the University’s neglect of the Latinx community after Latinx students felt that their demands weren’t being met.
Then University President Stanley Ikenberry and Chancellor Morton Weir refused to speak to students despite being two floors above the students in the building. Instead, they called the police on the students. The Urbana and Champaign police, along with a SWAT team, violently and forcibly removed students from the building by tackling and using stun guns.
Over 500 students watched from outside the building as they screamed, “LATINOS UNIDOS JAMÁS SERÁN VENCIDOS!” translated to “LATINOS UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!” The protest would later move onto Wright Street, with over 800 students coming together to support the Latinx community.
Today, La Colectiva is still alive and active. In 2011, La Colectiva changed its operational grounds from La Casa to the University YMCA. This was due to the YMCA’s dedication to social justice and political activism on campus.
The YMCA operates independently from the University, creating a more open space for expression and activism.
La Colectiva, in partnership with Illinois Coalition Assisting Undocumented Students Education, held a Knowing Your Rights and Responsibilities When Interacting with ICE workshop at the YMCA on Feb. 19, where the campus community learned how to interact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on campus.
Recently, with the nationwide immigration raids, La Colectiva has implemented many resources for anyone’s disposal at the YMCA. Most notably, little red cards, in both English and Spanish, detailing one’s rights and providing information in case they encounter ICE.
“Throughout these nationwide immigration raids and potential ICE sightings on campus, there hasn’t been much support from the University when acknowledging these issues with immigration,” said Camila Arredondo, co-marketing chair for La Colectiva and freshman in LAS. “It’s great to see we have a very strong community where we can call each other a family, taking care of one another.”
In May 2024, La Colectiva won the La Casa Alliance of Student Organizations’ Organization of the Year for going above and beyond in uplifting the Latinx community on campus.
“Last year, we won org of the year, which came from an uplifting campus,” said Isa Roman, junior in ACES, social chair of La Colectiva and incoming president for the next school year. “This year, 2025, we got recognized for El Mercadito.”
El Mercadito del Atardecer is an annual event La Colectiva hosts. It was last held Oct. 12, 2024, in collaboration with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. El Mercadito brought vendors on campus and around the C-U area to highlight the PCRF, bringing over $4000 to the fund.
Outside of campus, La Colectiva also hosts workshops with local middle schools around the C-U area. Carlos Hernandez is a sophomore in LAS and La Colectiva’s mentorship co-chair who oversees the Urbana Middle School Mentorship Program, Camino Colectivo.
Hernandez works side-by-side with middle schoolers to educate them about their rights and real-world issues affecting them.
“A student who was in 5th grade was once really worried that ICE was going to come in,” Hernandez said. “You kind of want to challenge that fear for them.”
La Colectiva remains very active on campus, hosting monthly “DIME” sessions, translated to “TELL ME,” where students come together to discuss important topics weighing on the community.
Historically, the organization continues to push boundaries for activism. From then to now, La Colectiva has strived to prove that student-led activism is a powerful force for change in the community. Through resilience and powerful movements, La Colectiva prioritizes the issues not only affecting their members, but the University community as a whole.
For the future, students can anticipate the official La Colectiva website by the end of the semester. The four main pillars of La Colectiva — fundraising, activism, mentorship and outreach — are always hard at work to welcome anyone interested in joining the cause.
“By being informed on what to do, activism in you is already born,” Roman said. “Through activism, you don’t necessarily have to be involved in a protest to be an activist.”
