Vista is an organization created for students by students. In the 80’s and 90’s Williams College began to actively recruit Latina/o students, leading to a direct increase of Latina/o students at Williams. Although, there was an increase of Latina/o students, there were very few institutional measures taken by the college to help these students adjust to the academic and cultural environment at Williams. They failed to make Williams a space that was receptive and comfortable for Latina/o students. Seeing that the institution had little in place in terms of a support network, Latina/o students took it upon themselves to create a group in which they could speak openly and freely about issues that were relevant to their experience as Latinas/os on campus. Initially, Vista started as a social and cultural group that supported Latina/o Students in their adjustment to the Williams culture, what was often times drastically different from their home cultures. However, Vista quickly undertook political and activist components as well. Vista students have led and been involved in a variety of activist and social justice causes including the hunger strikes of 1991 and 1993, which demanded the creation of a Latino/a Studies program. Now, Vista is a multifaceted organization with cultural, social, political, and academic components. Vista is highly involved within the Williams community but also beyond it as it engages with broader U.S Latina/o issues. Vista’s primary goal is to serve as a network for Latina/o students and their allies at Williams College. Though this aim does not change, the focus of the group adjusts each year to reflect the wants and needs of its changing constituency. Vista, is a dynamic entity, a reflection of both its constituency and its dedicated members.
Written by Alejandro Rosales ’15
Alejandra is a Mellon Mays fellow. Her research project focuses on the deconstruction of Latina/o Student activism and consciousness at Williams.