[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 133 (Friday, October 5, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON CENTER FOR MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 5, 2012

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 
40th anniversary of the Center for Mexican American Studies at the 
University of Houston and to honor the accomplishments of this program.
  For the past 40 years, the Center for Mexican American Studies, CMAS, 
has served as a pioneer of intellectual thought regarding people of 
Mexican descent in the United States. Established in 1972, CMAS is an 
interdisciplinary academic program encompassing the liberal arts, 
education, and social sciences focusing on the Mexican American and 
broader Latino experience in the United States. Through its courses, 
publications, conferences, speakers and other programs and activities, 
CMAS has been at the forefront of bringing insight and understanding 
about the country's growing Mexican American community.
  As the student population became more diverse in the 1970s, members 
of the U of H Mexican American Youth Organization, MAYO, saw a need for 
courses that would include the history, culture, folklore, political 
behavior and salient social issues of Mexican Americans. This student 
group encouraged the administration to establish such a program and in 
the fall of 1972, CMAS was created. The courses included in the program 
work to counter stereotypes and convey the many contributions that 
people of Mexican descent have made to our great nation.
  CMAS has become an academic program focused on advancing knowledge, 
promoting critical thinking and fostering the value of service to the 
community, and has expanded beyond the classroom by providing 
mechanisms to increase the number of Mexican Americans and other Latino 
students on the U of H campus and develop true leaders.
  As a center for intellectual thought and leadership development, CMAS 
has advanced the Mexican American community on campus, enhanced 
understanding of the Mexican American experience, and built linkages to 
the broader Latino community in Houston and throughout the state of 
Texas. On the 40th anniversary of the Center for Mexican American 
Studies, I rise to honor the work and accomplishments of this program.

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