Welcome
Sábado Gigante FAQ’s
What is Sábado Gigante? Sábado Gigante is the official Latino student welcome event for incoming students from current students. As the name suggests, we spend a Saturday together with games, prizes and entertainment. Not only will you have a chance to find out about lots of resources around campus, but also meet freshmen and upperclassmen that can let you know what’s really going on.
Who is the event for? Sábado Gigante is first and foremost for incoming freshmen, especially Latinos, to whom we’re usually able to best relate. All students are invited to the event, and have historically been in solid attendance. Part of the fun in planning the event is knowing that Sábado Gigante is also for those involved in the LLC organizations. Latina/o student groups work all year either together or separately to plan some of the university’s best events, only to face final exams and a long summer. Sábado Gigante is the first opportunity for all of us to reunite for a common cause and look forward to another wonderful year together. In our hopes to continually support one another, Sábado Gigante gives us that chance to start off on the right foot.
How much does this cost? The event is free. We receive funding from different academic departments, different offices, and places like the MIC and Co-Op to provide you with this opportunity. All freshmen, current students, and faculty and staff can attend and eat for free.
Why should I go? While there are obvious reasons to attend, some of the best feelings come from knowing that there are people on campus that come from your hometown, your high school, and have been in your position. Student life goes beyond classes and offices, and getting to know older students can offer you that chance to get involved and socialize, making the transition easier for you, as it has done for us.
Who plans Sábado Gigante? Students from a number of Latina/o student organizations on campus plan the event. All united under Latino Leadership Council in the Multicultural Information Center, we meet on a regular basis to support one another’s events and discuss campus issues. Although we go by a number of different names and identities (Hispanic, Latina, Latino, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicana/o, Latin American, etc.), our organizations are never exclusive to students of a single ethnicity. This year the LLC was awarded best political/activist organization on campus by the UT Leadership Board.
Some of LLC’s programs include:
- Latino Leadership Retreat – LLC organized a weekend retreat for the top three elected officials of the 30 Latina/o organizations under LLC. The weekend is designed to help unite the Latina/o community by building friendships among the leadership and to create a space for the community to determine what issues they wanted to tackle throughout the 2004-2005 school year.
- Sábado Gigante – In order to increase the retention rate of Latina/o freshmen at UT Austin, LLC organizes Sábado Gigante the Latina/o freshmen welcome event. The event created a space for freshmen to voice concerns and learn about the Latina/o community on campus.
- Latino Leadership Summit (LLS) – LLC organized and hosted a national leadership summit. LLS bought in student leaders from across the nation together to discuss the challenges faced by our communities on college campuses. LLS had over 150 participants from over 9 states. This was the first year that LLS was national. Issues discussed were education, immigration, racism, Latina/o leadership and government.
- Dr. Robles Letter Writing Campaign – LLC organized a letter writing campaign to the UT administration, stating the discontent for denial of tenure for Dr. Barbara Robles from the LBJ School of Public Policy and the inconsistencies with the tenure process. Hundreds of letters were delivered to four members of the UT administration. LLC was concerned because Dr. Robles was approved for tenure by the LBJ Public Policy School and then was denied at the administrative level. LLC not only asked for re-evaluation of Dr. Robles’ tenure but also explained how faculty of color is affected by the tenure process.
- March 2nd Silent Protest - LLC was the organization that initiated the silent protest in response to the anticipated Young Conservatives of Texas immigrant hunt. Currently, LLC is working on creating a “speak out” to discuss the facts about immigration.
If you need any further information, please feel free to contact us at 512-232-2958.
Jose Peña
Sàbado Gigante Co-Chair
llc@utlatinos.com
