Incoming Edgewood College freshman Lupe Salmeron was a member of the inaugural class of the Madison365 Academy this past summer, spending three weeks in an intensive and immersive program to learn the basics of journalism. She plans to study political science at Edgewood.
Name your top 5 MCs. I’m currently in love with Chance the Rapper. He’s very humble and has not forgotten his roots. My other MCs include JCole, Kendrick Lamar, JBalvin, and Mac Miller.
What motivates you more, doubters or supporters? They both motivate me in different ways. The genuine, beautiful smiles and positive energy supporters give off motivates me. Their compliments brighten my darkest days and their admiration can lift me up from any slump I’m in. They make sure I know that I am a valuable and important member of the community. They also give me a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold. They both helped shaped me.
Doubters motivate me by giving me their perspective and allowing me to reflect and make changes accordingly. They’ve also made me realize that you can’t always please everyone. Someone will always be against you and that is totally okay because you are not here to please anyone but yourself.
What does it mean to be Latina in Madison? Being a Latina in Madison means to be a warrior and survivor. We’re warriors because we’re fighting a different battles every day. We’re held to ridiculous expectations, undermined and often times exploited in our workplaces. The negative stereotypes placed on us by society haunt us everywhere we go, so we have to educate other on our realities.
We’re survivors because we’ve survived our everyday battles, among other major battles. Some of us have jumped a border, or two or three several times to have a shot at the delusional American dream. Others of us have fought against anti-immigration legislation threatens our tight-knit communities. Others of us have fought education systems to get the education we deserve. Although our battles have been different, we have all survived them and are around to tell them.
Most importantly, being Latina in Madison means to be orgullosa de mi patria y de mi gente (proud of my country and my people) because thanks to our will and resilience, we are spreading our heritage and showing others what being Latinx really is.
What three leaders in Madison under 50 have impressed you the most? Silvia Gomez, Jorge Rodriguez, and Rodrigo Carapia are three of the many Madison leaders who have impressed me the most.
Silvia Gomez goes above and beyond for her students. From giving them rides home or to the post office to send in last minute scholarship applications to comforting them during tough times. She has sacrificed so much just to see her students grow, graduate and give back to their community.
Jorge Rodriguez is a true Chingon! He has defied so many odds and demonstrated that anything is possible if you have ganas. His work with youth is admirable, as well as the friendships he creates. Many look up to Jorge and aspire to be a Chingon like him.
Rodrigo Carapia is not only an artist, he’s also an activist. You’ll see him protesting in Madison, D.C or Cleveland, anywhere really, as long as he’s fighting for what he believes in. Rodrigo does not let his immigration status stand in his way. He has embraced it in his art and way of life.
What’s the biggest stumbling block in Madison to turning the corner on our racial disparities? The lack of awareness is the biggest stumbling block to turning the corner on racial disparities in Madison. Although racial disparities have become important issues, many are not aware, or claim to not know. Being ignorant is an issue, especially when it come to being ignorant about important issues. It might not directly affect some people, but they must be compassionate and educate themselves. As long as people continue to dismiss important issues and continue in their blissful ignorance, Madison will not turn the corner on our racial disparities.
What are your top three priorities at this point in your life? At this point in my life, my top three priorities revolve around bettering myself, so I can give back to my parents and the community that helped them raise me and my two other siblings. They include: becoming more comfortable and confident in my skin, graduating from Edgewood College in the spring of 2020, and creating a space for undocumented and colored youth to talk, debrief, and organize in.
You attended the first Chicanx Institute last year. What did you get from it that’s still with you a year later? Before I was introduced to Chicano studies and to the great work that UW-Madison doctoral student, Jorge Rodriguez, does around it, I felt lost, ashamed of my undocumented status, and did not take pride in my Mexican heritage.
Attending the Chicanx Institute changed me life. In the institute I learned about important Latinx and Chicanx historical and current figures and movements. We dove into the historical and political reality of Latin America, specifically working through immigration. We also discussed the economic, social, and political issues that negatively affect our Latinx communities, and the real reasons as to why immigrants leave Latin America. Most importantly, I learned about myself, and what it truly means to be an immigrant, undocumented Latinx.
A year later, all of the precious knowledge I learned in the Institute and the genuine friendships I made are still with me. Last year, Jorge brought in a guest speaker who I have become very close to. I remember her telling us to never give up because we are living in a country that was built against us, so we must find and overcome all of the oppression and negativity that is thrown our way. Her wise words have stuck with me. Whenever I’m feeling defeated, her words come to me and I push through.
I realized that I, just like the Monarch Butterfly, am free to be me and migrate and live where I choose. The Monarch butterfly in its migration acknowledges no borders so why should our families be divided as humans by borders?
A lot of middle-age and older folks never thought they’d live to see a black president. Do you think we’ll have a Latinx president in your lifetime? At this point, anything is possible. The U.S is becoming browner, more of black and brown people are occupying the U.S. In California, Latinx make up more than half of the population. Young people (possible candidates) are starting to see how much power their voices have, especially in our time.
If the U.S can go from being progressive and electing its very first black president, to electing two very unfit presidential candidates, then yes, I believe we’ll have a Latinx president in my lifetime.
Why did you choose Edgewood College? I’ll be honest with you, Edgewood College was my “safety school”. I did not want to attend a small, private college. Despite all of the overwhelming odds, I was admitted to UW- Madison, my dream school. Instead of being filled with excitement at the time, I was filled with anxiety and fear.
I am undocumented and as an undocumented student I am considered an international student in public colleges, despite having lived in Madison since I was six. International student tuition is often two or three times higher than in-state tuition. As an undocumented student I also do not have access to any kind of federal financial aid. This includes FAFSA and any kind of funding from public universities. So I knew that my dream of attending UW-Madison was going to be a hard one to accomplish. After an emotional talk with my parents and a long battle with UW-Madison, I decided to withdraw my acceptance because they would not consider me an in-state student. At this time I had also been admitted to several other colleges including UW-Oshkosh, Winona State University and Edgewood College.
The fact that other public universities would not award me any kind of financial aid despite my accomplishments infuriated me. Luckily, my admissions counselor from Edgewood took an interest in me and my story and helped me obtain some financial aid from Edgewood. Having some kind of financial assistance made paying college seem like possibility. After a long journey, I managed to receive enough scholarships to pay my tuition and all other fees for my first year of college.
Why is it important for Latinx young people to support Black Lives Matter? As Latinx we have the responsibility to help our black brothers and sisters out, especially in their time of need. We need to come together to show other Latinx that this movement is as equally as important as the immigration movement. Too many negative stereotypes and prejudices exist within the Latinx community, especially within older generations. They stand in our way and often times discourage people from becoming involved in protests and demonstrations. In order to combat the negative stereotypes and prejudices, we must fight together.
Both our black brothers and sisters and we are living in a country, growing up in institutions and systems that were not built for us, so we both know what it’s like to be oppressed and ignored by those in power. We must stand together and show the doubters that we are one, regardless of race and immigration status. We must also show them that we will not allow any of our people to be beaten down and forgotten once again. By lending out a hands to our black brothers and sisters and helping them fight this battle, they will lend a hand during our time of need.
Top three TV shows you’d binge watch? I’m currently very obsessed with The Fosters, which is one of the only TV shows whose cast is ACTUALLY diverse. I’d also love to binge watch Orange is the New Black and Prisonbreak, but time is always against me.
What Olympic sports are you watching? When you’re a part of a Mexican family, you learn that soccer is very important. It is watched and played religiously. So I am watching most soccer games or else I get kicked out of the family. I am also watching gymnastics because I admire all gymnasts have to endure, from aggressive workouts to the negative comments people have on “gymnastics not being a sport.” Due to all the attention Michael Phelps is getting, I’ve also decided to hop on the swimming bandwagon.
