By 6:15 p.m. last Friday night, the private dining room in Adams House was already packed.

Mesa, a weekly event for members of RAZA, Harvard's Latino/Mexican-American student group, starts at 6 p.m., but undergraduates looking for a chance to unwind and have dinner with friends after a long week kept trickling in well past 7 p.m.

Mesa, a tradition that preceded RAZA and helped lead to its formation, also helps keep the group strong 25 years after several Harvard undergraduates were inspired by the civil rights movement to found an organization for students of Mexican-American heritage.

"The students began with the small organizational attempts of meeting once a week for the ever-popular Mesa," Rosa Rosalez '01, the group's representative to the Harvard Foundation, told RAZA members last term as they celebrated their 25th anniversary. "In doing so, they began to grow as a group and stretch the legs of a newfound collective identity."

But while RAZA may have been formed with a Mexican-American constituency in mind, the group has expanded over the last 25 years to encompass Latino students on campus as well.

And as the group has grown to be the largest Latino organization on campus--with about 50 active members and an e-mail list of 200--RAZA has been challenged to provide a community to students who might not otherwise find an ethnic home to turn to.

In the Beginning

The civil rights movement was not the only impetus for RAZA's creation, says Gonzalo C. Martinez '98, president of RAZA last year.

The need for a group for Mexican-American undergraduates became clear in 1972, Martinez says, five years after the first class of Mexican-American students from western and southwestern United States were admitted to Harvard.

The Mexican-American experience that led to RAZA's formation was reflected in the group's original constitution.

"We will support each other socially, intellectually and morally both in and out of the organization in order to survive the impersonal education process and transform our stay here into a more meaningful experience," it reads.

Still, Martinez says from the beginning the group's founders embraced Latino students on campus, if only because they knew there were few other alternatives.

"Regardless of its 'official' designation as a Mexican-American group, [RAZA] has always been a meeting place--a crossroads, if you will--of Harvard Latino and Latina students," Martinez wrote in an e-mail message.

RAZA's constitution today-which says its members are "determined to define [their] Mexican and Latino roots in the American political and social context"--is more explicit in defining its dual identity.

"We are Latinos at the same time we are Mexican-Americans," says Monica M. Ramirez '01, who is the group's academic affairs representative to the Harvard Foundation.

"A lot of the people who are Latino grew up in Mexican-American communities, and they feel comfortable here," she added. "Our mission is to explore the elements of the Mexican-American culture, but we try to reach out to the Latino community as well."

Not for Everyone

Balancing the two communities has been RAZA's biggest challenge, leaders and members say, especially when a group officially designated for students of Mexican-American and Latino heritage has a membership that is primarily Mexican-American.

"They try to be more open to Latino cultures, but it's hard when they have Chicano roots," says Alex R. Rovira '99, president of Fuerza Quisqueyana.

While Fuerza Quisqueyana is officially a group for students of Dominican descent, Rovira--who is himself part Colombian and part Guatemalan--says the group appeals to students who have a Latino heritage.

A current member and a former executive board member of RAZA, Rovira says at study breaks sponsored by Fuerza Quisqueyana he could count on finding Caribbean food and listening to salsa instead of the Tejano music and enchiladas RAZA served.

"Even with Fuerza, it's hard to incorporate other cultures, but it's another avenue for Latino students," says Rovira, who is a Crimson executive. "Caribbean countries and Latin American countries eat foods that are more similar to each other."

A. Lizbeth Alatorre '99, president of Latinas Unidas, says that while RAZA may help meet the demand for Latino student groups, students can turn to smaller groups for more specialized needs.

"I just felt being a Latina was different from being a Latino," says Alatorre, who is a former executive board member of RAZA. "By talking about women's issues and putting women in a lot of leadership positions, Latinas Unidas fulfilled some of my needs."

She and Rovira both point to groups like their own and the Cuban American Undergraduate Student Association (CAUSA), the Harvard Brazilian Organization, the Harvard Organization of Latin Americans (targeted toward international students) and Concilio Latino, a University-wide umbrella organization as alternatives to RAZA.

But Alatorre and Rovira both say that not every Latino undergraduate is looking for the same things they were. For students looking for a larger group to join, or an opportunity to meet different cultures, RAZA may be the best option.

The Challenge

And it is accommodating these students, some of whom do not have a Mexican-American heritage, that creates RAZA's largest dilemma.

Every so often, members will debate the advantages and disadvantages of their dual commitment to both Mexican-American and Latino students, says Sergio J. Campos '00, president of RAZA.

"It's a recurring debate, but we're not out to exclude anyone," Campos says.

Oscar Ramos '01, a member of RAZA and Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan, says if the group were only for Mexican-American students, "only so many Chicanos would show up at Mesa."

"It gives us the chance to interact with other students," Ramos said.

And Cristina M. Delgadillo '99 says RAZA is one of few options for Latino students looking for a sense of unity and broader community.

"Because of the increasing number of Latino students and because they don't have other groups to go to, it's best for RAZA to do that," Delgadillo says.

Still, both Ramos and Delgadillo say RAZA's broader mission poses problems for Mexican-American students looking for a Mexican-American community and Latino students who join a primarily Mexican-American organization with Mexican-American roots.

"You can't exclude them from the group, and you can't disrespect the wishes of the founders of the groups," says Delgadillo, who is Chicana. "Those are the two issues you have to address."

Ramos says RAZA's leadership has to make a conscious effort to incorporate Latino cultures and concerns into the group's activities.

"They definitely make an attempt," says Ramos, who is Chicano. "It's just natural that the point of view people take come from who they are and where they came from."

Campos says the group tries to supplement celebrations for holidays like Cinco de Mayo and El Dia de los Muertos--two uniquely Mexican traditions--with events that have a broader appeal.

Last term, RAZA sponsored roundtable discussions on bilingual education and affirmative education. Next week there will be a roundtable discussion on recruiting more Latino and Mexican-American students to Harvard.

Always try to aim for a larger scope," Campos says. "Our discussions are about Latino issues that many people would want to talk about. We don't get down to nitty-gritty specifics."

The Future

If RAZA proves capable of walking the fine line between Latino and Mexican-American heritages and succeeds in building a united community, RAZA's leaders says the group will enjoy another 25 years on Harvard's campus.

"It is of the utmost importance to keep on trying, to constantly question ourselves, and to ask who it is we represent," Gonzalez wrote in his e-mail message.

"If [RAZA] is to be the voice of the Latino community at Harvard, as many believe it to be, then it must also acknowledge its responsibilities to those numerous communities it hopes to represent--perhaps more now than we ever did before," he added. "A daunting task, but nonetheless one that it has handled well at many times."

For Campos, RAZA will continue to thrive as long as the organization continues to provide the same welcoming environment former members remember.

"You talk to alumni and you end up swapping stories about basically the same things--hanging out at Mesa and spending time with friends," Campos says. "RAZA has always been a great community, and it's always developed great friendships and produced great moments in their College life."

"This has been a constant part of RAZA's history that we hope will continue," he adds.