The Latin American Council (LAC) is a hub group of multiple Hispanic serving student organizations at New Mexico State University that are under the supervision of Latin American Programs. LAC fosters professional development and leadership skills, unity, and cultural awareness among the Hispanic organizations on the NMSU campus. The activities of Latine Week, funded by ASNMSU, are organized under the auspices of the LAC with supervision by Latin American Programs.
To be a part of the LAC, an organization must have an official connection to Hispanic culture or some official connection to issues of diversity. All organizations in the Latin American Council must be chartered by ASNMSU (NMSU’s student government). If an organization at NMSU would like to approach the Latin American Council to become a member organization, there is a process for this which is described in the Hispanic Council bylaws. Copies of the bylaws are available at Latin American Programs upon request. Students need not be of Hispanic descent to be members of any of the Hispanic Council Member organizations or to be elected officers of the Latin American Council. In fact, there have been many non-Hispanic members and officers of these organizations and the Latin American Council itself.
The director of Latin American Programs is the advisor to the Latin American Council. Meetings of the Latin American Council are closed to the general public. Only members of the Latin American Council organizations, their invited guests, and Latin American Programs staff attend these meetings.
If an individual or group would like to address the Latin American Council, the protocol is to contact the President of the Council a few days before the next meeting to request to be placed on the agenda. It is up to the President to accept, deny, or postpone each request.