Forty-seven Wesleyan students joined half a million marchers in the first ever Latino and Immigrants' Rights March in Washington DC on Saturday. The goal of the march was to demand rights for non-citizens and to protest the rise in anti-immigrant legislation.

The controversial California Proposition 187, passed in 1994, prompted the formation of a California- based coalition called Coordinadora '96 comprised of over 1,000 organizations against the denial of rights to illegal immigrants. Proposition 187 mandates the denial of public education, health care and other public services for illegal immigrants in California.

"If your in this country, you should have basic fundamental rights; it shouldn't be dependent on US citizenship," said Miguel Guadalupe '98 one of the Wesleyan bus coordinators. "I came here to see people who believe that there is no human being that is illegal" said alumnus Sandra Gutierrez '96. Coodinadora '96 presented a seven-point platform of demands at the rally. The platform included pleas for labor law reform and a $7 per hour minimum wage, free public education for non-citizens and expansion of health service.

Students from all over the country came to march and protest. Participating universities included Oberlin, California Santa Cruz, SUNY Buffalo and Wellesley.

"As students, we can let people know we're here, being educated as leaders of the future," Guadalupe said. "We have our people on our minds, and we're not going to forget them as we move on to the next level." The Wesleyan bus, which was sponsored by Ujamaa, Lambda Upsilon Lambda, The Black Latino Brotherhood, Asian/Pacific American Alliance, Student of Color Council and Ajua Campos, was able to take every student that expressed interest, according to Francisco Tezen '97, another Wesleyan organizer.

"There was a serious push to allow Latinos to come," Tezen said. "We're so fragmented that collectivizing like this is needed." The underlying theme of the march and rally was to unite Latinos of all classes and nations. Specifically, the march aimed to ally recent immigrants with Latinos born in the United States, according to the press release.

"Whatever affects immigrant rights affects us as Latinos, and the only way to combat legislation is for immigrants and citizens to come together," Tezen said. "Originally, we are all immigrants; some of us have just been here longer."

"We need unity among all Latinos from South America to Mexico," U.C. Santa Cruz senior Walter Sorto said. "We flew out Thursday to lobby senators for education and affirmative action."

Protesters carried picket signs reading. "Stop Scape-Goating Latinos," and I am of the earth yet they call me an alien." Marchers chanted for the duration of the hour and-a-half march, responding to the call "iSe puede?" ["Can we?"] with a resounding "iSi se puede!" ["Yes we can!"].

Unions were one of the most prominent forces present at the march. Jaime Martinez of the AFLCIO national executive board, national labor coordinator for the Coordinadora'96 spoke about labor reform, demanding the right to decent jobs and the ability to strive for better benefits, wages and conditions.

"Everyone needs the right to work; it is a democratic and a human right," said Jose Medina of the Proposition One Coalition. The need for citizen police review boards was also a point of the Coordinadra platform. "Let's have people police the police," demanded Medina, after list-ing several recent episodes of un-punished police brutality against Latinos. Students seemed optimistic about the march and its impact on the country's attitude toward anti--immigrant legislation. "It's good to hear so many speeches advocating the rights of Latinos," said Nicole Pichard '99. "Hopefully more awareness will come out of this among Latinos and the wider American community,"