May 3-5, 1972
Students from AHORA and BSG protest dismissal of Hispanic Studies Department professors
Around thirty students picketed College Hall from May 3rd to May 5th to protest the dismissal of professors Carmen Suarez-Galban and Milagros Ortega-Costa from the Hispanic Studies Department. Smith student Migdalia Ocasio successfully brought outside media attention to the protest with a one-day hunger strike. The protest was initiated by AHORA, a five-college Latinx group comprised mainly of Puerto Rican and Chicanx students, but students from Black Student Government (BSG) also joined in solidarity. The picketing further served as a reminder that the BSG demands had not been met and an opportunity for students from the two groups to find common ground. Latinx numbers appeared to be low at Smith, as they had no Smith-specific Latinx organization and there was only one Chicana student in the student body at the time, Judy Arroyo. No white students picketed, although some did get involved in petitions on behalf of Professor Suarez-Galban.
Students protest Galban dismissal
[Last updated on October 29, 2018]