AHANA Acronym Now as Relevant as Ever

The acronym "AHANA," which is used to represent people of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American descent, was coined in 1979 by two Boston College students, Alfred Feliciano, BC '81, and Valerie Lewis, BC '79. These students wanted to find an alternative to the term "minority," and 32 years later, it is still a term in use at many universities.

Ines Maturana Sendoya, director of the Office of AHANA Student Programs, said, "The term represents the importance of establishing solidarity, the importance for me to learn about your background, and it emphasizes the individual distinctiveness of each group."

Because the term was coined at BC, the University has a trademark on it, so other schools using the term must seek permission. Many schools, including Boston University, use the term "ALANA," changing "Hispanic" to "Latino."

"Even 32 years later, it's still relevant in higher education," Maturana Sendoya said.

Today, there are other groups considered "minorities" that do not fit neatly into the AHANA acronym.

"In 1979 when this acronym was coined, these were groups that had been historically excluded in higher education," Maturana Sendoya said. "We are living now in times where there is a lot of anti-Muslim animosity."

The Office of AHANA Student Programs exists to serve all students who feel the office has something to offer them. For example, Middle Eastern and Arab students are not part of any one group, but they, along with all other students, are welcome in the office.

"We're an office of the University, so we serve any student who comes through our door that finds any of the programs we have will benefit them," Maturana Sendoya said. "Arab students are not part of the acronym, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't be open to working with them."

In addition, there is a growing multiracial population that may identify with various groups. "There are more multiracial students, so we're thinking about ways we can make our office more welcoming to them," Maturana Sendoya said.

Similarly, all students are welcome to apply to ALC. "We have students that represent typical parts of [the] AHANA acronym, but we do also have white students," said Gururaj Shan, ALC president and A&S '12. "All races are welcome, it's not really exclusive, it's about if you care about issues of AHANA students."

The term should be used less to identify races and more to promote multiculturalism, Shan said. "AHANA shouldn't really reflect the individual races," he said.

"We're trying to make it more a celebration of multiculturalism on this campus. We're moving beyond the term as a label and using it more as a term to celebrate different cultures, identities, and diversity in general on campus."

One of the responsibilities of the Office of AHANA Student Programs is the Sr. Thea Bowman Scholars. Formerly the AHANA Scholars Program, the name was changed in the early 2000s to reflect the fact that not only AHANA students are eligible to receive the recognition. Students who participate in Options Through Education (OTE), a summer program to prepare students for the transition who have succeeded in spite of challenges, may receive the award. The OTE program opened up to white students also in the early 2000s.

"We get a list of students who identify themselves [racially] as AHANA and ‘other,' and if they have used our office we will include them,"Maturana Sendoya said.

"We focus on the AHANA students, but our services are open to all," Maturana Sendoya said. "We do not forget our roots or what we were founded for, but we try to be more inclusive than exclusive."

AHANA Caucus, a branch of ALC that brings together different culture clubs and organizations, invites the participation of a diverse set of groups, including the Hellenic Society, the Irish Society, and the Slavic Club.

"It's never really exclusive to AHANA students," Shan said. "I made this point last spring. The issues we work on are considered AHANA student issues, but in reality they're just BC student issues."