All eyes are on senior Ricky Salinas’ movements as he slowly raises his hands and begins to clap. Mimicking the sound of a heartbeat, the claps start slowly at first, quickly gaining speed and momentum as people from around the room join in and the melodic thrum rises to a crescendo of a crowd of hands, all slapping together at once.
The “unity clap” is how Salinas, internal director of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano Aztlan, signals the start of group meetings. Every Wednesday at 6 p.m. the cadence echoes through the Multicultural Center in the EMU.
Salinas was born in Phoenix, Ariz., but primarily grew up in Hillsboro, Ore. He has two younger brothers and is the first in his family to attend college. Initially, college was an intimidating prospect for Salinas in the sense that he knew it was necessary to further his academic pursuits. But with no contextual references, he didn’t know what to expect from the experience. Looking back on his four years, the senior couldn’t be more proud of his time at University of Oregon. Salinas graduates in the spring.
“College has been a whirlwind experience. You take different classes, you have jobs and there’s this further element that you need to add meaning to it,” Salinas said. “For me that was getting involved in MEChA.”
Salinas remembers attending his first MEChA meeting his freshman year and being scared. He says he got more involved with it in the second half of his freshman year when he felt more established in the college environment. By dedicating himself to MEChA, Salinas has had the opportunity to not only influence Chicano culture at the UO, but to be a mentor as well.
“Ricky is very friendly, very welcoming and anyone can approach him,” freshman Abel Cerros said. “He’s someone who will listen to you and give you constructive criticism and even though he might be leaving soon we know that he’s leaving MEChA in a good place.”
In the last four years, Salinas has been involved on campus as a residence hall assistant, budget manager for MEChA, coordinator of their Ganas community outreach program and in his current position as internal director.
“I’ve known Ricky since we were in middle school and he’s done a lot and gets involved in so many things,” senior Liz Avalos said. “He has a lot on his plate and manages so many things, but in the end he gets it done. It’s a time crunch for all the things he does.”
Aside from his busy schedule as MEChA director, Salinas enjoys rock climbing, traveling and going on Netflix binges — most recently getting hooked on “House of Cards.” He also works hard to visit his family to keep from feeling overly stressed about his duties.
After graduation, Salinas hopes to find a career where he can continue the kind of mentoring and advising that he’s discovered a passion for as a MEChA leader.
“Through my time at Ganas and MEChA, I want to continue helping people,” he said.