Emotions ran high between Latino students and NIU Provost J. Ivan Legg Wednesday night regarding a possible merger of the University Resources for Latinos and the Center for Latino/Latin American Studies.

The idea for the merger stemmed from a November meeting between the provost and the students citing inefficiencies in keeping the two programs separate. Currently, both programs are housed in the same building, located at 515 Garden Rd.

Latino students and alumni gathered more than 400 signatures against the merger, providing heated debate during Wednesday’s meeting. In the end, Legg decided against the merger.

“If we’re going to be looking at issues of retainment and improvement, a merger would not be the solution,” junior history major Gema Gaete-Tapiashe said. “I think today was a success, in that the provost listened to our concerns and that the merger will no longer be a discussion. As students, alumni and faculty, we can make a difference.”

Both the URL and the Latino Center are under the supervision of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, but the purpose and goals of the two programs are different.

The URL recruits and retains Latinos and also develops student services for the Latino population. This service is also supervised by the provost’s office.

On the other hand, the Center for Latino/Latin American Studies is an academic program that offers a minor to students and provides resources to its associate faculty.

Just a few minutes into the forum, Holmes Student Center officials moved audience members from the Lincoln Room to the Carl Sandburg Auditorium because of fire codes.

Legg told forum attendees that the proposed idea to combine the organizations would help bring academic strength and awareness to the Latino community. His decision not to join the two organizations was something he made based on the students’ best interests.

“It’s clear that from talking to the students and from the petitions that students felt so strongly about it,” Legg said. “It would have been a real mistake for me to have decided to go ahead and try and put the merge together.”

Liz Monge, a 1995 NIU alumna, strongly believes that student voices make a difference.

“I think the issue should not be taken lightly,” Monge said. “They need to talk and include students’ voices and the history of Latinos on this campus.”

Along with Gaete-Tapia, senior accountancy major Barbara Borgalso thought the merger was a bad idea.

“We do want the resources, money and academic help,” Borg said. “We just felt that the merge was not the way to get it.”

Students and alumni, in general, are happy with the result not to merge the organizations. However, Gaete-Tapia is watching closely to make sure nothing changes.

“We will be watching that these plans don’t come about again,” Gaete-Tapia said. “We will have our eyes and our ears open to make sure that this type of a merger doesn’t come in a different package. Right now we are trusting the provost, be we will keep our eyes and ears open for any future possible mergers.”