The smell of fresh carne asada has become a common marker on any given Friday afternoon at Wabash. The men behind the magic: La Alianza. La Alianza is one of the largest clubs on campus and embraces Hispanic and Latino culture. After the club’s reemergence in 2020, they are finally getting something they have been asking for since then, a permanent home.
Creating a space for themselves on campus hasn’t proved to be easy, but the recent $25 million grant provided to the college by the Lilly Endowment will fund a permanent home for the club, making this task all the more achievable. It also will create a new department focused on Latino partnership with the community.
“La Alianza has historically congregated in the International House, and last semester campus security was kind enough to offer the Ginny Hay’s house as well,” said Jacob Ramirez ’25, current President of La Alianza. “They have always been good spaces, but having this new dedicated space around the corner is a great opportunity for us to grow.”
The new house, which is situated on the northeast corner of the intersection between W. Wabash Ave and South Grant Ave, is expected to undergo renovations this summer in preparation for La Alianza’s much-awaited move-in. The space presents itself as the perfect bridge between campus and Crawfordsville, as it is situated right on the edge of campus.
“I think the house will be a great spot for the fraternities to meet in the middle,” said Ramirez. “Part of this house is also for the community, so it is helpful that it is in an accessible location.”
The house’s physical location isn’t the only benefit of the future home of La Alianza. The building already has a large driveway and a back porch, and happens to be situated across from an empty lot, opening the door for potential events to help bring the community together.
“I can easily imagine food trucks, community members and students all gathering together at the new space,” said V. Daniel Rogers, chairman of the Spanish department. “The new house is going to give La Alianza several different kinds of spaces to develop their program.”
The house will also help the club achieve its mission of embracing Hispanic and Latino culture, through the power of food. La Alianza has historically used food to embrace Hispanic and Latino culture across campus by preparing carne asada and serving Jarritos at events year round.
“The new space will include a kitchen. Food, culture, community and brotherhood all go together, so having this is important,” said Rogers.
While one of the most important aspects of the grant is the building itself, the funding will also be dedicated in various ways to help rekindle the connection between Wabash and the Crawfordsville community.
“If you ask any Wabash man, they would say that the relationship between Wabash men and Crawfordsville residents is pretty shaky,” said Ramirez. “This is due to a lack of trust, but with this house, we hopefully will be able to begin to build that bridge of trust.”
This focus on trust mirrors previous grants provided by the Lilly Endowment and can be seen throughout what the funds have been dedicated towards. The grant will fund a new position, the Director of Latino Partnerships, who will focus on mentoring Wabash students as well as working with the community to connect Wabash with the growing Montgomery County Latino population.
Both the new Latino Community Center and Director of Latino Partnerships present immense opportunities for the bridge of trust to be built between Wabash and beyond, and La Alianza and faculty alike anxiously await the finished construction of the new space.