The activist Chicano student organization MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlan) was founded in Santa Barbara, CA, in 1969, and has been active on college campuses for 50 years. The University of Washington (UW) MEChA chapter formed in 1970, a successor to the United Mexican American Students (UMAS). The organization addressed historical, social, religious, and political issues as well as educational issues prevalent on campus. The MEChA chapter on UW campus continues to be active as of 2019.

Chicano students at UW had been demanding increased recruitment of Chicano students, faculty, and staff since 1968, and the battle between students and university administration escalated throughout the 1970s. In the spring of 1975, a crisis developed when support for the student protests led to the firing of the head of the Chicano division of the Office of Minority Affairs, Juan Sanchez. Then in May the UW fired Gary Padilla, acting director of Chicano Studies, and suspended administrative secretary Rosa Morales for their participation in activities protesting the university’s hiring practices. Chicano staff and faculty resigned in solidarity, leaving the Chicano Studies Program with an uncertain future. MEChA also responded, with a resolution condemning the firings.

This photo shows the MEChA chairman at the time of the 1975 protest, Manuel Sandoval, who temporarily resigned his position in solidarity with the protest over the university's failure to provide sufficient support for the Chicano Studies program.

Caption information source: "MEChA and Chicano Student Organizations 1967-2012" for the Mapping American Social Movements Project at the University of Washington, retrieved at https://depts.washington.edu/moves/MEChA_map.shtml
Caption information source:"Chicano Studies Face Collapse at U.W." by Julie Emery, Seattle Times, May 8, 1975, p. 73
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photo.