Friday, April 5, 1996 Over the last several decades, MEChA has united Chicanas and Chicanos at UCLA to fight for civil rights, improve economic conditions and empower the communities they came fromBy Patrick Marantal Daily Bruin Staff Born out of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s, el Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana y Chicano de Aztlán was first formed in Santa Barbara to unify Chicana/o university students in combatting poor social and economic conditions. Read more...