ILASSA

Purpose
Chupacabra is the listserv of ILASSA (the Institute of Latin American Studies Student Association). People subscribe to Chupacabra to share and stay up-to-date on information that interests us: LLILAS and ILASSA events, Latin America–related job postings and news, social events, and general information (e.g., "Anyone speak Quechua?"; "How do I contact Archbishop Ruiz of Chiapas?"; "Where's the best place to get a beer in Austin?" etc.).

Who May Subscribe?
In the interest of maintaining Chupacabra as the primary electronic forum for ILASSA students, subscribers shall be limited to the following groups: any student, faculty, or staff member of The University of Texas at Austin and any alumnus of LLILAS. The following groups are expressly prohibited from subscribing: persons with no direct affiliation with the university. Exceptions shall be permitted at the discretion of the assembled ILASSA membership (i.e., a vote at a meeting).

How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Visit https://utlists.utexas.edu/ to subscribe or unsubscribe to the Chupacabra List.

Chupacabra FAQ

What is a listserv?
A listserv is a centralized e-mail redistributor. Each time you (or any subscriber) send(s) an e-mail to Chupacabra@lists.cc.utexas.edu it gets sent out to each of the subscribers. This allows subscribers to distribute information and send queries to a large number of like-minded people easily.

Replying
When you reply to a Chupacabra message, the reply should go directly back to the sender of the message. However, before sending any replies, make sure to check the "To:" of your reply email to avoid sending to the whole list This can be (and has been) embarrassing for many. For example, if you answer to a question about chloroquine with "Yeah, I took it while I was in Guatemala, and it made me so crazy that I committed 6 of the 7 deadly sins," you may not want EVERYONE to know that. Recently someone accidentally sent their résumé to 150 people on the listserv instead of just the one intended person. So, what you can do is put ONLY the address of the person you're responding to in the "To:" spot in the email, so that no one reads your personal email. Likewise, if someone asks a question like "Where can I get a copy of Don Quixote in Spanish?" or "Does anyone want to buy my tickets to the Café Tacuba show on Friday?" you should not reply to Chupacabra. If the answer is unlikely to be of interest to more than one or two people, just reply directly to the author of the question. At other times it is appropriate to keep a conversation public, when you think that many people will be interested. Use your own judgment.

Do I need to answer all messages?
Not if you don't have anything to contribute. It is assumed that if you don't have anything to contribute to the conversation that you won't say anything. This is the courteous thing to do, because otherwise we would have to wade through hundreds of emails per day that just say "I don't know" or "I can't make it to your party on Friday."

Attachments
As the most important rule of the Chupacabra listserv, please DO NOT send attachments via Chupacabra. There are no exceptions to this rule. If you have an attachment you think would be of general interest, post it on a web page and/or send a short text note to the listserv either giving the URL (web page address) or offering to send the attachment to anyone interested. Attachments fill up space in email inboxes, and more important emails that people must receive are blocked from being received. Also, try to refrain from sending pictures in the bodies of emails as they run the same risk as attachments. Those who send attachments over Chupacabra will receive one warning. If a second email is sent with an attachment, the punishment is removal from the listserv.

Politics on Chupacabra
The Chupacabra listserv is not a forum for expressing one's own political agenda or to promote a particular political interest. However, since politics in the U.S., Latin America, and the world are of interest to all students, faculty, and alumni of LLILAS, news articles, calls for papers, political statements by Latin American leaders, and the like are welcome. Since this topic is so subjective and touchy, we respectfully implore you to use the utmost judgment in sending emails of this nature. Besides, face-to-face discussion seems a much better venue for political debate then an electronic listserv.

Courtesy
We all want to maintain a pleasant atmosphere. So please be sensitive when you post material to Chupacabra. If it might be offensive to a large, diverse audience, think twice before posting it.

Problems
If you have any trouble with your account, notify the owner/moderator of the account. Any subscriber to Chupacabra who behaves in a manner inconsistent with the values and norms of our community, subscribes to and/or contributes for ends that are not part of the stated mission of the listserv, or otherwise offends, harasses, or abuses other subscribers is subject to permanent removal from the list. If such a case should arise, the aggrieved party(s) should bring it to the attention of the owner/moderator. The owner/moderator may respond at her/his discretion in the manner that seems most appropriate. This may include, but is not limited to, a warning to the offending party, allowing the aggrieved party(s) and offending party to present their cases at an ILASSA meeting where the assembled ILASSA membership will vote on the matter, or immediate deletion of the offending party from the listserv.

Conference

ILASSA hosts an annual conference at The University of Texas at Austin each spring. The ILASSA Conference is the oldest student-run academic conference on Latin America in the United States. It provides students with the opportunity to present research activities, develop presentation skills, exchange ideas and information, and meet other scholars from around the world. Undergraduate and graduate students from across the U.S. and Latin America present their research on a wide range of critical topics, including immigration, human rights, social movements, indigenous rights, and social policy.

Sign up for the upcoming conference via ILASSA.