Yale Dominican Student Association

The Yale Dominican Student Association – QuisqueYalies (DSA) at Yale University was founded in 2005 by a small contingent of Dominican students who found themselves without a place to remind them of home. Their solution was the creation of the Dominican Student Association – QuisqueYalies, now an organization boasting both high levels of energetic membership and the active participation of non-Dominican students. One year after the organization’s inception, the idea of a National Dominican Student Conference was birthed on our very own campus, a tradition that has not lost its fervor as it continues to be an annual national event.

The Dominican Student Association, candidly known as the QuisqueYalies, is an organization boasting both energetic membership and the active participation of Dominican and non-Dominican students on Yale’s campus. Since its inception, DSA has sought to fulfill its mission of bringing Dominican cultural awareness and exploration to Yale’s campus. This mission manifests itself in the form of our new annual Afro-Latinx series, movie screenings and discussions, panels, game nights and dominó chats, folkloric Dominican music and bailes típicos, a lot of cooking and eating of traditional Dominican cuisine, Dominican “Word of the Week,” and still aspire for more!

“During Bulldog Days, I was overwhelmed by the crowd and accomplishments, worried I'd get lost. But when a girl asked, 'Eres Dominicano?' and welcomed me to the Dominican Student Association, it surprised me. Being of mixed heritage, I'd never felt a strong sense of belonging, and I feared Yale would make it worse. Yet, Yalies were exceptionally humble, welcoming, and kind, making me feel like I belonged."

- Anonymous