By Khalia Lewter
Latin Heritage Month, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, is a time to honor and recognize the rich cultural contributions and history of Latinx communities. It’s an important time for the Hispanic and Latin community because much of their history in hardships, success, and culture are shared.
On college campuses specifically, this month fosters a sense of pride among Latinx and Hispanic students while educating the broader student body on campus about the diverse backgrounds and experiences within this ethnic group, encouraging dialogue, learning, and cultural awareness amongst all students. At William Peace University, the Hispanic and Latin community are given the spotlight to showcase and share their culture.
On Tuesday, Sept. 10th, between noon and 2:00 p.m, a Latinx History Month Kickoff event took place at the Belk Courtyard. At the event table, Alexus Smith, who works with the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (ODEI), and is also the program coordinator, was the host. She presented her table and greeted students with cultural snacks, candies, drinks, and raffle prizes, while also answering informational questions for curious students.
“Latinx Heritage month is an opportunity for students to engage in cultures that’s outside of their norm, through food, activities, games, and [guest] speakers, and one of the big things for this month is to help students build a sense of community on campus through these events,” said Smith.
Smith’s initial goal for the kickoff event was to engage with students, and one of the ways she did this was by having a big writing pad with the title and objective being ‘What does the word Belonging mean to you?’ Many students shared their thoughts; some saying “feeling welcomed and respected”, “having people who support me unconditionally”, “feeling truly loved and accepted”.
At the booth table, Smith also had a ticket raffle for students to win prizes such as mugs with Latin murals on them, handcrafted bracelets, and handcrafted beaded earrings.
Smith values feedback and urges new students to communicate with her. What she hopes will happen is that questions and opinions will be shared about what kind of engaging cultural activities they want to be involved in. She also states how she hopes to create an environment of fun and informal learning, where students come to enjoy their cultural experience while also receiving intuitive exercise and learning of Latin culture.
Informational events and activities such as the Mental Health Across Diverse Cultures, took place on Friday, Sept. 13 and the Cultural Cookies event that was held on Tuesday, Sept. 17. For the Mental Health event, students conversed with one another about what mental health looks like, different ways to implement positive habits, and also what mental health looks like for different cultures. At the Cultural Cookies event tea and agua frescas were given out and students decorated cookies while learning about the different Latin country flags.
“It is my hope that we’ll be able to do a flower arranging workshop this year and also some movie screenings as well and have a couple speakers come in,” Smith said. “We also have something that’s called the Rainbow Room, where we celebrate the queer community and students in their identity and also support ally-ship.”
As for the rest of September, the last upcoming activity for this month is the ‘Loteria’, a game from Mexico that has similarities to “bingo,” but has its own flow with a surprising twist. At the game night there will be free snacks and a chance to win prizes. This will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at the PacerHub Student Commons.
