Hofstra University kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month on Monday, Sept. 15, with “La Bienvenida,” a community event hosted by the Office of Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion (IEI) in collaboration with the Student Government Association (SGA).
Hispanic Heritage Month, recognized nationally from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, honors the contributions and influence of Hispanic and Latin Americans on United States history and culture. The celebration began as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under then President Lyndon B. Johnson and was expanded to a month in 1988 under former President Ronald Reagan.
Hugo Morales, Hofstra’s associate director for IEI, spoke on the importance of cultural connection at the event.
“It’s important for us to get to know other people that may not identify like us, so we can build a better and more inclusive world,” Morales said. “Today, more than ever, we need programs like this to celebrate communities and not tear them down.”
Hofstra’s Organization for Latin Americans (HOLA) provided foods, music and games from Latin American cultures for students to enjoy. Alondra Rojas, junior audio production and studies major and HOLA events manager, commented on the program’s social perks.
“Whether it’s a different culture, different major [or] different class standing, it’s a great opportunity to make friends,” Rojas said.
“La Bienvenida” is held annually to provide a sense of community. Vicente Lledó-Guillem, a Spanish professor at Hofstra, said the event is especially important for first year and transfer students.
“[It’s important] to make students – especially freshmen, even sophomores, older students, but mainly those groups who recently joined Hofstra – [feel welcome], to make them feel part of the Hofstra community, to make them feel part of a group, not to feel isolated,” Lledó-Guillem said.
The Caribbean Student Association led an interactive dance lesson in Bachata and Salsa. Senior film studies and production major and CSA operations manager, Sakari Clendinen, described it as “a call and response” exercise designed to engage beginners.
Students also sampled cultural food from across Latin America and the Caribbean, including vegan options.
“The food was incredible. I had some mini empanadas. I had Spanish rice, fried beans, chips and salsa,” said sophomore Bryana Neff, a public relations and TV production double major. “The dessert ‘tres leches’ was incredible.”
Sterling Young-Wells, a graduate assistant for IEI, helped organize the event and underscored the importance of representation on college campuses.’
“[These events exist] so that students really still have a home, even when they see things across the country being taken away, and [they’re] not feeling like this is somewhere that they don’t belong,” Young-Wells said.
According to Young-Wells, IEI has several panels and events scheduled on campus throughout the semester to represent and unite marginalized communities.
“It’s so important, especially today when so many rollbacks are being done by the current administration on DEI, for people to be able to see themselves in their campus and find community within people in their cultural groups,” Neff said. “At this point, a community and each other is all we have. So, we have to make sure that we have these social safety nets for ourselves, and we have other people that we can connect with.”
