On Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m., the Hispanic Heritage Club had its first interest meeting. This day was chosen because it is the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month.
According to Ashley Powell, who along with her friend, Nancy Ventura, developed the idea for this organization, the mission of the Hispanic Heritage club would be to "educate Longwood about the Hispanic community and racist stereotypes."
"We don't speak Mexican," Powell said. "There are Hispanic countries besides Mexico."
Plans for a Hispanic Heritage Club have long been in the works, but bringing them to fruition has been a struggle. "Many people had the idea of starting something like this, but sometimes the stepping up to actually do it was the problem," explained Ventura. "I was contacted by an admissions officer who told me that Dr. Jamie Riley was new to campus and wanted to start something like this on campus. We finally met and talked about the things we wanted to do within this club. After all that, we finally scheduled an informational meeting that was held in Hiner 201 on Sept. 15, 2011."
The club has not yet achieved SGA approval, but they hope to be officially recognized within the next few weeks. Right now, recognition is their main objective and perspective members are encouraged to attend upcoming meetings, the dates of which are still in the works. A tentative schedule has been worked out for meetings on Monday nights, but nothing has been finalized.
Powell explained there is a lot of buzz about the club among Hispanic students. "The people who came to the meeting were very excited," she said. "Ten students came, and we only need four to make a club."
The club would give them a much desired opportunity to use their Spanish and to discuss the aspects of their heritage, as well as to do some community service in the Farmville area.
Powell believes the club would be an important way to bring Hispanic students together at Longwood. She explains that it is difficult to expand horizons and meet people outside of your major on campus. "Having a club will bring people together," she said. "It will unite them."
Ventura explained that a Hispanic Heritage club could be a great resource to students at Longwood. "Some Advantages to having this Hispanic Heritage Club on campus would be to show that Longwood University has become a diverse institution," she said. "Having this club would help the campus learn about all the different Hispanic cultures that exist. We want people to learn about all the cultural diversity that we bring to the table."
According to Ventura and Powell, now is a great time to start the club because National Hispanic Heritage month started Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15.
To those interested in Hispanic heritage who aren't of Hispanic descent, no worries. Ventura would like students to know that "this club is open the whole campus from students to faculty and staff. We welcome everyone and you don't have to be Hispanic to join. Everyone is extremely welcomed!"
To find out more about the Hispanic Heritage Club, you can contact Dr. Jamie Riley, Powell or Ventura. The group plans to launch a Facebook page within the next few weeks.