The Hispanic
Student Association (HSA) plans to celebrate different cultures
with two upcoming events on campus.
The first is the Diversity Celebration, which runs from 3 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. today.
The other celebration will be a Latin Festival Friday at 7 p.m.
in the Grandfather Mountain Ballroom, Gabriela Reyes, senior marketing
major and HSA president from Sparta, said.
Reyes said one of the activities HSA will offer this afternoon is
a poetry reading by member Christine L. Mendonca, a junior international
business major from New Port Richey, Fla.
Mendonca said she plans to present three poems for the celebration.
One of the poems will address what it is like to be a Latin American
woman in the United States.
The poems will be in Spanish and English, and Mendonca said she
plans to add Portuguese as well.
Mendonca said she was excited about the celebration because she
said she believes diversity itself would improve Appalachian State
University overall.
“Our population is growing more diverse, so we should celebrate,”
Mendonca said.
The HSA also plans to present a table where students can learn how
to make “god’s eyes,” sophomore public relations
major Elizabeth A. Ogorek said.
Originally, the plan had been to show people how to make pinatas,
but Ogorek said it would have been too difficult due to the amount
of time needed to make one.
While the Diversity Celebration will incorporate different campus
organizations such as the ASU Gospel Choir and the Pagan Student
Association (PSA), the Latin Festival will be an HSA-sponsored event.
This will be the first time the HSA has organized a Latin Festival,
Reyes said.
“What we’re trying to do is just bring the Hispanic community
together on campus,” Reyes said.
Students of other backgrounds are also welcome to participate, she
said.
Events at the Latin Festival will include dinner from Los Arcoiris
Mexican Restaurant, performances by members of the HSA and a pinata
that will be broken at the end of the evening, Reyes said.
Tickets are available this week for $3 at the HSA contact table
in W.H Plemmons Student Union. For more information, contact Ogorek
at 266-7066.
