Student groups celebrate Hispanic Heritage month

National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates Latine culture, history, and the lives of many prominent Latin American figures. **Lisa Rivas-Chavez**/ Junior Staffwriter

This year, Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, meant to recognize and celebrate the contributions and influence of Hispanic and Latine Americans throughout this country’s history. But this heritage month, like many others, exists as a sidebar to a lot of people’s lives when it has history and meaning to many.

Hispanic Heritage Month began as only a week-long celebration established by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, and was extended to a month under President Reagan, to properly honor the contributions of Hispanic and Latine Americans and communities.

The reason that the month goes from the middle of September to the middle of October rather than any full single month is because the time frame contains the independence days (among other holidays) of many Latin American countries including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chile, and Belize.

The time during this month is taken to honor influential Latine Americans like queer rights activist Sylvia Rivera, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, award-winning playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, and many, many more figures who have contributed so many vital parts to American culture and politics.

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 as those dates include the independence days of many Latin countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. **Arden Ryan**/ News Editor

In terms of on-campus celebrations, the Spanish and Latine Student Association (SALSA) is a strong organization for Latine students on campus that is hosting many events this month such as food making, game nights, capture the flag, and collaborations with other Pittsburgh Latine groups from other universities. The Fence on Carnegie Mellon’s campus was painted with many different Latin American country flags to honor the month last week, and the president of SALSA has stated a desire to paint the fence again before the end of the month.

It is also important to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month because of how Latine communities are negatively impacted by the workings of higher education systems. From the president of SALSA Laura Gallegos: “Hispanic populations are not aptly represented on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus, considering they make up almost 1/5 of the U.S. population but only about 10 percent of CMU’s undergraduate student body.

This underrepresentation stems from various barriers, including financial challenges, a lack of sense of belonging, imposter syndrome, historical lack of access to high-quality K-12 education for some Latine communities, insufficient awareness or recruitment efforts, and cultural factors that may steer some Latine students toward other institutions.”

It is important to make sure that Latine voices are represented and heard in our communities on campus and beyond. Although our institutions have a heavy workload to improve the underlying societal issues, we as a community should understand what this month signifies and strive to make good on the university’s promises of diversity, equity, and inclusion at this time in history more than ever.

“LHHM serves as a platform to both celebrate our accomplishments and acknowledge the ongoing journey towards equality. It’s an opportunity to reflect on our progress while reaffirming our commitment to fostering a more inclusive society.”