Students from various cultural backgrounds took part in the Latine Celebration this Monday to ring in Hispanic Heritage month.
In a speech to attendees, Jamillya Hardley, the Director of the Woodrick Center for Inclusion and Multicultural affairs, touched on how the event was made possible and what the Cultural Connections 365 Council is.
“I wanted to create a group cross culturally of different stakeholders on campus to come together and plan and have different ideas, and make those ideas come into fruition,” Hardley said. “So this is actually the first event for the Cultural Connections 365 Council, I’m super excited and proud of everyone.”
The celebration had a large turnout, with nearly every table full of students. The event featured games about Latine heritage, free t-shirts, a performance by the ZunZún GR cuban salsa group as well as food inspired by Latine culture.
Arrianna Heeter, an 18-year-old psychology major, said she enjoyed the free food.
“Some kids forget to bring their lunch to school or don’t have any food so things like this, they get to eat,” she said.
Along with Heeter, Janyxa Avalos, a Grand Rapids native, said the food is what brought her in. Furthermore, she said she thinks it’s nice to attend events like the Latine Celebration.
“I think any event supporting diversity and showcasing everybody’s background is important,” Avalos said.
Monica Garcia, a health science major, shared that opinion and said she liked learning more about Latine culture.
“I encourage everyone to really explore, not just Latin culture, but all the cultures around the world. I think it’s important for all of us to know a little bit about everything,” she said.
Yves Castaneda, a 22-year-old from Detroit, shared his thoughts.
“These events of diversity kind of bring a sense of belonging to people,” he said.
The ARTS club was also involved in the celebration. Goat Ocarmody, one of the founding members of the club, created the art that was showcased on the free t-shirts.
“I’m liking the food, I’m liking the music, I’m just liking everything but especially being able to see my own design on a t-shirt,” Ocarmody said. “This is the first time I’ve been able to do something like this for my own art and I’m extremely excited.”
Taveep Inkornwong, Communications Director of Student Government, enjoyed taking part in the honoring of Hispanic heritage month.
“As you can see, it’s so lively here. I love events where lots of people are around. It usually means that people have at least some values as to what the event is actually for,” said Inkornwong.
Student Government was one of the key groups that helped put together the celebration. Jennifer Gamino-Alvarez, the Vice President of Student Government, spoke in a speech about what the organization does for students at Grand Rapids Community College.
“Our main goal is to advocate for the students here, so one of the ways we are doing that is through this event right now. It is Hispanic heritage month and as a Hispanic person myself, I thought that it was important to highlight this,” she said. “…if you guys ever wanna come voice your opinion or wanna see something else implemented here at GRCC you can always come talk to us. We’ll listen to you guys with open minds.”
Gamino-Alvarex later encouraged students to attend Student Government meetings, stating they are open to all that want to attend.
