Rachel Mills
For the Review

Don’t be surprised to see a mariachi band, Ballet Folkorico and the Asteca dancers, a disc jockey and tables with free food from Tequila Grill in the Oak Grove May 2 from 2 – 7 p.m. No, it’s not a fiesta for Cinco de Mayo; it’s Linfield’s first Hispanic Heritage Day.
“Hispanic Heritage Day is a day to share Hispanic culture with the Linfield community and other local communities,” said sophomore Maria Sandoval-Perez. “We want to raise awareness about our culture and show that there are Hispanics at Linfield.”
Sandoval-Perez said she is part of a mentoring program for Hispanic freshmen called Linfield College Latinos Adelante. Mentors, Sandoval-Perez, sophomore Hilda Escalera, Denisse Chacon and senior Pedro Nuñez, have worked with freshmen students and faculty advisers Keri Burke and Barry Tucker to plan the event.
This is LCLA’s first year as a program on campus. It began when President Thomas Hellie asked faculty members to brainstorm ways to connect with the Hispanic community, Tucker said.
He said the group has met several times throughout the year and has planned events such as a reception during the fall, an alumni dinner, a rope-climbing activity, a trip to Portland to see a play in addition to several other social gatherings. Hispanic Heritage Day will be its final event this year.
HHD is a combination of outreach and fun, Escalera said.
“People, especially Hispanics, tend to think that there’s a bubble around Linfield, and they can’t get in,” Escalera said. “We want to open it for them.”
However, she said the day promises to be fun for both community members and Linfield students.
“There will be music and dancers and free food,” Escalera said. “We will have a section for the kids with games: lotería [Mexican bingo], pinatas, soccer, Frisbees and balloons.”
She also said that there will be a booth for the LCLA mentoring program.
Freshman Pattie Vazquez is a part of the LCLA program. She said LCLA has made her transition to Linfield easier.
“This program has helped me find a place in the Linfield community,” Vazquez said. “I don’t think my freshman year would have been as successful or as fun if I hadn’t had LCLA.”
Tucker said he believes that the group is already making a difference.
“I think at least three of our [freshmen] would have transferred if they hadn’t had LCLA,” Tucker said.
Escalera said the program’s freshmen come to her for advice and to ask questions.
“We can’t always help them ourselves, but we can point them in the right direction,” she said. “I can’t tutor my students in math, but I can help them find a tutor.”
Assistance from the upperclassmen has helped the freshmen develop academically and socially, Escalera said.
“McMinnville has a large Hispanic population, but the students choose not to come to Linfield,” Sandoval-Perez said. “We want to show people that we can do it. It is possible to be Hispanic and come to Linfield and be successful.”
She said LCLA went to local high schools to invite students to HHD. She said she hopes they will not only learn about Hispanic cultures in general, but that they will also witness the Hispanic culture at Linfield and learn about the college.
“I think this is a great chance to get more people on campus,” Sandoval-Perez said.
Vazquez also said she sees HHD as a forum to break down stereotypes.
“A lot of high school students see Linfield as an all-white, rich-kid school,” she said. “We want to prove that we aren’t.”
LCLA plans to make HHD an annual event to promote outreach and cultural diversification.
Sandoval-Perez said that in the event of heavy rainfall, the festivities will be moved to the Rutschman Field House.