Septembre Russell – Copy editor. September is Hispanic Heritage Month. In celebration, the Linfield College Latinos Adelante and the Multicultural Programs Office will sponsor the second annual Hispanic Heritage Day in the Oak Grove from 2-5 p.m. Sept. 26.
Dance groups such as the Azteca Dancers and Ballet Folklorico are slated to perform at the event. Games will be available, and a disc jockey will be playing live music. Food will be provided by Tequila Grill. Mariachi and face painting will be part of the entertainment, as well.
In an effort to move forward with a relationship between the college and the Hispanics in the surrounding community, President Thomas Hellie formed the Hispanic Outreach Committee last year, Director of Multicultural Programs Barry Tucker said.
The college was not perceived to send a message that different student backgrounds were desirable, he said.
“A good way for the college to start off the year is with an emphasis on programs centered around diversity,” he said.
LCLA, a mentorship program for Linfield’s Hispanic students, was developed from the HOC.
Junior officer Maria Sandoval-Perez said that because LCLA was a new program last year, Hispanic Heritage Day was celebrated in May, but September is more fitting as it is Hispanic Heritage Month.
HHD 2008 attracted approximately 300 people, Tucker said. LCLA anticipates a crowd of 500 this year.
“The main thing that I would like to see is people learning about the Hispanic culture,” Sandoval-Perez said.
Even the college’s Hispanic employees, as well as students representing cultures of other countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and China, attended the event last year, Tucker said.
“It was nice to see that students were going beyond their comfort zone and meeting new people,” Tucker said. “We are trying to make people realize and believe that Linfield is here for everybody.”
The event will be free and open to the public. Food will be served from 2-3:30 p.m. E-mail [email protected] for additional information.
“We invite everyone to come and enjoy the celebration,” Sandoval-Perez said.