Chapman’s Latinx Club — along with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) — is currently hosting events for students and faculty on campus to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, a month of celebration in honor of the contributions and resilience of Latinx and Hispanic communities around the world. 

The celebration began Sept. 15 and will last until Oct. 15. Since Latinx Heritage Month’s official start last Thursday, a few events have already been held for the Latinx community and allies to attend, including a kickoff celebration as well as a Latinx Club potluck event. 

“The Latinx population is the biggest minority on campus, and I always want our people, our community, to know that they are wanted on this campus,” said Arleth Ulloa, a senior political science and English double major who is serving as this year’s Latinx Club president. “We have come such a long way from our club’s establishment in 2017 that we are now in this position where Chapman knows that we’re here, and it’s such an exciting thing to see because all of these traditions are getting established on campus.”

Throughout Latinx Heritage Month, Chapman Latinx will be hosting approximately nine events for the Latinx community and allies to take part in. Some of these events include a Latinx faculty mixer, two movie screenings, a Taqueria Hoy! outing and a bonfire to end the month on Oct. 14. 

In addition to these events, the Latinx Club will also be holding their weekly general meetings every Monday, as well as tabling in both the piazza and at the Argyros Forum Student Union. Karla Carmona, an active member of the Latinx Club, emphasized the importance of spreading the word about the club’s activities.

“With these events, it’s all about making our presence known on campus,” said Carmona, a junior data science and strategic and corporate communication double major. “Obviously every month, we should be striving to make our presence known, but Latinx Heritage Month is a big thing that people know about, so just making sure to expand on that as much as we can and then being able to keep that momentum afterwards for all the months following is super important.

Latinx Heritage Month originally started in 1968 as Latinx Heritage Week before officially expanding into law as an entire month in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. Since then, the month itself has been continually celebrated each year to recognize the influence and the history of the Hispanic and Latinx community in the United States.

In an email sent out to all students and faculty Sept. 15 from Vice President of DEI Reginald Stewart, he shared the importance of Latinx Heritage Month and the various events that will be taking place across campus.

“The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion aims to make inclusion and belonging part of everything we do on campus — part of the fabric of who we are and how we make decisions,” Stewart wrote. “As a campus, recognizing the significant contributions of our Latinx students, faculty and staff should be ongoing, but it is equally important to carve out unique times to ensure that there’s a space to learn about the histories of the cultures that make up our community and to understand the ways that these cultures are understood and appreciated in history, politics and society.”

Banners displaying Latinx Heritage Month have also been put up around campus to further recognize the Latinx community at Chapman. The Office of DEI plans to also visibly honor additional cultures and minorities that make up the campus community by putting up banners and holding celebrations for other nationally recognized heritage months throughout the year as well.  

“This month is significant to me because it celebrates and recognizes the contributions of our Hispanic and Latinx communities in the U.S.,” said Gabriela Castañeda, the Director for Latinx Achievement in the Office of DEI. “As a proud Latina, having these events on campus brings a sense of belonging and orgullo (pride). It’s crucial to share and hold events on campus because it promotes diversity, equity and inclusion, and it provides opportunities to learn and experience the rich culture of our Hispanic and Latinx communities.”

With Latinx Heritage Month taking place so early in the semester, it was a collaborative effort by the Latinx executive board and the Office of DEI to plan all of the events for the month early on. This was in order to ensure that everything was accessible and set in stone — including dates, time and transportation — for students and faculty to attend, Ulloa said.

Chapman Latinx also created a new executive board member position this school year, the Cultural Chair, who is now the one in charge of spearheading everything in regard to Latinx Heritage Month.

“Our entire executive board contributed so much time, effort and love to the planning of these events, and my responsibility as Cultural Chair is to help make our board's vision come to life,” said junior psychology major Nicole-Marie Duran, who is serving as the Latinx Club cultural chair this year. “There are also many Latinx students who might not be able to go back to their families during this month to celebrate, so we enjoy being able to provide a safe and loving space for them to celebrate their traditions.”

More resources about the Latinx Club can also be found on the club’s Linktree.