On Sept. 15, Georgia Southern held a Hispanic Heritage kickoff celebration. Throughout the day, students passed through the Russell Union Rotunda, participating in the revelry of Hispanic culture. There was an exploration of food, music, dancing, history, and more.
One fun aspect of the event was the various signs that listed fun facts and historical figures of Hispanic culture. Student Maggie Griggs shared, “I learned about where guacamole came from; it came from the Aztecs.” Part of what makes an event like this special is the cultural enrichment that comes with showing up. “I just wanted to start Salsa dancing, the music was getting to me. The overall vibe was very good!” Music is more than just words; it’s emotions. Whether you speak the language or you feel the rhythm, music unites people on a deep level. Earlier in the event, performers took the stage with some traditional dances; students were joining in and dancing, providing a fun and carefree environment to appreciate the culture. Before she left, Griggs provided some insightful parting commentary on the event: “I mean, anywhere I see free food, I show up, so I think it was a great event.”
A student volunteer of the event, Janely Lopez, worked the event this year and last year and thinks, “It’s been awesome!” She had many praises to sing about the educational aspects of the kickoff. “I love seeing all the people come by, all the fun facts that people have been able to learn from our tabling.” According to Lopez, her favorite fun fact was about the origins of Hispanic Heritage Month: “This month started as a week commemorated by Lyndon B. Johnson.” That was all the way back in 1968! And it’s been going strong ever since. Additionally, Lopez explained the event’s significance. “I think it’s important to have this event on campus to showcase all the different cultures that we have at Georgia Southern.” America is the melting pot of the world, and our campus only demonstrates a fraction of that cultural dish, so we have to make our portion count.
The Hispanic Heritage kickoff was run differently this year due to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) rollbacks. For the first time ever, it was run by The Office of Student Engagement and Support as opposed to the dissolved Office of Multicultural Affairs. Cat Hoopaugh, the Assistant Director of the Office of Student Activities, helped oversee the event. She explained how the transition to the new office has been. “It’s been really great! We worked with the staff members who were in that office that used to put on the program, and so they gave us the historical context of it and we worked with them to think about the aspects and the elements that they have had typically in the past so we could make sure we had some of those elements still, but then add some elements that we wanted to add as well.” Despite the hits to DEI, Georgia Southern is keeping culture alive and well. Not only is the Office of Student Engagement and Support keeping these programs going, but they’re trying to give them room to grow and be better.
Hoopaugh thinks the event is incredibly meaningful and here’s why: “It’s important to show our students who are of Hispanic culture that we support them and that we’re here for them, and also just celebrate that some of our students here are Hispanic. It also helps us educate our other students who are not Hispanic so that they can learn more about it [the culture and its impact],” she said, “Around the event, we put up different Hispanic Heritage Month facts like ‘Do You Know:’ facts about the culture, the history, and the influence that they have had on American culture. Famous scientists, authors, writers, musicians, and actors.” American culture is an amalgamation of the practices of people from all around the world. It’s a beautiful tapestry of the human race. Events like this are a nice way to zoom in and look at the seams to learn how that tapestry was made.
For some students, the event provided a refreshing reminder of home. As was the case for Evan Garnier. It was his first time attending the kickoff, and he said, “I’m from Costa Rica, so I wanted to come out and celebrate, especially cause today’s my independence day.” He went on to explain, “It’s very nice and thoughtful, it makes me not miss home as much. Right now in my home country everyone’s out celebrating and dancing with music, so it’s nice to have a little bit of that here and be able to share it with other people and inform people about it as well; to be able to share your culture.” If Garnier were to share one piece of his culture with the world he said it would be the “food and the music,” specifically the national breakfast dish Gallo Pinto. He even brought some coffee caramel treats with him from Costa Rica, as they are known for their premium coffee beans.
Everywhere you look, aspects of our society have been touched and improved by cultures from all over the world. Whenever you can, go out and celebrate the underrepresented communities of America that make it so unique; you might just learn something.
