Soup and Substance discusses Hispanic heritage at first event of the year

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The subject of the year’s first “Soup and Substance” luncheon was themed to fit with Hispanic Heritage Month.

Students and faculty arrived at noon Monday in the Bovee University Center Rotunda for free soup and the presentation “Americano as Apple Pie.”

The event was organized by the Office of Diversity Education and was intended to be a discussion of the presence and significance of the Hispanic-Latino community in the U.S.

The presentation’s first half consisted of having the audience watch a video in the “Today’s Life Choices” series titled “Americano as Apple Pie: The Blending of Culture.” The video’s information included the origin of the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” as well as how the more community-based “Latino” is often the preferred term of the two.

The video also looked at the dramatic 58 percent increase in Hispanic population from the 1990-2000 U.S. Census and its implications for the future of culture in the United States. Examples of merging cultures were explored in border cities of Texas and Mexico where bilingual education, Texans celebrating Mexican Independence Day, and Mexicans celebrating the Fourth of July could be found.

The second half of the presentation was a question and answer session moderated by sociology professor Pauline Acosta. Questions from the audience ranged from how Hispanic-Latinos fare in American education and business, to more controversial questions surrounding illegal immigration.

“I would just say it’s much more complicated than what we see on the news,” she said.

Acosta avoided making direct statements on illegal immigration issue and put the question back toward the audience to address and think about themselves.

“History is important, but it isn’t simple,” said Keisha Janney, assistant director of Multicultural Academic Student Services. “What stands out as an important point for many people is that the U.S. purchased part of Mexico—and it’s not like people weren’t living in that land. That’s an important point for people to understand and remember.”

“(Soup and Substance) is such a great environment for learning about different cultures, but a lot of people just sit and soak it in instead of stepping up to discuss themselves,” she said.