Multicultural Academic Student Services celebrates start of Hispanic Heritage Month
A month of events of presentations and gatherings celebrating Hispanic culture kicked off Thursday afternoon with an event outside the Bovee University Center.
Multicultural Academic Student Services, Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority and fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta all participated in the kickoff.
Volunteers handed out informational calendars of Hispanic Heritage Month's planned events, as well as candy and take-away goodies. The MASS and multicultural sororities aimed to put out a message of acceptance and diversity.
Mount Pleasant senior Alexandra Maldonado, a sister in Sigma Lambda Gamma, said the sorority has their own week of events during the heritage month.
“We are going to have women empowerment day, alcohol awareness day, career awareness day with the Latino Alumni association, academics with Alpha Phi Alpha and a fundraiser at Bennigan’s Friday night," she said. "We’ll have flyers out around campus soon, and updates on our Facebook."
MASS has many events planned for the month to encourage people to take an interest in promoting awareness of Hispanic heritage.
Keisha Janney, assistant director of MASS, said one highlight of the month will be keynote speaker Edward James Olmos, who will be on campus on Wednesday. Having starred in movies such as "Battlestar Galatica" and TV shows like "Dexter," well-known Olmos will share his story of success through diversity.
“Another event that I’m really excited for is Michael Reyes, who will speak about Mexican identity through spoken word, which is like a mix of hiphop and poetry," Janney said. "It’s a performance art."
Reyes will speak on Oct. 7 in the UC Auditorium.
The heritage month will run through Oct. 15, with multiple events every week to get students involved and interested in Hispanic heritage.
While the kickoff was to bring attention to the month, Janney said she hopes the attention continues.
“We basically just want students to be in the know about hispanic heritage and to come join us for our free events," she said. "It’s a great way to learn without a cost"
