As the only Latina in Indiana University Northwest’s cabinet, Chief of Staff Amy Diaz knows representation matters.
“We’re increasing belongingness on campus for our Latino students,” Diaz said. “It means that they get to see themselves represented, and they can see that their institution celebrates them.”
IUN on Wednesday hosted its fourth annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the influence of Hispanic culture in the United States and is recognized from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
IUN is the most diverse of Indiana University’s campuses, and about 30% of its students are Hispanic or Latino, according to the university. The school was named a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education, which recognizes institutions with at least 25% Hispanic students, according to the department’s website.
Because of the distinction, Diaz said the university is the beneficiary of two grants that will help build better on-campus spaces, including a student success center.
The university’s celebration included music from the band Latin Satin Soul and free food, including churros, tostones and tamales.
IUN’s Hispanic Heritage Month event aims to have activities that students will enjoy, and the university includes them in the planning.
“Our students wanted to do a ‘sip and paint,’ so we’re doing that with mocktails,” Diaz said. “This is just something for the students and for the community, and we want to make sure everyone feels welcome.”
Viviana Franco and Jennifer Alvarez were two IUN students who attended Wednesday’s event. The two are members of Pi Lambda Chi, the university’s Latina sorority. Although they were working at the Hispanic Heritage Month event, both said they enjoyed the celebration.
Pi Lambda Chi focuses on preserving Latina culture, but Franco said they accept women from all races and ethnicities. She also said they’re the first multicultural sorority on campus.
Franco chose IUN because the campus is diverse.
“I was happy that I could find an organization (like Pi Lambda Chi) where I could feel represented and surrounded by women like me who want to better themselves,” she said.
Alvarez joined Pi Lambda Chi because she was new to campus and wanted to meet new people. She grew up in a predominantly white area, Alvarez said, so she wanted to be closer with Latina culture.
“Connecting with everyone based on our heritage really is awesome,” Alvarez said. “And this is just fun. It’s truly a sisterhood.”
It was important for Pi Lambda Chi to be at the Hispanic Heritage celebration because they wanted their presence known, Franco and Alvarez said.
Alvarez, who is a sophomore at IUN, said the celebration was the first on-campus event she attended her freshman year, so it was “a full circle moment” for her to help the sorority recruit.
“I was so nervous, and I was so shy,” she said. “(Pi Lambda Chi) was the only table I went to and signed up. From there, I met my best friend, I gained sisters, and now I’m back at this event helping other women.”
