'More could be done': UNC students celebrate Latinx Heritage Month

Top of Lenoir was adorned with decorations on Thursday as students enjoyed pupusas and churros. Latin music drifted over the crowd. 

This year, UNC’s Latinx Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and encompasses a variety of events, ranging from the inaugural Latinx Partnership Meal to the Carnaval at the Bell Tower. The Carolina Latinx Collaborative works with various student and campus organizations annually to organize the events. Several new ones were added to its 2018 program. 

New events include a workshop entitled “Towards Equity and Success for Latinx Students,” the 20 Under 20 Community Engagement Reception developed by N.C. Sli, and a meet-and-greet with comic book illustrator and writer Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. 

Josmell Pérez, assistant director of the Carolina Latinx Collaborative (CLC) within the UNC Office of Diversity and Inclusion, said he believes these events can have a significant impact on the Latinx community at UNC. 

“Representation is vital, right?" Pérez said. "We all want to see ourselves and see who we are within the people around us." 

Hispanic students make up 7.8 percent of UNC’s student body, said María DeGuzmán, founding director of the Latina/o Studies Program. 

DeGuzmán said the Latinx population in North Carolina grew by 22 percent, or about 1.3 million people, between 2010 and 2017 alone. 

“Young people are the present and the future and are dominating the way Latinx is being defined,” DeGuzmán said. 

Senior Bryant Parroquin previously worked with CLC to organize Latinx Heritage Month. Parroquin said this month provides an opportunity to embrace his heritage and upbringing in a particularly fulfilling way. Although Parroquin is no longer a member of the CLC, he continues to advise the group.

“Just having that aspect of the way I was raised being expressed around the entire month is amazing,” Parroquin said. 

Latinx Heritage Month comes only a few months after the University temporarily shut down UNC's Latinx Education Research Hub in July. 

DeGuzmán said she believes the general consensus among the community is that more could be done within the University to foster inclusivity on campus. 

“More could be done," DeGuzmán said. "Not just in a way that’s extending charity or feeling like they have to do it, but seeing as there's a really exciting present and future of the United States, and getting people to think about who their classmates are, who they're going to be serving in their profession.”

Parroquin said he was “very disappointed” to hear of the shutdown, particularly because many Latinx students use the Hub to foster networking opportunities and to build experiences. 

“It was basically closing a door for the community,” Parroquin said. 

However, Pérez hopes this month can provide an opportunity for UNC to highlight and create a dialogue around its Latinx community members. 

“I think that the environment in which we live in, being that it’s higher education, it is important to sometimes step out of our comfort zones and learn about one another, and learn about each other,” Pérez said. 

DeGuzmán said one of the greatest lessons this month can offer to students is the chance to realize the Latinx population is a constitutive part of U.S. history and culture. She also reiterated the importance for community members, regardless of background, to explore the events and opportunities Latinx Heritage Month has to offer. 

“The reason I would urge people to go is that they’re learning who is making up state of North Carolina,” DeGuzmán said. "It's not a uniform population. You're talking about many different nationalities, ethnoracial backgrounds under that umbrella — whether it's Latino, Latina, Latinx — it's an umbrella that is multinational and multicultural."

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