As the fall semester kicks off, various organizations are adapting and hosting their events safely. This year’s Latinx Heritage Month, hosted by Latinxistence, Multicultural Student Affairs and other Latinx organizations on campus, are finalizing their plans for the event to take place.

Nicole Lopez Vargas, a fourth-year studying social work and part of the Latinx Heritage Month committee, explained how the event kickoff is different from Hispanic Heritage Month, both celebrated annually Sep. 15-Oct. 15.

“It was made Latinx Heritage Month because Latinx is a term that more fully covers our people,” Lopez Vargas said. “Hispanic kind of includes Spanish people from Spain, and they’re not really a part of that same culture—they don’t have that same cultural experience, so I think Latinx covers just the community that is trying to be highlighted.”

According to Lopez Vargas, the event celebrates the cultures from Latin America—Mexico, Central and South America—and the Caribbean, while elevating student voices from Latinx backgrounds through social and educational events hosted for students to attend. The month is also meant to highlight diversity within Latinx communities, which can differ vastly between regions and nationalities. 

Axel Flores-Roman, a third-year studying industrial engineering and part of the Latinx Heritage Month committee, talked about the importance of inclusivity in the upcoming event. 

“We were trying to branch out our committee for this year’s celebration, not only to just say ‘Latinx! Hispanics! Woo-hoo!’ We’re trying to diversify what we can do; we’re trying to do events with the Women’s Center, with the GLBT Center,” Flores-Roman said. “Like I said, Hispanics are so vast, the identity of being a Hispanic is so vast you have to counter colorism for the Afro-Latinos. You have to include all of that.”

According to Stacey Protasowicki, this month would be typically honored at NC State through the exchange of music, dance and food, in addition to events hosted by the various Latinx organizations around campus. However, in order to follow NC State’s COVID-19 guidelines and ensure all students are comfortable participating, all events will be virtual this year. 

“Since COVID is going on, we can’t really immerse people in the culture as much as we normally try to do,” Protasowicki said. “I think the focus this month is more on checking in with our community and trying to make sure we’re still creating a space for Latino students to check in with one another, and I think that’s the more important thing we’re focusing on this semester.”

According to Flores-Roman, participating Latinx organizations include Sube Ritmo, Mi Familia, Lambda Theta Phi Lin Fraternity Inc., Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad, Lambda Pi Chi Sorority Inc., the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Association of Latino Professionals for America and Students for Immigration Rights and Equity, in addition to the Multicultural Student Affairs Center, Latinxistence, the GLBT Center and the Women’s Center.  

Each organization will host a series of virtual events students can participate in. The schedule will be released on the Latinxistence Instagram and upcoming webpage.

According to Flores-Roman, Lopez Vargas, Protasowicki and Jessica Terrones, a third-year studying mathematics education, all students can participate in Latinx Heritage Month by attending virtual events and Instagram lives between Sept.15 and Oct. 15. These events are interactive opportunities for students to join a community, get informed and share their experiences with others. 

“NC State is a predominately white school,” Terrones said, “Latinx Heritage Month gives students an opportunity to meet other students who have gone through the same struggles and continue to feel the same struggles every day.”

Terrones emphasizes that this event is not only for Latinx students. She encourages all students to get involved and be open to learning about the community around them. 

Students can take a more active role in the Latinx Heritage Month event by applying to the Multicultural Student Affairs’ Latinx Ambassadors program. The goal of Latinx Ambassadors is to spread awareness about NC State students’ Latinx identities and heritages in order to increase inclusivity. 

“A big goal of the ambassadors program is to make sure everyone is involved because the Latinx identity is usually grouped into one origin, but it is so much more,” Terrones said. 

Each ambassador is being asked to share their story as a member of the Latinx community through a short video that will be aired during the event’s kick off. To apply to the program, fill out the Latinx Ambassador Interest Form.

According to Flores-Roman, Lopez Vargas, Protasowicki and Terrones, this year, the Latinx Heritage Month events on campus will be focused on highlighting the identities of all the different members of the Latinx community and including everyone “Sin Limites,” which is the motto for this year’s celebration. 

For more information, visit the Multicultural Student Affairs’ website and the Latinxistence page.

Editor’s Note: Updated quote attribution for accuracy.