by LAUREN SCHUSTER, Asst. Editor

This past Wednesday, the board and members of Fuerza Latina held a meeting to discuss the club’s upcoming events and plans for the spring semester. After going over the club’s upcoming events, Isabel Quinones, the club’s vice president, encouraged all of the members in attendance to share any ideas that they had that could improve the club and help it grow.

“We are still kind of regrowing [as a club] and we’re small still, but I think we could be really big with the help of just branching out and having different events,” Quinones said.

First in their lineup of events for the semester is a lecture given in Spanish by the catcher for the New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez, which Fuerza Latina is co-sponsoring with the help of Student Engagement.

“[Gary Sanchez] went through a lot to get here and he’s so successful and I think a lot of students can kind of look up to his success and know that [they] can do something amazing too,” Quinones said.

Another upcoming event being planned by the club is a screening of a documentary called “Don’t Tell Anyone,” which is about a young woman who is an undocumented immigrant and a recipient of DACA.

“[The film shows] what she goes through on a day-to-day basis and I think it could relate to students on campus too that might be going through that,” Quinones said.

In addition to planning these events, the board members of Fuerza Latina have been working on re-establishing the club’s presence on campus over the past semester since the club had not been active for several years prior.

Jovanny Pena, the club’s secretary, said, “[The board] thought [re-establishing the club] would be a fun way to be involved on campus while also hanging out.”

The board members hope to make Fuerza Latina a club where Hispanic culture can thrive and they can share their culture with their fellow students.

“There’s so much to us [as Hispanics], more than just the food we eat and the music we listen to. We have our own backgrounds and traditions, and I think it’s really important to share with those who might not have experienced that kind of tradition before,” Quinones said.

Among the club members in attendance were freshmen Laura Flores and Taylor Harty-Moffatt.

Flores said, “I joined [Fuerza Latina] because I am Hispanic. I knew that in college the majority of people that go to college are white, so I wanted to go to an environment where I could see other people who are like me. You know, we all go to college, we’re all Hispanic, so it’s kind of cool being with people who share the same cultural background who are kind of going through the same thing you are.”

Harty-Moffatt said, “I’m not Hispanic at all, but I grew up in New Mexico, […] and I love the culture so much, [but] I was only really familiar with Mexican culture, so I wanted to join this club and expand [my knowledge of] Puerto Rican, Cuban, Argentinian, you know, just other Hispanic cultures.”

Fuerza Latina’s first event of the semester, the lecture by Gary Sanchez, will take place on Friday, Feb. 9 at 12:30 p.m. in the Great Room in Kelly Commons.