Geneseo celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Geneseo has spent the past 30 days celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month on campus. Hispanic Heritage Month takes place annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL) explains, “While we celebrate Hispanic and Latino communities beyond this month…we give extra recognition to the many contributions made to the history and culture of the United States, including important advocacy work, vibrant art, popular and traditional foods, and much more.”
You may notice that Hispanic Heritage Month does not take place in one single month. Instead it is split between September and October. The reason for this, according to the NMAL, is that “many Central American countries celebrate their independence days within these dates.” Certain key dates correspond with these independence days, beginning on Sept. 15 with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Sept. 16 represents Mexico’s independence, Sept. 18 represents Chile, and Sept. 21 represents Belize. Through these dates, “Hispanic Heritage Month honors the resilience and determination of the Hispanic community.”
Geneseo has dedicated several events throughout this period to honor and give visibility to Hispanic identities on campus and worldwide. The first event held was titled “Hispanic Heritage Month: Movie Night” and was put on by Global Language and Cultures to kick off the celebrations. This event was held in the Walter Harding Lounge inside of Welles on Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The second event was “Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet and Greet.” This was held on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with the following meet and greet, which took place Monday, Sept. 23, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The fourth event held was a book fair, where books written and published by Hispanic authors were highlighted for the student body to purchase. Various other class items were also available for students. This event occurred from Wednesday, Sept. 25, through Friday, Sept. 27.
The next event was the “Hispanic Heritage Month: From the School” event. SUNY Geneseo students were invited to join a round-table-style conversation about being a teacher in local high schools after graduating from SUNY Geneseo while maintaining and embracing their identity. This event was held on Monday, Sept. 30, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Walter Harding Lounge inside Welles Hall.
The “Hispanic Heritage Month: From Abroad” event was a conversation about spending a semester studying abroad with Tori Chizuk—a self-proclaimed study abroad enthusiast— that was available for students on Tuesday, Oct. 1, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This gave interested students the time and ability to learn about Geneseo’s different study abroad programs, with a special focus on those tied to Hispanic countries.
The next event was “Hispanic Heritage Month: Talk from Finger Lakes” by the Latino Health Coalition. This coalition works to improve health equity for the Hispanic community in the Rochester-Finger Lakes region. This talk was held on Thursday, Oct. 3, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center. It touched on more localized resources, goals, and concerns of those working within the Coalition and talked with students about any questions, observations, or prominent concerns they had as well.
A closing ceremony for Hispanic Heritage Month took the form of a potluck. This was dubbed the “Hispanic Heritage Month: Latino Cuisine,” which took place on Tuesday, Oct. 8, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., ending the month-long celebration satisfyingly.