Hispanic Student Association Reaction Paper

In fall 2015, Hispanic students at Belmont started the Hispanic Student Association to bring awareness to campus. About 4.7% of Belmont students are Hispanic and they find many students are unaware of what Hispanic culture is and how difficult some Hispanic students believe it is to fit into Belmont’s culture.
“I wanted to start the Hispanic Student Association because it was time that the Latino/a community on campus had a home and family to root themselves in,” said Alyssa Aloyo, president of the HSA. During her freshman year there was the Hispanic Student Alliance, but had died out because the members did not make it a priority she said.
“It is my hope that we can create this presence on and off campus that shows that we want to educate ourselves and our peers on our culture, while also showing that we can

She thinks many students, no matter their race, are sometimes afraid to ask questions because we as a culture are afraid to offend others.
“If the administration doesn’t talk about it, no one else will,” said Aloyo. She and HSA believe that their efforts can only go so far if the administration does not address the diversity issue at Belmont. They hope to show administration and all of Belmont that students of different races should be celebrated and not forced into a mold.
“I think that the Hispanic community is not talked about on campus because the definition of “diversity” at Belmont is very black and white,” said Aloyo. The Hispanic community on Belmont’s campus is not often talked about or well known. There are 0.3% more Hispanic students than black students, but they are still not as well known or talked about. Aloyo believes the biggest issue when it come to diversity at Belmont is making students of other races feel as at home and comfortable on campus as white students. She said minority students seem to have to lose a piece of their identity in order to fit