Seton Hall University will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month online from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15., due to COVID-19.
Although Hispanic Heritage Month has been a recurring event at Seton Hall, it has never been executed similar to previous years as the planning for the event was completed by the Hispanic Heritage Month Committee.
“One of the feedback items that we heard from some student organizations last year was that every year, Hispanic Heritage Month seemed to be only something that student organizations planned, and we really never had a coordinated effort on campus,” Ana Campoverde, the executive director Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute, said. “The committee came up to push different administrations, departments and student organizations to really work together to create different projects and events.”
As a former Seton Hall student, Campoverde said she considers the formation of the committee a personal win.
“As a student at SHU, we never had administrators create any kind of Hispanic Heritage Month committee task force,” Campoverde said. “Being able to come back as a staff partner and be a part of this committee is almost like [going] full circle.”
Several events are already planned throughout the month, one of which is “Ella Triunfa: Women in the Workplace Panel.” Campoverde said the virtual event will feature a lineup of female panelists with a variety of career backgrounds who will share their experiences, career trajectories and the ways they navigate their minority identity in the workplace. This event will take place on Sept. 16.
Other events include “Café con Joes: The Ethics of COVID-19” on Sept. 14, “2020 Election – The Impact of the Latino Vote” on Sept. 30, “Café con Joes: Education & Latinos in the US” on Oct. 7 and “Making Comics – The Future Representation” on Oct. 14.
Although there are many events planned for the monthlong celebration, events will continuously be added in the weeks leading up to Sept. 15 as student organizations plan how they will be contributing.
Ongoing projects will also be occurring throughout the month, one of which includes the library’s eRepository. Online, the library will be housing personal essays and audio recordings from those in the Seton Hall community who respond to the prompt, “What does being Latino mean to you?”
“The eRepository project is going to be like a time capsule,” Campoverde said. “In the future, anyone who is able to access the eRepository will be able to access multiple years of thoughts and prompts.”
Student organizations will also celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month on social media. One student organization that will be celebrating this way is Unidos Bailamos. Club president Diamond Vasquez, a junior accounting major, said that throughout the month, the organization will be highlighting the executive board, club members and different Latin dance styles on its Instagram @shu_unidosbailamos.
“On the first day, we are going to post a video where all students and faculty who are of Latinx descent represent their flag by sending us a picture or quick video of them holding their flag just to kick off the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration,” Vasquez said.
Although it is titled Hispanic Heritage Month, Angy Estrada, Student Affairs Coordinator, said the celebration is for everyone to participate in regardless of their background.
“This year’s celebration is not only to engage those who identify as Latino, Latinx or Hispanic,” Estrada said. “We want to be inclusive, inviting everyone from our Seton Hall community so that we can all learn about each other’s cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities.”
Brooke McCormick can be reached at brooke.mccormick@student.shu.edu.
