October was Italian American Heritage Month, and Seton Hall’s Italian Club celebrated the month with different events that incorporate the Italian language and traditions.
Gino Granato, a senior visual and sound media major, who has been a member since his freshman year, said that he is grateful to be in this position as president of the Italian Club.
“I was made the secretary as soon as I joined, I always had a vision of becoming president because I knew what I wanted to do with the club. I made sure to be proactive in all the meetings,” Granato said. “I was in Italian classes all four years of high school, so I always knew I wanted to continue that culture.”
Granato said he enjoys the club’s ice cream nights and game nights, and that his favorite memory was “art night.”
“There were about 20 to 25 people, some of them I knew personally, some I didn’t know at all. But having that many people there talking, having conversations, having fun, laughing, with music playing in the background, it was surreal,” Granato said. “Everyone at the meeting had to paint on a canvas something related to Italian culture.”
Granato added that the events are open to all students, even if they are not Italian American. He said he would also add topics of conversation that are “not Italian based” because he understands not all members of the club are Italian or know everything about Italian culture.
“We had a sports night where we talked about Italian sports, but I would also throw questions that were not Italian based, something that was NFL related that is completely separate from Italian,” Granato said. “But then I would also throw questions that were Italian-American based. I try to make events so that everyone can kind of contribute to the event.”
Emma Zattor, a sophomore psychology and philosophy major and social media coordinator, said the Italian Club hosts events that are fun and educational.
“One night we had an Italian sports night, it was like a game setting, but we had different fun facts about sports in Italy and we gave background information for people to learn about it,” Zattor said. “We watch like Italian movies, and [Gino] puts closed captions in Italian.”
Will Calabrese, a junior finance major and secretary of Italian Club, said that Italian Club has game nights, which are his favorite.
“Just being able to relax after class and just play the games, have fun, have a couple of laughs with my friends and other people,” Calabrese said. “It’s just a great way to build bonds.”
Zattor said the Italian Club allows students to socialize with their peers and offer a new perspective on Italian culture.
“For those who are of Italian descent, you can find other people who have that common background, and you can connect with your roots almost,” Zattor said. “The Italian Club is just a welcoming community where you can connect with other people and just have a good time and learn about the culture and what it is about, you learn so much in a fun way.”
Zattor encourages students, even those who are not Italian, to join the organization and help bring awareness to Italian culture.
“I think it is good to represent Italian heritage and be proud of who you are,” Zattor said. “I think it is good to show a diverse society by having an Italian club. I think it’s important to represent every culture like there’s the Spanish club, the Polish club, there are just so many clubs I can’t even remember. I think it is good to have a piece of every part of the world represented.”
Zattor, who has been a member of the Italian Club since her freshman year, said she joined the organization because it allows her to learn about her culture while having fun at the same time.
“I personally wanted to join an organization on campus where I can learn but in a relaxed setting,” Zattor said. “I wanted to connect with my roots and learn more about my culture. That was a big part of it, but also just to be with other students who share that similarity with me.”
Additionally, she said that if she wasn’t Italian, she “would have joined anyway because those guys are a boatload of fun.”
Andrew Palma is a writer for The Setonian’s Campus Life section. He can be reached at andrew.palma@student.shu.edu.
