UT student organization raising awareness about Hispanic, Latin culture on campus

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — With the University of Tennessee bringing in thousands of students each year, it is also home to a large Hispanic and Latin community.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, UT’s Latin American Student Organization came together to celebrate their culture.

“We are one of the largest Latin American orgs on campus, our mission is to bring together students of Latin culture, but also be open to cultures of all kinds. We’re not opposed to anyone because we want people to come in and learn about us and engage in the culture,” said LASO’s president, Amy Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said their event is to have fun and exemplify everything they strive to be.

“They really made me feel at home and kind of just showed me that there is community out here,” said third-year student, Ealeria Huarote. “It’s not a huge community, this small community that I did find, like, it’s very- it seems very big to me.”

Going to a predominantly white institution, Huarote said she felt lost when she started at the University. Many members share a similar story.

“It was nice to see someone like me,” said LASO vice president, Edwin Rosales Rodriguez. “I know these people have similar backgrounds to me. I know the types of struggles that they’ve been through. It’s like a place to be. It’s like, I love the community that really brought me in and I’m really grateful for that.”

Rosales Rodriguez said being a part of an organization like this one gave him a space to connect with other students on a deeper level – something Jocelyn Sanchez, a senior at UT, agrees with.

“College can be really hard, especially at such a big school,” she said. “Finding your home or your place, like your spot can be super difficult. But I think through LASO, they’re kind of like the umbrella for all our Latin orgs, and it definitely has become a really close knit community here on campus.”

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Together, they want to share their culture with the rest of UT’s campus and create an environment where students can feel at home

“I just wanted to make sure that other people got that same feeling at this level,” said Gonzalez. “Especially with Hispanic students not going to university as much as other races, and being first generation, it was just really critical that I form that community for other people as well.”

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