SMC Latinx/e Event connect: Cultura, Community, and Comida
The Student Equity Center at Santa Monica College (SMC) hosted “Latinx/e Cultura, Community, and Comida” on Sept 11, kicking off Latin Heritage Month. Students came together to connect with other latinx/e students, learn more about different cultures, campus resources, and club offerings at SMC.
Valeria Garcia, the coordinator and organizer for this event, was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and moved to the United States. When students started joining the center, Garcia said that she “noticed a lot of different cultures”. She met students from Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, and El Salvador, to name a few.
Within the next few weeks, the club will host an event for the independence of the Latin community, and next year, they hope to branch out and get more students to join their club.
“Word from students is that it is very difficult to find the center because it's in a very hidden area of campus.” SMC student, Luna Matias, was born in West Gate, Calif. and has roots in Oaxaca, Mexico. When she learned that the center has Oaxacan Indigenous Students, her interest piqued; she wanted to learn more about her culture and learn their native dialect.
Matias said the club made her feel seen and that she didn't feel like she was alone. As a student with immigrant parents, she said it didn’t have an impact on her because she grew up in a neighborhood where everyone was very connected and they all had similar backgrounds.
Student Crystal Ochoa, who is Guatemalan and Salvadorian, attended the event as well. She learned through the event that she needs to appreciate her culture more because it's a mixed culture.
Garcia, Matias and Ochoa shared how they felt about the current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Raids that have been going on throughout the Los Angeles area. They all mentioned that they were sad and hurt by everything going on because they see that it's unjust with the racial profiling and harming people who haven't done anything wrong.
Matias said she felt so strongly for the people getting deported that she went to a protest to speak on behalf of those who couldn't. She wants to make an impact in the Latinx community so they don't continue to get racially profiled and sent back to their native countries without a valid reason.
The latinx/e club is located in the Student Equity Center, which is located under the cafeteria. The faculty makes this club a safe space for all students, regardless of their legal status