Reese Chatman, Campus Carrier features editor

September is Hispanic Heritage Month, during which people of all cultures come together to celebrate hispanic accomplishments and elevate hispanic voices. Berry is no exception to this, with Orgullo being at the very center of this movement on campus. Orgullo is a student-led club that seeks to educate the Berry community about the culture, politics and realities of Hispanic communities. They meet once a month and on top of planning multiple events throughout the year for the on-campus hispanic community, are open to everyone regardless of skin color.

“Since my freshman year, diversity has improved so much, which I am super excited about,” Joanna Betancourt, President of Orgullo said, “Back then, it felt like I could count the number of hispanic people on one hand.”

Joanna has experienced feeling marginalized first hand, and wants to now use this position to go out of her way to create a safe space for young Hispanics.

She said, “When I first got to Berry, it felt like a culture shock. My high school was very diverse. It was very difficult to adapt,but what helped me to do that was Orgullo. It felt good to know that there were other people like me.”

Joanna’s role as President entails a variety of responsibilities, including being one of the main correspondents for event planning.

“If someone reached out wanting to collaborate, such as BSA, I would be the one to talk to them,” she said, “but overall, I feel like we all work together as a team.”

One of these collaborations took place this past week, during which Orgullo partnered with Solidarity Week to put on the Community Celebration, which sought to celebrate hispanic heritage while eating hispanic foods, listening to hispanic music, and overall further building a sense of community.

“Berry is for sure getting where it needs to be,” Joanna said, “I definitely think there is always going to be room for improvement.”

“In Orgullo, we embrace common similarities and embrace those together,” Emily Pineda-Duarte, Event Coordinator for Orgullo.

Pineda-Duarte spoke of an upcoming event she is planning in collaboration with the Black Student Association on campus.

She said, “I am really excited for an event we are planning next semester between the two of us. It’s called Urbana and it will be held at the Kilpatrick Commons.”

“Hispanic Heritage Month is a little busier, just so we can embrace our culture more,” Pineda-Duarte said, and make it known that there are hispanic and Latinx students here. This year in particular, I really want more students to feel more comfortable with being open about their culture, not only throughout this month, but throughout the whole school year.”

She also spoke of the event that they planned in association with Solidarity Week, saying, “For that event, we actually had Latinx and hispanic faculty members and professors come and cook dishes from their home country, which I think was really special for the students too. It helped them to further see professors and faculty as people like us.”

She emphasized that non-hispanic students are more than welcome to attend Orgullo’s meetings and events, and that she has been surprised at the turnout for events thus far, saying, “This year, we have been shocked by how many people have attended our most recent events, a lot of which are underclassmen. We love that, but we also want to see more upperclassmen so we can see people across all demographics come.”

“Seeing as I am a freshman, I am really only starting to dive my feet into the water,” said Isabella Hurtado, who recently began attending Orgullo meetings and events, “and so far they have been more than welcoming with open arms.

Much of Orgullo’s growth seems to stem from word of mouth. Hurtado confirms this, saying, “I am a Bonner scholar, and so is Emily, who is also in leadership for the club, so she would invite me to the meetings. Most of the hispanics who are Bonners have been to some of the meetings.”

“I really just want to make more friends”, Hurtado said, “with more people who share the same culture as me. My family is Colombian and I am a first generation college student.”

Hurtado has previous experiences in clubs similar to that of Orgullo, saying, “When I was in high school, I was President of a hispanic club, so when I came to Berry, I was really looking for something similar, and I definitely found it. When I went to the first meeting, they had dancing, and I love hispanic dancing. You will always catch me on the dance floor.”