Is it time for a Hispanic Heritage Month assembly?

198 UHS students are latino or hispanic. Hispanic Heritage Month starts today, and there are several teachers who are trying to make an assembly happen to represent these students.

For teacher assistant Georgia Barton, representation of these students is key in order for students to feel accepted into the school environment.

“As a child, I lived in two worlds: one with many voices and one with none,” she recalls.

For Barton, an assembly would give the students a safe space to share their cultures without the fear of being discriminated against. It can also be a fun way for students of other ethnicities to learn more about Latin American culture.

Spanish Language Arts 2 teacher Mariela Agrawal wants students who are Latin/Hispanic to participate in the assembly by showing their talents in order to break social stigmas.

“I want to show the school that we are not just housekeepers, gardeners and thugs. We are more than that,” she said.

Recently, there have been altercations involving latinx/ hispanic students, which have caused Dual Language teachers to teach Social and Emotional (SEL) skills during their class periods. These SEL segments are taught so that students can learn how to manage their emotions such as anger in order to decrease the number of fights.

As a part of the Latin American community, I can say that we are often judged and put into categories that do not represent us. We have a voice, but it’s often silenced by the fear of not being accepted into dominant society based on our culture. By having an assembly, we would have the opportunity to show our cultures and talents in order to show a better image of our community.

As we start Hispanic Heritage Month, Multicultural Center leader Asia Hall is still looking for students to take part in the planning process. She is currently trying to gather more students to plan an assembly. If you are interested in planning the assembly or decorating, reach out to Ms Hall at asiahall@usd116.org!