SRU hosting Hispanic Heritage Month events starting Sept. 12

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Students participating in an event

The Day of the Dead Showcase at Slippery Rock University highlights several Hispanic Heritage Month activities.

Sept. 7, 2023

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — Enacted to law in 1988 by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the past and present milestones of Hispanic and Latino communities. Slippery Rock University is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a series of weekly events on campus hosted by SRU's Office for Inclusive Excellence; the Student Organization of Latinos/Hispanics, known as SOL; and The Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.

The celebration will begin with a Hispanic and Latino Cultures Meet & Greet, 4 p.m., Sept. 12, in the Smith Student Center, Room 323. SRU students and guests can make pinatas, enjoy traditional cuisines, meet faculty and students, and ask questions about Hispanic and Latino cultures.

"We want to start the celebration by showing people SOL is open to all," said Mason Reisz, a senior psychology major from Jeannette who is president of SOL. "It's going to be a great way for different cultures to come together and meet."

Representation and inclusion on campus has been an important part of SOL.

"Being able to come together and celebrate gives us representation on campus," Reisz said. "It makes it easy for us to show the campus community our culture and makes it so we all can celebrate together. SOL is open to all students; we want everyone to feel comfortable meeting new people, even if you aren't Hispanic or Latino."

The following events are part of the SRU Hispanic Heritage Month program and are open to all students:

  • Hispanic Heritage Month Fiesta, 5 p.m., Sept. 29, on the Quad. SOL will be hosting a fiesta on The Quad. Featuring Pittsburgh-based band Gavas, the event will have face painting, salsa lessons and Hispanic and Latino cuisine for all students to enjoy.
  • Café y Pan: Hispanic Heritage Coffee House, noon, Oct. 3, at the Smith Student Center Theater. A coffee house featuring imported coffee beans from across South America, this event will be a mixer for students to get to know each other. With a special performance by Cindy Candelaria-Pieve, SRU assistant professor of music.
  • Film: "Before Night Falls," 5 p.m., Oct. 12, at the Smith Student Center Theater. "Before Night Falls" is a documentary-style film about famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas's life beginning in Oriente province.
  • Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Showcase, 8 p.m., Oct. 28, at the Smith Student Center Ballroom. To end the month-long celebration, SOL, Rock the Weekend and other organizations will be hosting a Day of the Dead Showcase. This event will include readings of traditional Hispanic stories, Hispanic and Latino cuisines and a live dance performance. More details will become available on CORE, SRU's online platform for student organizations.

For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month programming at SRU, contact the OIE at oie@sru.edu or 724.738.2700.

MEDIA CONTACT: Aaliyah Thomas | 724.738.4854 | news@sru.edu

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