Latino Student Union Spotlight

The Latino Student Union is working to create a community by and for Latino students at Valencia High School. Senior Rocky Lopez started the club in the fall semester of junior year with his friend Gisselle Zamudio. The club meets every Thursday in room 922, and all students are welcome to attend meetings. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we spoke with Rocky to learn more about the club and the amazing work they are doing. 

Q: What inspired you to start this club? 

A: I started the Latino Student Union because I moved from Los Angeles to Santa Clarita, and it was a big culture shock to me. I had always grown up in a community where the majority of people were from my ethnic background, so I wanted to create a community here as well, especially because the Hispanic community in this area is kind of disconnected. 

Q: What are the goals of the club? 

A: The goals of the club are to educate students on what the Hispanic community is, especially since there are a lot of stereotypes about us. We also want to specifically educate Hispanic students on the opportunities available to them in higher education, because we’ve seen that Hispanic students lag behind other racial groups in education completion. We also try to educate people on societal issues, like language barriers, that keep Hispanic people from learning at their fullest potential. Really the two main goals of the club are education and increasing cultural awareness. 

Q: How does your club work to create a network of community and support for Hispanic students on campus. 

A: Our club tries to integrate presentations on culture into all of our meetings. We like to highlight cultural traditions from specific countries. Many members of the Hispanic community here are from Mexico, and so we like to talk about how certain holidays, like Valentine's Day, are celebrated there. We also talk about specific issues that our community faces, and we participate in events where we can showcase our culture through food, art, and music.  

Q: What are some examples of activities and events that the club has organized or participated in? 

A: Our club was recently involved in CultureFest, which is a district-wide event where different cultural groups come together to share our food and culture with one another. My club brought a bunch of foods from different Hispanic countries, including arepas, pupusas, and tamales. We wanted to showcase the variety of cultures within our community. We are also organizing a Día de los Muertos, which is later this month, to showcase our cultural traditions. It will have food, music. 

Q: What is one thing that your club has done that you are the most proud of, and why?

A: The thing that I am the most proud of is our college workshops. Every other LSU meeting is focused on different parts of the college application process. We are really happy that we are able to share educational opportunities with others. 

Q: What are some ways that students can honor Hispanic Heritage Month and educate themselves? 

A: There are so many cultural traditions in the Hispanic communities, and they vary from country to country. Learning about all of these different cultures and traditions is a great way to educate yourself. A lot of people see the Hispanic community as a monolith, but we are so much more than that. The unique groups within the Hispanic community deserve to be recognized. Joining our club is also a great way to educate yourself!

Q: What is your favorite part of running this club?

A: My favorite is seeing how enthusiastic people are to join our club. I see some people at every single one of our meetings, and that has allowed me to see that we’ve had an impact on people. It makes me very excited that people are going out of their way to attend our meetings, and I’m happy that they are able to learn from us.