There are a lot of clubs and organizations at EMU that provide a space for students to find joy, celebrate, have discussions, and connect with each other. One of these organizations is the Latinx Student Alliance (LSA).
LSA is an organization that provides a space for Latinx students to celebrate their heritage, take pride in their culture, and be in a place where they can be heard and seen. The co-presidents of LSA, first-years Mayra Cruz and Cristal Narciso, as well as the LSA members, are working hard in order to keep the club alive and to make a place where students can connect and have an outlet to voice their fears, joys, and concerns.
When talking about the goals of LSA for now and the future, Narciso said, “Right now LSA is being rebuilt, aiming for diversity, welcoming everyone, and making a safe space for them.”
Narciso and Cruz also emphasized the importance of making LSA a place where not only Latinx or Hispanic students feel welcome, but everyone feels welcome. One of the things that has pushed LSA forward as an? organization is the lack of representation at EMU.
Narciso and Cruz explained how it is difficult to find someone with similar backgrounds and heritage at EMU, therefore going to LSA and finding people with similar interests and backgrounds makes EMU more of a home. Narciso said, “I come from California which is pretty diverse, so coming here is different, and at LSA, I do feel a little bit of home because I connect with everyone there in a certain way.”
While talking about what EMU is doing to represent culture and to make diverse groups represented, Cruz said, “I feel like they do the very minimum, because having a club alone is them supporting us, but I don’t think there is enough representation of LSA or other groups, and I think they could emphasize a little bit more.”
Cruz and Narciso shared the difficulties of organizing events at EMU and trying to have people simply show up and enjoy some quality time. For LSA, culture is something that is really important, and they want to be able to have discussions about cultural differences, lack of diversity, and representing their heritage with everything they do. Therefore, for the upcoming school year, and the rest of the semester, LSA hopes to find more people to join the organization and be a place that can be open to discussing many things that are relevant to the Latinx community.
