By Jack Freedman

On Monday, August 24, at 6 p.m., the Hispanic Student Association held their first annual Salsa Into the Semester welcome event in the McLane Conference Hall. This allowed current students to meet new students interested in joining the club. Both members and organizers alike agreed it was a more unique way to start the year compared to normal meetings.

“I’ve been in HSA since my freshman year, but this is my first year as an officer,” Karlie Guzman, a senior and president of the HSA, said. “It took a lot of planning to decide what would bring in new and current students; something fun that kind of brings people into a community.”

Unlike the Latino Fest, which has been a tradition for the past several years, this was the HSA’s first time putting together a back-to-school party. Since they had never done anything like it, they took weeks to make sure everything was perfect.

“This was the first year we did an actual back-to-school party for our first meeting instead of a normal meeting,” Farrah Sanchez, a senior and vice president of the HSA, said. “It’s a good way to set aside differences and come together to celebrate our heritage.”

When guests arrived in McLane, they were greeted with complimentary chips and salsa. In front of the stage were 21 flags, each one representing a Latin American country. The club officers opened the event with a speech about what they hoped to gain out of the school year, as well as the countries that they have roots in. After everyone finished eating their chips, they played games, took photos and introduced themselves to one another.

“We’re always looking for new members,” Guzman said. “We need more officers, we need a chaplain and an event coordinator. It’s nice to have representation in a mostly white school.”

The event was a success and drew in both old and new people. At the end of the meeting, the officers drew two countries out of a hat. The chosen countries will be the theme for the next meeting on September 7 in Lord Conference Center.

“We’re going to start theming each meeting around different countries,” Dr. Rebeka Retta, the HSA advisor, said. “Next meeting will be Costa Rica and Venezuela. It’s a good way to learn more about the country and about the heritage there.”

This year marks Retta’s first year as the advisor for the HSA, taking over from Dr. Karla Gonzales, who helped found the club.