College is seen as the place to foster great minds and build future leaders. This is what college is all about: Not just students of a women’s college, but first-generation Hispanic women coming together to talk about their experience of being Hispanic in a predominately white institution (PWI).
(From left) Shainie Cox, Genesis Sanchez, Alma Vargas, Bella Martinez, Carmen Roman & Maricela Ramirez sit down with HC Brenau to discuss being Hispanic at Brenau University.
Where exactly is everyone from?
Maricela: I was born in North Carolina, but my parents are from Oaxaca, Mexico.
Shainie: Well my mom is from Panama.
Genesis: My parents are from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
Carmen: Same here, my parents are from Mexico.
Bella: I was in Dahlonega, but parents are from San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas.
Alma: My parents are both from San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
Brenau has the Black Student Association and an International Club, but we don’t have anything pertaining to the Hispanic community. Why is that? Do you all think that’s needed at Brenau and why?
Carmen: I say yes.
Genesis: Well, I know during my freshman year some of the Hispanic seniors were trying to set up a hispanic sorority, and they were going around getting people to sign up for it. My friends and I got really excited about that, then the idea just got shut down and never happened. So that was kind of disappointing.
Alma: A Hispanic organization at Brenau would help us feel belonged. Brenau is awesome, but they should really emphasize more on the Hispanic population.
Shainie: So that way you can know that there are other Hispanic people here, and get to know each other.
Alma: Yea, like I didn’t even any of you went to Brenau.
Genesis: There are very few, but you don’t even know the very few that are here.
Bella: During convocations I’m like (points) oh, a Hispanic!
Do you all feel like Latinos/Hispanics are fairly represented here or even represented at all?
All: No
What steps need to be taken to change that?
Bella: Do what the seniors were trying to do with making the sorority happen. If we could just get together, and finish what they started. I think that would really help.
Carmen: I think if there were more events on campus that included the Hispanic community it would make more hispanics get involved.
Alma: I also think by Brenau talking to hispanic high schoolers who are interested in coming here, and by encouraging them to come would make them feel more belonged.
So reaching out the Hispanic community more?
Alma: Yes, because that would make us feel like people actually care. What I find it ironic is how there’s a large Hispanic population in Gainesville, and Brenau is located in the center of Gainesville. Yet, Brenau’s Hispanic population is rarely acknowledged.
Shainie: Brenau is a traditional school so they stay with traditional things, but my problem is that why does one thing have to be traditional? Why can’t we be traditional, too? Can we bring our traditions here and will they accept that? With what we’ve seen in the past with the hispanic sorority they tried to start is they didn’t. So it’s kind of discouraging.
Alma: They empower us as women, but I think they also need to empower us as diverse women as well.
What are some stereotypes or misconceptions about the Hispanic/Latino community that you all would like to educate people?
Maricela: Oh, my god! Teen pregnancy.
Carmen: Yes!
Alma: They assume we are all just babymakers.
Shainie: Which isn’t true, because clearly we’re here in college for higher education.
Bella: Another thing. I feel like honestly people wouldn’t put their lives in danger if they didn’t want to better themselves. We’re not criminals, rapists, or whatever. My parents came here to give my sister and I a better future, and obviously I’m here at Brenau and I’ve made it this far. We’re not here to take people’s jobs or anything like that.
Genesis: We’re just trying to better the lives of our family’s.
Maricela: When it comes to jobs I feel a lot of Americans are asking employers how much are they going to get paid. Whereas, I feel a lot of Hispanics are just happy to get a job. People in our community are very hard working, many of us came from nothing, and work just as hard as every other American.
What parts of your culture do you think should be celebrated?
Bella: Well obviously not Cinco de Mayo.
Genesis: Yea, we don’t celebrate that.
(In a bit of shock.) Seriously, you all don’t celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
Bella: It was a battle, but it wasn’t independence day so it’s not really celebrated in that manner.
Genesis: Yea. It’s an American made holiday, and I feel it’s just a day where people go out, get drinks and wear sombreros.
Shainie: (laughing) It’s so unauthentic.
Maricela: Well my family and I are Mexican, and one big thing we celebrate is Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
Carmen: Mine too. It’s a really big in our community.
Maricela: Also, Día De Los Reyes those are pretty big holiday’s in our cultures.
To wrap it up, what changes would you all like to see happen within Brenau to make diversity feel included?
Maricela: People need to understand how privileged they are here. They don’t understand the struggles we go through just to get a fraction of what is free and available t