At A.U., Latino students use art to celebrate identity
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American University’s Latinx and American Student Organization (L.A.S.O.) uses the arts as a means of bringing together Latino-identified students on campus—displays of cultural riches that seem more important now than ever, according to its student leaders.
L.A.S.O.’s Mariah Espada
“Diaspora clubs such as L.A.S.O. are imperative,” according to Mariah Espada the student organization’s communication director, who says the group helps A.U. Latinx students proudly showcase their culture and maintain their distinct voices inside the predominantly white student community at the upper Northwest campus.
L.A.S.O. is the oldest and largest Latinx organization at A.U. Founded in 1995, the student-run organization provides a voice and a safe space where students can express themselves and learn more about Latin American culture.
The group aims to provide a community for isolated Latinx students at A.U., according to Espada, who says she was once one of those isolated students. When she first arrived at A.U., she says she had a hard time finding people that “get it” until she joined L.A.S.O.
Since spreading awareness and appreciation of Latino culture is central to L.A.S.O.’s mission, the group usually includes some form of Latino arts at its events. It hosts an Annual Latinx Harvest Festival every fall semester, inviting food trucks to campus to represent cuisines from different countries. It also operates an electronic bulletin board to share events featuring the many different forms of Latinx culture represented on campus, according to Carolyn Mejia, the group’s programming director.
The school also has a diverse Latinx student body. This diversity is evident at L.A.S.O.’s general body meetings, where they discuss current events in the Americas and the problems plaguing their communities. As the discussion has shifted toward social and political issues, the organization has expanded its focus to further voices of activism for the community, as well.
“[T]he club has found a responsibility in being more politically active with everything that is occurring in the political atmosphere,” according to Espada who says the group welcomes all identities and “tries to maintain an inclusive, intersectional approach” to its work.
It also uses the arts to make social statements. For example, last semester L.A.S.O. hosted “Identi-TEA,” an open mic night at an on-campus café that drew a large crowd. Participants shared poems and sang songs they closely associate with, Mejia says.
“We strongly believe that poetry and the arts are a form of activism and healing,” she says, “so we will always work to incorporate them into our events.”
L.A.S.O.’s next event is “Latino Voices: A Night of Poetry,” at the School of International Service’s Abramson Family Founders Room this Wed., Mar. 7. For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page.
—By Stephanie Lopez
All photos courtesy of L.A.S.O.’s Facebook page
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