An Interview With Arcadia’s Latine Society
As a student with Puerto Rican heritage, I was pleasantly surprised to find Arcadia’s Latine Society last year, when I was a freshman. Unfortunately due to my busy schedule, I was and still am unable to attend most of the events and meetings they hold on campus. As such, I realized I may have an opportunity on behalf of the Because Arcadia team to get an inside look into the group!
The following post is an interview with the Latine Society’s Secretary, Arleny Rodriguez, and event coordinator, Dasia Rosado, to whom I am both incredibly grateful and to whom I owe many thanks! They were interviewed on behalf of the rest of the board, including President Allyson Velez, Vice President Michael De La Cruz, Public Relations Officer Shaughn Williams, Treasurer Quinne Boyle, Director Christina Citron-Marsh, and Program Coordinator Anthony A. Reyes.
Q: Would you mind telling me your name and a little about yourself; your position on the board, major, pronouns, etc.?
RODRIGUEZ: My name is Arleny Rodriguez and I am a Junior Psychology major with a minor in Education. My pronouns are she/her and I am the Secretary of the Latine Society. I am Dominican and I aspire to work with children in the future potentially in Speech Pathology.
ROSADO: My name is Dasia Rosado and I am a third-year Psychology major. I use she/her pronouns and my position on the board is Event Coordinator. A little about me is that I love anything pink or Hello Kitty. I am Puerto Rican with family residing in Humacao. With that, I have a career goal of working in child trauma!
Q: What is the mission of the Latine Society?
RODRIGUEZ: I believe that the mission of the Latine Society is to create a community for people who don’t feel heard on campus. It’s not only for students of Latin backgrounds but we love to include everyone that would like to learn more about the culture and its importance.
ROSADO: The mission of the Latine Society is to create a space on campus where community is the basis of the club. We create an environment where all students are welcomed regardless of background to be able to share our culture and highlight its importance with students.
Q: What inspired you to join/create the Latine Society?
RODRIGUEZ: I joined the Latine Society after it was created and my advisors were the ones who convinced me to take the leap and join during my sophomore year. However, I believe what inspired me was the fact that I was looking for a community on campus and this opportunity was presented to me. Overall, it was more about becoming a leader and trying to participate more on campus even though it is not easy to do as a commuter.
ROSADO: I would say that being friends with Arleny (our secretary!) inspired me to join the Latine Society. It was always fun for me to be able to go to the events, but also being a general member with insight into the foundations of how a club works. However, I am an advocate for social change, and being able to be in an executive position where I can be an advocate for our community was my biggest inspiration for joining.
Q: Do you think this is a common type of club on college campuses or a new kind of club/idea?
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I believe that it’s a common club because it’s about celebrating culture and bringing people together.
ROSADO: It is a common type of club on college campuses! I would say that every [college’s] Latin club on campus is run differently. Having social media, I have been able to connect with Latino/a clubs across the Philadelphia area from Temple, Lasalle, UPENN, and many more!
Q: Do you view the Latine Society as something more socially for fun, or as a more serious club with goals in mind? What are your goals in the club?
RODRIGUEZ: I believe that for me it’s a mixture of both because we create what the members want to see, but the majority is socially for fun. The reason is that we focus on making things enjoyable for the members by doing dances, crafts, & building connections. As mentioned before, the goal is to create a space where people can socialize with an incorporation of learning about cultural aspects through the lens of facts or music.
ROSADO: I would say the Latine Society applies both aspects to the club. We create a fun social environment for our members by having exciting events! This includes movie and paint nights. With that in mind, we are a more serious affinity club on campus with goals. One of the biggest goals for me is to create a space on campus where all Latinx individuals can feel heard, validated, and able to make a difference.
Q: Where would you like to see this club go in the future; activities or events hosted, impacts made on the community, etc.?
RODRIGUEZ: I only have about a year and a half left here at Arcadia. However, I want this club to expand and for future board members to continue to build a space that incorporates needed ideas such as culture day or more interactive events that would get the full campus attention. I want it to become a voice for the students or even a distraction from all the stresses that come from being a college student. Overall, I just want to be a space where anybody can come to and connect with each other.
ROSADO: I would like to see the Latine Society work more within other affinity clubs on campus. We are currently doing this, but working together to create school-wide events. We are holding a holiday event with other affinity clubs on campus on December 5th! Following this, I want to create a way for general members to be more engaged with event planning and/or creating new goals.
Q: Do you have any final closing thoughts?
ROSADO: We are [always] looking for individuals who are interested in being board members, and if anyone is interested in becoming a general member, reach out to latine@arcadia.edu!
RODRIGUEZ: I would only like to say thank you for asking about the club. I highly appreciate it!
