Although the BYU–Hawaii area of focus is the Pacific and Asia, there are students present from Latin American countries. They said they feel they are underrepresented and face stereotypes from uninformed people in the student body.
Latino representation at BYUH
According to Moises Rodriguez-Orozco, a junior studying communications from Mexico, his fellow Latinos do not share the same presence as other cultures like Polynesia. “I understand it in some ways, because this institution was built especially for people from the Pacific Islands and Asia.
“The way of living here is quite different to Latin America. We have no exposure to Polynesian culture at all. It’s also harder to speak our native tongue, Spanish, here because there are so few of us.”
Agreeing with Rodriguez-Orozco, Lehonti Perez Ovalle, a freshman studying business marketing from Guatemala, said, “I have felt it to be hard many times. It’s because there are not many of us here. It’s also difficult for us to meet and be around each other sometimes.”
Ovalle added, “People have a lot of stereotypes about Latinos. People ask me about drug dealers and drug cartels, thinking that we have a lot of those. People always assume we just eat tacos and beans.
“A lot of Americans have connections with and exposure to Mexicans and their culture, so they kind of assume the rest of Latin America is like that. However, Latin America has many different cultures.”
Despite stereotypes and the limited number of Latinos in the student body, Ovalle has felt welcomed at BYUH. “It’s been easy to fit in. It’s a very diverse campus. I’ve felt very welcome here. Culture night is a good way to feel represented.”
Ovalle said Latinos should take advantage of opportunities around campus. “When I see other Latinos, I usually speak Spanish. We don’t have many opportunities to do so, so when the opportunity to speak Spanish is there, we take advantage.
“The difficult part is to meet with other Latinos, because there are not many. The main way to meet with each other is through the Latino Club.”
Rodriguez-Orozco echoed Ovalle’s comments, saying, “Even though the student body doesn’t have many Latinos here, I feel accepted and very welcome at this university. A good way for Latinos to feel like they have a place here is to join the Latino Club and get involved with them.”
The Latino Club
President of the Latino club Kevin Martins, a senior from Utah majoring in political science, said, “Being an American-Latino, I have a different viewpoint to people from Latin America. I do have friends from Latin America that have shared with me their feelings about separation from other cultures.”
Both of Martins’ parents are from Brazil, however he was raised in Utah. He spoke of the challenges Latino students face at BYUH. “Growing up in the United States, it’s easier for me. I don’t feel too far away from home. However, the connections in the career center for Latin America aren’t as vast as those in Asia or the Pacific. There aren’t many options for Latin America.”
Of the club, Martins said, “We have about 70 members in the club and maybe 15 of those are from Latin America. A lot of members in the club are returned missionaries who served in Latin America.”
Martins said his presidency had planned many activities this semester which involved Latin American food, dancing, games and fun representing their culture. “I got with my presidency at the beginning of the semester, and told them we are going to have a crazy semester… but we are going to do things we’ve never done before.
“Our biggest goal is to have an unforgettable semester, with many activities. We’ve done two services projects; we’re doing two career opportunities and we are doing four social activities. We’ve had a lot of educational experiences with Culture Night, sharing with people the stories behind the dances and cultural aspects.”
Writer: Will Krueger