Modern Languages, others host Hispanic Heritage Month events in October
September 28, 2016
During the months of September and October, the Saint Anselm College community will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, a month-long celebration that is meant to bring both cultural awareness as well as fun activities to our campus.
Departments and groups from all over campus sponsor the month’s events. Some of these include the Modern Languages Department, Multicultural Center, Multicultural Student Coalition, Campus Ministry, and Gender Studies.
The events of Hispanic Heritage Month are meant to bring issues of importance to the Hispanic community to the forefront, while providing opportunities to share in their beliefs, customs, and traditions.
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, the official language of over 20 countries. At Saint Anselm College, over 300 students are enrolled in Spanish classes this fall semester alone.
There are many events that will be held throughout the upcoming month that the entire college community is invited to attend.
This celebration encourages all to learn about Hispanic contributions to the United States.
The Department of Modern Languages will host a Hispanic film festival, showing movies never before shown at Saint Anselm College. All movies will take place in the Modern Language Lab each Wednesday in Oct. at 5 p.m.
The college community can experience elements of religious traditions. Spanish Mass will be held at the Abbey Church on Oct. 4. In addition, Saint Anselm senior Ellis Boettger reflects on his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela: El Camino de Santiago.
In October, there will be dancing and salsa tasting at Salsa Madness, a round-table discussion about being bilingual, and more.
“Experiencing other cultures enhances your intercultural interactions,” says Elizabeth Fouts, professor of Spanish. “By celebrating Hispanic heritage, you learn to value what is good in other cultures and in your own.”
Hispanic Heritage Month is nationally recognized from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. It was first declared by Lyndon Johnson as a week-long observation and later changed by Ronald Reagan to be an entire month. Saint Anselm College first celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month in 1995.
