Last Wednesday night, the brothers of Phi Iota Alpha hosted "Night of Habichuela con dulce: Latinos today," in the Latin American Cultural Center.
"Habichuela con dulce," which is a Hispanic dessert that translates into sweet creamed beans, was served and well received by the attendants. This dessert didn't sugarcoat the issues and stereotypes that were discussed about Hispanics in the United States.
This open forum began as University of Massachusetts sophomore Hipolito Cruz gave statistics about the current situation of many Hispanics living in the U.S.
"Out of 44.3 million Hispanics in the United States today, only 12 percent have a bachelor's degree," Cruz said.
The attendees were asked to reflect on why the number of college degrees was so low among Hispanics. "I didn't know the statistics were so low; I want to go back to middle school and talk to kids," said freshman Rosalia Matos.
"A lot gangs recruit in middle schools and are brainwashing the kids," said Thomas Ortiz, a senior.
"Parents are never there, working two jobs; that's why [children] turn to the streets," said Cruz.
Students also made connections with issues that were prominent in their community as well as with issues that affect Hispanics nationwide.
"51 percent of Hispanics will become pregnant by the time they are 19. How can we change this?" Cruz asked.
Everyone began to reflect on their community as they discussed the high pregnancy rates among Hispanics. "Little girls already want babies with their boyfriends," Ortiz said.
The notion that the U.S. government will be the teenager's "baby-daddy" was suggested by a student. Engaging with Hispanic youth and advocating higher education was a solution the forum agreed upon.
Although there can be many stereotypes geared towards Hispanics, the forum tried to shed light on the stereotypes Latin American countries have towards each other. The stereotype that Hispanics do not contribute to America's economy was shut down as "there is $222 billion in revenue generated by Hispanic-owned businesses in 2002, up 19 percent from 1997," Cruz said.
Stereotypes towards Hispanics included: "Every Spanish word ends in 'O,'" said Cory Smith, a sophomore. Another student commented on the stereotype of Hispanics as loud and rowdy people.
Since all Latin American countries are placed under the umbrella name "Hispanics," it may lead Americans to think that all these countries are homogeneous. Since these countries differ in culture and customs, stereotypes toward one another do exist.
"Dominicans can't play any other sport than baseball," said Adam Ramirez, a junior, in an example.
The group also spoke of the competition said to exist between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where Puerto Ricans have a certain animosity towards Dominicans who live on the island. The student expressed how he was in the middle, since some of his friends are Dominican.
Since there aren't that many Hispanics on campus, a Salvadorian student felt people that do not know much about his culture would assume that his behavior constitutes the whole country of El Salvador.
"The main reason we can't come together as Latinos is because of pride; we all want to be our own people," said senior Pete Rojas. "We need to realize that we've got to be one community."
The forum agreed that while all Hispanics must cherish their distinct culture, they can flourish as a community.
Gisel Saillant can be reached at gsaillan@student.umass.edu.
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