Members of the Hispanos y Latinos Unidos club (HLU) shared their stories and challenged assumptions in the auditorium Thursday, Oct. 13.

“We definitely need to have those conversations, even if they’re difficult to have,” said senior Steisy Herrera Soto, a panelist HLU officer.

A panel, hosted b-block, discussed the unique experiences of North’s Latinx and Hispanic students. Panelists described their struggles as first and second generation immigrants, in an attempt to educate students lacking awareness of their experience.

“People who are born in America and whose parents were born in America, they don’t know the struggles that immigrant parents from Latin America go through,” said sophomore Jonathan Santos, a panelist HLU officer. “They have to work twice as hard. When kids disrespect you growing up, when they say your food smells bad, you take that with you.”

During g-block, a video was shown of club members interviewing Hispanic and Latinx students and teachers about their identity and experiences. Interviews were conducted on a diverse set of people in multiple languages.

“It was a huge range of all these different people all being united,” said senior Margot Carmona Born, a panelist HLU officer. 

Interviews in the video included questions like how the interviewees identified, how their identities affected their daily lives, and what about their culture is important to them.

“Even within the HLU community there’s so much diversity, but sometimes we forget how much diversity there is,” said senior Catia Schiff, a panelist HLU officer.

Panelists shared personal stories, to spread awareness of their unique experience as Hispanic and Latinx students at North.

HLU is an affinity group for Hispanic and Latinx students with a goal to unite Hispanic and Latinx students at North. The club meets Tiger blocks in 255.

“Affinity spaces are really important in general”, said Carmona Born. “They make people of color feel heard.”

HLU’s officers expressed excitement about this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month theme of united.

“Whenever there’s representation for the Hispanic or Latinx community, I get really excited and I feel like people who aren’t Hispanic or Latinx don’t get that,” said Schiff.