The Hispanic Latino Student Union might not be huge, but it’s special to those who are in it. “I joined because I felt lost and out of place in my heritage, I felt more white than I did Hispanic even though I speak Spanish,” club president and senior Kyle Portillo said.

For the people who are in the club, it’s a safe space to talk about topics that they may face in their communities that aren’t seen or felt by others. “The Hispanic Latino Union is about forming a safe space for those of Hispanic and Latino students and creating a learning environment for those who are interested in being immersed in the Latino culture, so people of other ethnicities can join,” Portillo said.

The club does activities outside of the classroom and school environment as well. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any events planned right now, but we plan to have a fundraiser at a restaurant sometime soon,” Portillo said.

Though there are no activities in the club at the moment, the activities are to connect to Latin and Hispanic culture as well as help the Latino community. The Latino Hispanic Student Union isn’t specific to this area, it’s a national organization that can be found from kindergarten to college. The HACU (The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) is an example of one of the more national sects of the club.

The HACU is dedicated to helping connect Hispanic and Latino people to the resources and opportunities they need such as a link to other organizations that are important to Latinos along with job opportunities and scholarships. On the website, the HACU mission statement states the organization’s goals: “To Champion Hispanic Success in Higher Education. HACU fulfills its mission by: promoting the development of member colleges and universities; improving access to and the quality of post-secondary educational opportunities for Hispanic students; and meeting the needs of business, industry and government through the development and sharing of resources, information and expertise.”

The HACU not only takes its mission on a national level, but on an international level as well. “HACU works closely with international member institutions to respond to their interests, particularly as they relate to the establishment of international cooperation agreements with U.S. higher education institutions. Conversely, HACU facilitates contact with international member institutions for its U.S. constituency. HACU also provides study abroad opportunities for students from U.S. institutions through its agreements with study abroad providers,” a statement from their website said.