Starting from scratch, the Latino Heritage Month Committee is making strides toward improving the image of the Latino community at Iowa State and in Iowa.

“Latin Americans have been coming to Iowa State since its establishment,” said Aurelio Curbelo, director of agriculture multicultural programs and graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies. “It is a well-known and well-loved university in the Latino community, so we’re trying to promote cultural awareness to enrich the campus environment.”

This year, Latino Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Thursday, and although the committee had little time for preparation, it planned many events throughout the month to “celebrate diversity at Iowa State.”

“There is a small population of Latino Americans here, and it’s important to continue our traditions,” said Brian Castro, freshman in animal science and new member of the Latino Heritage Month committee. “I found the LHM committee to be a safe haven to express my views and to experience a shared appreciation of my culture.”

Though the committee and other Latino organizations on campus have been making strides in promoting awareness in Iowa, Curbelo said Latin Americans are still a scapegoat for many things.

“Why? We keep our language and our culture,” Curbelo said. “Whenever we do something wrong, it is seen as being really terrible, but whenever we do something good, it’s not even recognized.”

As of 2007, Latino Americans represent four percent of Iowa’s population, according to the Pew Hispanic Center’s Web site.

The biggest problem, Curbelo said, is education. From the 2000 Census and in a report by the Center for Health Disparities at the University of Northern Iowa, 23 percent of Latino Americans earned a high school diploma, 4 percent earned an associate’s degree, 7 percent earned a bachelor’s degree and 4 percent earned a graduate or professional degree.

“There is a lot of pressure on Latino Americans who go to college to do well and not mess up,” Curbelo said. “We have a lot to do, but we’re not frustrated; this has made us stronger.”

After the students involved in the committee last year graduated, there was no one to take over the group. Curbelo and others decided to take charge.

“We needed to do something,” said Claudia Prado, president of the committee and graduate student in sociology. “We wanted to let others know we haven’t forgotten.”

Starting at the beginning of September, the committee quickly organized and began planning events for the month-long celebration. They planned lectures, film festivals, a march of flags and cookouts.

The committee provides opportunities for students to learn leadership skills, such as teamwork and problem solving. It is completely student-driven and has become a laboratory for Latino students, Curbelo said.

Students involved in the committee obtain professional skills by working in the variety of subcommittees.

“They get bit by the bug and want to continue professionally toward their goals,” Curbelo said.

Every year the committee’s goal is to do better than it did the year before. Based on Latino groups before them, the members saw that a high standard had been set. The committee worked diligently for the past month and will continue to work toward its goals for next year’s celebration, which members hope will be better organized and include more events, especially social events, like dances, music and food.

In the committee’s constitution, its goal is to “promote cultural awareness within and outside of the community, and to promote to our members a level of political, social, cultural and ethnic awareness. Latino Heritage Month focuses on uniting all Latinos and their organizations here on campus in order to learn about each other as we educate others about our identity.”