by Jonathon Salazar
By Jonathon Salazar
SAN MARCOS — When Texas State University became recognized as a hispanic serving institution, it was a sign of the times as the university was beginning to reflect the makeup of the state. While Texas State is categorized as an HSI, some students still don’t see or feel the representation that this title gives. With a student population of 38,194, approximately 38.3 percent of those are hispanic students.
Juan Emilio Elyd, a member of the Hispanic Business Student Association, says that some of that feeling might come from lack of student involvement in hispanic based organizations.
“We have things like HBSA and even stuff like the Association of Hispanic Journalists that unfortunately not a lot of students are part of,” said Elyd. “It’s evident in greek life as well. The non-hispanic based fraternities and sororities are just more appealing to the eye for a lot of students.”
Carlos David Lopez, a senior at Texas State, says that compared to other state schools, there is a latino pride that seems to be missing.
“I have friends that go to UT, A&M and UTSA. All of those schools have ridiculous involvement in hispanic organizations,” said Lopez. “I think it has a lot to do with the way they’re set up. A lot of those groups are based on social stuff. Like throwing events that people will have fun at. They’ll throw tailgates, parties at event centers and other things. Then from there people network and the academic organizations grow.”
With Texas State University adding the new Latino Studies minor, it gives students hope that this is another step towards actually feeling represented, and not just part of a title.
