Latinos Unidos is not your typical student organization. The group held their first major event of the year last week bringing students and faculty from all across campus together to eat tacos and talk about Latino heritage.

The group has been becoming more prevalent over the past year as they try to spread diversity on campus.

The Latinos Unidos faculty advisor, Walter Lain said, “This organization gives us the opportunity to acknowledge Latin heritage and their contributions. We need to enrich diversity on campus and these students have great potential to do so.”

The open house was successful with a steady stream of people getting tacos and listening to mariachi music. The event was held at the new Latinos Unidos theme house.

“This event is a momentous beginning to the year and we are very pleased with the turnout and support,” Lain said.

Six students live in the Simpson owned housing and are all female members of Latinos Unidos.

Lain said, “There is now a place on campus for students to understand Latino values and get up close perspectives on people seeking knowledge and making contributions to exploring diversity.”

“We hope to have the theme house as a permanent space where students can be proud of their heritage,” Lain said.

Brenda Soto, sophomore member of the group, is very excited about the house and looks forward to events being held throughout the semester.

“We’ve come so far in a year and have made some headway in bringing diversity to Simpson,” Soto said. “This year we are holding a continuous fundraiser with the Catholic charity, St. Joseph House, and their Hispanic outreach program.”

Latinos Unidos is looking for donations of clothing or food throughout the year to support the outreach program.

The group is also going to be hosting events on campus. “Four times a semester we will have cooking nights where students can learn how to make traditional Latin dishes,” Soto said.

Latino Heritage Month is Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and members of the organization have a lot planned. Food samplers, salsa nights, forums and study table time at the new house are just a few of the events coming up.

President of Latinos Unidos on campus, Ulices Flores said, “We’ve been really well received by Simpson over the past year and people have gone out of their way to make this all happen.”

Latinos Unidos is not strictly for Latinos. Students of any background are welcome to join.

Flores said, “If you care about diversity on campus you are more than welcome to be a member of this group.”