Governors State University officials are creating a new resource center in an effort to make it a little easier for school’s growing Hispanic population to feel at home.
Emmanuel Lopez, the center’s director, said the GSU Latinx Resource Center will open in October, toward the end of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Latinx is a term used to combine the gender-specific terms Latino and Latina.
“I would have loved to know that GSU had a space that focused on providing resources to students like me,” said Lopez, who grew up in Harvey and lived in Glenwood for most of his life. “As a first-generation Latinx student, navigating the college space is very difficult.”
Lopez said the school in University Park is considered an “emerging Hispanic Service Institution,” with about 18% of full-time undergraduates identifying as Hispanic. That’s short of the 25% level needed to reach full Hispanic Service Institution Status, which would make the school eligible for additional federal grants.
The new center at GSU will be on the second floor of the library, with two offices, a lounge area where students can meet and study, and space for graduate assistants and student workers.
There will be in-person or virtual advising appointments, monthly professional and cultural workshops, virtual information sessions, high school empowerment presentations, group mentoring sessions and support for undocumented students.
Lopez is also a student liaison for undocumented students at the university.
He said he understands the importance of having specialized staff for the center after working as a graduate assistant in the Multicultural Student Center at Northwestern University under the direction of Associate Director Alejandro Magana.
“It’s all about intentionality, he made sure to check up on students, provide cultural programming and uplift students,” said Lopez, whose ancestral Mexican hometown is Arandas, Jalisco.
GSU students had been pushing for the new center.
“A Latinx Resource Center, for myself and other students is great because it gives these students a physical place where they can gather, receive support and ask questions as people of Latinx descent,” said Lluvia Hernandez Aguirre, Board of Trustees student representative and Association of Latin American Students vice president, who is working toward her MBA at GSU. “We’ve had a student organization club for the past few years, but a physical place is great because it solidifies the presence of Latin American students, in addition to the extra layer of support provided by the new center.”
Cesar Flores, associate vice president for enrollment management, said the new center will help attract future Latinx students and help those who already study there.
“I think it’s important because we are at a pivotal time when students strive for a sense of belonging and our Latinx population continues to grow,” said Flores, who noted his predecessor, Paul McGuinness, now the vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment, came up with the idea. “Some of the programming is going to focus on the rich Hispanic culture of our Latinx student population, connecting with the various high schools in the Southland Chicago area and ensuring that our Latinx students have a place to grow and succeed at GSU.”
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.