As many know, new clubs have been emerging on the Suncoast campus. One of these is Latinas In Action, a club highlighting the

fundamentals of the latin community and aiding latin women in need. Inspired by their peers in the multiple racial, ethnic, and advocacy clubs on campus, Emily Cuba, Sophia Antoni, Diana Aviles, and Adriana Arteaga decided to create Latinas in Action. As a safe space for all, they explore the culture and tribulations of the Latin community and will prospectively provide vcs/cas hours.

“We hope to bring together, help, and support Latinas while also educating others on the struggle they face, all while having a fun time,” Emily Cuba explained.

So far the club has gone through its informational meetings and is in the process of electing its officers. These positions include: Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Social Media Manager. Running for these positions included a submitted form that omits the names of the candidates, allowing for an unbiased election. Although it doesn’t seem like much has occurred, this relatively new club has great aspirations for the future. They plan to work with community centers and help donate to underprivileged hispanics, such as The Guatemalan-Maya Center, as well as participate in food drives. They will also help out on campus, offering Spanish tutoring for Spanish 1, Spanish 2 and Spanish 3 on specific dates.

“As a whole, the club is looking forward to aiding and assisting as many people as we can. We predominantly focus on the Hispanic community, but at the end of the day we just want to help anyone that we can,” Adriana Arteaga passionately claimed.

One of the main challenges for the start of this club was finding a sponsor who was willing to share their classroom every other Thursday, corresponding with the schedule, however, after having Emilio Gomez approved as their sponsor, the logistics of the club worked out smoothly. Over the next year, LIA plans to accomplish a Cultural Celebration during hispanic heritage month and holidays, such as Día de los Reyes. Every club meeting will run through these two main points: a community aspect and the spread of knowledge. This includes discussing current and future event planning and latin kahoot and trivia as well as, on some occasions, having discussions about latina representation in different media ex: literature, cartoons. However, the main goal of this organization is to educate and advocate for hispanic women.