New Club Promulgates Cultural Awareness
CAROLINE REN
Editor in Chief
ELTON HO
Staff Writer
Students may have heard about the newly founded Latin American Student Organization (LASO) through the mentions in the Student Bulletin. Its primary purpose is to celebrate biculturalism and its impact on individuals.
“We take in kids from any culture, and they research and look into what it means to be bicultural and grow as leaders from what they’ve learned […] both at school and in society,” LASO Adviser Alejandra Perez said.
Members are encouraged to share experiences and stories from the cultural aspects of their own lives.
“My cultural heritage matters to me a lot because both of my parents were born in Mexico. When I visit Mexico, I’m really fascinated by how different it is. It’s interesting to see things from [another culture’s] point of view,” sophomore Sania Luna said.
What makes LASO different from last year’s Alhambra Latino Student Association (ALSA), which is no longer a registered club, is that they plan to hold more services, activities and events.
“I was approached by kids who wanted to do more and be active, so we decided to start LASO as a service club,” Perez said.
LASO holds activities to assist both the school and the community. Tutoring in Spanish and other subjects is offered for all students after school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in Perez’s classroom, C-228. LASO members are required to complete 20 service hours each semester through services such as helping out at retirement homes.
“Since I’m Latino and I love embracing my culture, I noticed that this was the club that related most to me and my life,” senior Derrick Bravo said. “My family is passionate about our Mexican heritage.”
Additionally, LASO is currently hosting a Hispanic Heritage Month poetry and art contest, which ends on Oct. 18 and is based on the theme “Celebrating My Biculturalism.” The radio station Latino 96.3 will visit the campus to announce the winners on Oct. 25, who will be awarded prizes, which will most likely be gift cards from local businesses. The first, second and third place winners of the poetry portion will also have the chance to perform at the Poetry Slam later this year with the Alhambra Moors Poet’s Society, while the artwork submissions will be showcased at the school library or in display cases around campus.
For the traditional holiday Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, LASO plans to attend the Alhambra Latino Association (ALA) Annual Cultural Festival in San Gabriel, where they will be helping out, fundraising and creating an altar to honor those who have passed away. LASO members are helping create decorations for the festival, including colorful paper flowers.
LASO also plans to gather with Mark Keppel and San Gabriel High Schools’ Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) clubs at the festival so that the club members can meet each other. Besides those cultural clubs, ALA has invited all AUSD students, clubs and community members to participate in the festival.
LASO members are still planning more events for the rest of the school year, but they know for certain that they plan to host some kind of activity or celebration for Cinco de Mayo, the specifics of which they have not yet decided. However, the event will not take place on the actual day, May 5, since AP testing will create some schedule conflicts. Instead, the event will take place a few weeks beforehand. Since LASO is still a fairly new club, it has one main event established per semester, but in the future may expand its range of activities.