Hispanic Heritage Month Kicks Off
By Prasanna Tati
Last Wednesday, the Campus Center green was transformed by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) with the tastes, sounds, sights, and smells of Hispanic culture to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month. Students enjoyed foods such as Mexican rice, churros (a crowd favorite), fried chicken, nachos, and ice cream in a variety of flavors such as coconut, rice pudding, coffee, and strawberry. The event also attracted singers and dancers who performed remixes of songs with both American and Hispanic elements. Shalini Sakhamuri, a freshman at the event commented, “It was very cool and interesting to look at a culture that I’m not experienced with. I loved the music and the dancing truly heightened my interest.”
A few upcoming campus events scheduled in association with Hispanic Heritage month include the Multicultural Greek Showcase on the 17th in the Campus Center Atrium at 7:30pm, C3: Cross Cultural Conversations on the 18th in Campus Center Room 220 at 11:30am, and Hispanic Jeopardy Night on the 22nd in the Pub at 7pm. Come out and join the SHPE at these events to learn more about Hispanic culture!
The SHPE is always looking for new members to help organize events on campus while providing a volunteer opportunities and professional connections. Anyone is welcome to attend the weekly meetings on Fridays during common hour (11:30am-1pm) in Campus Center Room B13. Quincy Fulmore-Fowlks, a senior at NJIT, spent her first day as a member of the SHPE serving food at the event. She urges underclassmen “Be a part of SHPE. It’s a great way to make friends, network, get involved, and organize fun campus activities like this one.” Visit the NJIT SHPE website at http://njitshpe.weebly.com/ for more information about the organization’s goals, upcoming events, and means of contact.
