By Sarah Gallaher | Staff Writer
Kappa Delta Chi, a Latina-based sorority at Baylor, sold aguas frescas at the Bill Daniel Student Center to celebrate the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 15. The event was the first of weekly fundraisers that the sorority will hold over the next month.
Members of Kappa Delta Chi celebrate their Latina culture through fundraisers like these, which help support the chapter and its philanthropic efforts for the Hispanic community. Local philanthropy includes volunteering at La Vega Junior High School.
San Antonio junior and Kappa Delta Chi member Arianna Barone said Hispanic Heritage Month is an important part of spreading Hispanic culture within the Baylor community.
“I think to me, [Hispanic Heritage Month] means kind of spreading light and awareness of the struggles Hispanics have gone through and kind of letting them be seen a bit more, especially as a minority group,” Barone said.
According to Baylor’s Multicultural Affairs website, Hispanic Heritage Month does not begin at the start of the month, unlike many other months for cultural awareness. Rather, it begins on Sept. 15 in remembrance of the day five Latin American countries gained their independence.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, on-campus events will occur all month long, including a day to support local Hispanic vendors as well as multiple Creative Arts Experience opportunities focusing on Hispanic culture.
McAllen senior and Kappa Delta Chi member Abril Perez said this is the second year the sorority is doing food fundraisers at the SUB during Hispanic Heritage Month. Additionally, it will be holding a “Noche de Rezo,” or night of prayer, in Truett Seminary on Oct. 2.
“We usually kind of sell a lot of things that come from our own culture that a lot of people here at Baylor have never tried or just are unfamiliar with,” Perez said. “So it kind of helps us show people the beauty behind our culture and what we eat every day.”
Kappa Delta Chi’s upcoming fundraisers will include a variety of Hispanic foods, including paletas, conchas, galletas and frutas. While most of the food comes from local Hispanic vendors, members of the sorority prepare the food themselves on occasion.
“I know last year we were selling horchata, and that one was handmade by some of our sisters,” Perez said. “So it was really cool because we even got to learn how to make some of these things that we just usually buy.”
After the weekly events, Kappa Delta Chi will conclude its fundraising efforts for Hispanic Heritage Month with a final fundraiser on Oct. 12.
