Student Speak

Fall 2007

Name: Melissa Perez
Major: Finance, minor in Chinese
Year: Junior
Hometown: Easley

How did you get involved with Students Associated for Latin America (SALA)? In my freshman year, the SALA organization hosted a salsa night in the Russell House Ballroom. I was walking through the Russell House and saw a poster and heard music for the salsa event and said, 'What's that about?' So I went in and met a bunch of people and had a great time. Then I went to their next scheduled meeting, and I've been a member ever since. I've been vice president for the past two years.

How many members? We're working on a roster for the new school year now. I'm going to guess about 40 this year.

Who can join? Any student--undergraduate and graduate. It's open to anyone who is interested in the Latino culture. I was born in Colombia, South America, and moved to the United States when I was four years old. Now I'm a United States citizen, but I do speak fluent Spanish. I speak Spanish with my mother and my boyfriend, who is Hispanic.

What takes place at SALA meetings? We have planned events, and we have discussions. We talk about topics important to Hispanics, with immigration probably being the biggest. We talk about negative stereotypes and about the Hispanic image in this country. On Oct. 3, we had a Unity meeting that included members from the other Office of Multicultural Student Affairs organizations. We had black, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, white, all kinds of students there, so we got a lot of different points of view.

What is the next Hispanic Heritage Month activity? Salsa Night! Salsa Night is Oct. 24, starting at 7 p.m., in the Russell House Ballroom. There will be a professional dance instructor to give lessons. It will be club salsa, which is nothing like ballroom salsa. This guy is amazing and he has his own studio and club in Augusta, Georgia. He'll teach for an hour and then for the next hour there'll be pretty much nothing but dancing. There will be Hispanic foods from a caterer. It's open to any and all students, faculty, and staff. Last year we had about 200 people turn out. Once they hear the music, they want to learn. And it's a free event with free food.

The minor in Chinese is interesting. I'm trying to make myself more marketable in the business environment. China is growing at a very fast pace and not too many people are learning Chinese right now. This semester I'm taking a 300-level Chinese course and it's a small class. Business experts are saying that, in twenty years, American kids will be learning Chinese in public schools. Speaking English, Spanish, and Chinese will really give me an edge.

9/07