Studying more about Hispanic culture should be on every student's agenda, a Spanish professor said Monday in Cardinal Hall.
"The Hispanic community is very diverse," Chin-sook Pak said. "As members within higher education, we have the responsibility to learn about (this) citizenship."
Pak, an associate professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern Language and Classics, was invited to speak Monday to kick off Ball State's Latino Awareness Month.
The month-long observation will allow the university to celebrate the heritage of a people who have made significant contributions to American society, said Joe Flores, president of Ball State's Latino Student Union.
"Latinos have played a significant role not only in Indiana, but in the United States as well," Flores said. "Although (Latinos) may not be a large percentage of the Ball State community, (they) do make up a large percentage of the United States population. To not recognize Latino contributions to our nation would be denying a part of our history as Americans."
Pak, who was born in Korea, discussed in her speech Monday how she first became interested in studying Hispanic culture. She said she was 14 years old when she first heard people speaking Spanish at an airport in Madrid, Spain.
"At the time, I was wondering why they all (sounded like) they were arguing," Pak said.
After Pak became used to hearing the language, she decided to study Spanish throughout the next few years. She is now serving her sixth year as a professor at Ball State, where she teaches all levels of Spanish.
She said she hopes students and local residents take the time to learn more about Hispanic culture and encourages everyone to celebrate Ball State's Latino Awareness Month. The Hispanic community is a rich element of American culture and needs to be celebrated, she said.
"Hispanics come from 20 different countries, from different social classes, and from different educational and professional backgrounds," Pak said. "We have so much to learn from them, from those who came from Europe (a long time ago) to those who were part of the new wave of immigrants over the past five years."
Flores said he was glad Pak was able to speak to students Monday and said he is looking forward to several other campus events LSU will be sponsoring this month.
On Wednesday, LSU will hold a Latina History 101 class in which students will discuss how Latinos are often portrayed in the entertainment media.
LSU is also hoping to invite Ingrid Duran, the president and CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, to speak to students and local residents on either March 9 or 11.
In addition to hosting a cultural dinner March 25, LSU is also planning to invite renowned Hispanic poet La Bruja to campus March 30.
Flores said the month-long celebration will benefit students in that it will teach them about important cultural issues that are so often overlooked in the academic curriculum.
"There is always something new to be learned, " Flores said. "And not just about the Latino culture, but all cultures."
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