On Sunday, Hispanic Heritage Month concluded; the celebration, which kicked off Sept. 15 and finished Oct. 15, recognizes the achievements and culture of Hispanics on American history.
The 2023-24 school year marked the first time in several years that the high school has made a conscious effort to promote heritage months, but the move to fully implement this change may take some time.
Before school started, the administration celebrated Hispanic and Latino culture by bringing in the District 33 ballet folklorico troupe; students from Districts 33 and 94 joined together to perform for staff on Institute Days.
Then, in early September, the interim superintendents announced a conscious effort to celebrate heritage/pride months would be made in the coming year, starting with Hispanic Heritage Month.
“It’s about recognizing and celebrating another culture that I’m not familiar with, and I think that’s very important, certainly for Hispanic Heritage Month. I want to learn more, and I want our students to learn more about the Hispanic heritage so that they can appreciate it. But every month of the year, I think everybody should be open to learning about other costumes and cultures and heritages,” Superintendent John Langton said.
Although there was no exact reason why West Chicago Community High School stopped celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, this year, the superintendents have made it clear that moving forward, students will be able to express their culture around school, and learn about others.
Students, however, noticed that signs of Hispanic Heritage Month were limited.
“I feel like since we have such a high Hispanic population here, I feel like there should be more, you know? But I feel like I’ve only really heard the songs on Fridays, that’s kinda what I’ve heard. And in my Spanish class. I hear a lot about it in my Spanish class, and that’s because, you know, Spanish,” Judith Benitez, a senior at WCCHS said.
Daily announcements featured images of Hispanic public figures (i.e. musicians, athletes, etc.) such as Gloria Estefan, Rebeca Andrade, and Lionel Messi as well.
Students who were questioned were unsure what else could have been done to promote the heritage month.
“Little banners with the colors of the flag. I don’t know if we have any, but that would be great,” Joselyn Figueroa, also a senior, said.
That said, change is in the works, and the coming months could see more notable celebrations recognizing different cultures, histories, and backgrounds.
“It is important for individuals to be comfortable celebrating their own culture but I think it’s so important for others to learn about each other because when I know more about you, I can appreciate you, I can respect you, I can be happy for you or sad for you but that’s part of having a relationship with other people,” Langton said.
One of the traditions still to be expected from the Student Council is an ofrenda in the Commons as part of the Day of the Dead celebration. Students will be able to put up favorite photos of their loved ones on the school’s ofrenda. Student Council will also be selling hot chocolate and pan de muerto on the Day of the Dead, which takes place on Nov. 1 and 2.
“We’ve been setting up an ofrenda in the Commons for the past couple of years. So, we are gonna do it again and the ofrenda will be open for anyone to bring pictures of the loved ones that they lost and they can just add it to the ofrenda,” Neela Myers, President of Student Council and a senior, said.
