by Alejandra Cruz
Staff Writer
About 150 faculty, students and parents held a “Lunada” last Friday at Davenport Dining Hall to commemorate the parents of Latino University of La Verne students for supporting them in their college career.
The Seventh Annual Bienvenida Dinner, sponsored by the Latino Student Forum (LSF), was held, not only to honor Latino parents, but also to thank the families of first-generation Latino college students.
“This is your night because if it were not for you, we wouldn’t be here,” said LSF president, junior Juan Pablo Miramontes, who has been involved in LSF for two years. “Thank you for your support here at ULV.”
This was the first year that the Bienvenida Dinner was followed by a dance, which added a celebrative atmosphere.
“People seemed to enjoy themselves more this year than in the previous years,” said Miramontes. “The band probably had something to do with it.”
The band, Bufalo, was composed of five performers who played Latino rhythm music, ranging from cumbias to rancheras.
Vice-president of LSF, junior Cenia Camacho said she was satisfied with the “Lunada,” which is defined as a late-night gathering. “We wanted to give it a romantic theme,” she said.
Camacho said the club was more organized in setting up the event this year than in previous years.
The club went through turbulence in its search for a place to hold the dinner.
According to Miramontes, the organization had first wanted to hold the dinner in the Student Center gym, but this request was refused. They were told to hold the dinner in the open area where the old mailboxes once stood.
“It is not appropriate to put parents out there. I’m sure that if it was a University activity and parents were going to be invited, they wouldn’t use that place. So why is it good enough for Latino parents?” said Miramontes, who finally settled on Davenport because, “we didn’t want to deal with the politics of fighting for the gym.”
The tradition of the Bienvenida or Welcoming Dinner began after a group of students attended the Latino College Leadership Institute. They saw a similar activity and decided to implement the gathering at the University.
Miramontes said the dinner is a good way for parents, faculty and students to socialize and is disappointed that more Latino students did not take advantage of the offer.
“Where else can you get free dinner and dance for five people?” he said.
Miramontes also expressed frustration in the number of Latino students involved in LSF.
“We’re 40 percent of the ULV population and only a handful of students are attending [the meetings]. It’s disappointing,” he said.
According to Miramontes, all students who, in their admissions application to ULV, considered themselves Latino, were mailed a dinner invitation for them and their parents.
The main reason why families attended the dinner was to see the school’s campus and meet other students, parents and faculty.
“We came to meet and socialize with students and faculty,” said Raphael and Maria Vasquez, whose daughter, Monica Vasquez, is a sophomore.
