Westminster students Alex Lopez (’26), a psychology major, and Belen Busquets (’26), an environmental science major, have spent the past two years working as student coordinators for Raíces Unidas, one of the six student identity groups on campus. Raíces Unidas strives to provide a space for Latinx students to share their culture and experience on campus, celebrating a variety of cultures and individuals through their events by creating a welcoming space for all who take part. The goal of holding monthly events and programming in partnership with Student Engagement and Belonging (SEB) is to build community with other Latinx students while connecting though similar roots and experiences for people of all demographics.
When asked about the importance of Raíces Unidas, Alex and Belen highlighted the significance of a space dedicated to minority groups at a predominantly white institution like Westminster. Spaces like Raíces Unidas help create a sense of belonging instead of alienation within the Latinx student population through community and involvement with one another.
“Spaces like Raíces Unidas are especially important at a predominantly white institution in order to help promote a sense of belonging and a welcoming feeling to our peers who identify as Latinx. Students should feel like they have a space where their individual cultures and heritage are celebrated. Beyond Raíces Unidas, spaces like these don’t really exist so we feel the need to create these spaces for ourselves and our peers. Having spaces like this help reinforce the idea that Latinx students do belong in higher education, despite any challenges we might face.”
Alex and Belen were inspired to take part in Raíces Unidas due to a disconnection they felt between their culture and community at the start of their university experience. This paired with what they felt was not an accurate representation of their culture through programmed events pushed them to start looking into student involvement on campus, hoping to change things for the better.
“Our first year at Westminster, we both felt a bit disconnected from our cultures because we found it hard to find community with other Latino students on campus. Spanish is both of our native languages, so it felt daunting to not have a space where speaking our language was the norm. We also felt that events that we’re done weren't always reflective of our culture on a broader scale, whether that meant focusing on the importance of traditions rather than the celebrations themselves or having food that wasn’t necessarily authentic or representative of our cultures. Because of these difficulties, we both found ourselves feeling that we had to make a difference for our peers who also weren’t feeling represented at Westminster.”
This academic year has been one of Raíces Unidas’ most successful in terms of programming, including traditional celebrations such a Dia De Los Muertos, and the weeklong Beyond Borders Week, which were both largely attended by the undergraduate population. Beyond Borders Week aimed to expand on previously held Undocumented Week, providing additional resources for undocumented students and allies. This process was completed in partnership with the Dream Centers at Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah, along with other local organizations and volunteers. Raíces Unidas hopes to establish Beyond Borders Week as a traditional campus event, including more programming as the event grows in size.
Alex and Belen spoke about the importance of Beyond Borders Week on campus as a tradition of Raíces Unidas before becoming an annual event at Westminster.
“Beyond borders week was a tradition started by previous coordinators of Raíces Unidas, Yovie Saiz Rodriguez and Naomi Guerrero. They had originally created the event as undocumented or Daca resources, known as Undocumented Day. Given our current social climate, this week of information and resources is not only essential for Westminster University but the community as a whole. We hope that in our time as coordinators we have done our part in making this week a tradition here at Westminster, so students and community members can continue looking forward to it in the future regardless of name changes.”
– Violet Czech ('26)
Belen Busquets and Alex Lopez
