Hispanic students make up one quarter of the enrollment at West Texas A&M University, and they are making themselves known to the student body and surrounding area.

The Hispanic Student Association is a growing organization on campus, and its members say they can only hope this trend will continue as the Hispanic population increases. The organization is not only open to Hispanics, but anyone who appreciates Hispanic culture and is interested in doing community outreach work to benefit others.

Paola Duarte-Marin, reporter for Telemundo and freelance professor at WTAMU, has been part of HSA for more than four years and is still involved with the organization.

“I wish that the association was more well-known at WT than it is right now,” Duarte-Marin said.  “I don’t think you have to be Hispanic to join. I think you have to like Hispanic culture. If you would like to travel to Latin America, you can join and learn Spanish with us.”

As a former WTAMU student, she also said she is proud of the hard work the organization is doing to recruit more members and make a positive impact in the community.

“My duty as HAS Public Relations officer is to find people to join HSA,” Erik Prospero, sophomore Dance major, said. “I look for people that are dedicated and want to help others. Our motto is ‘Others before ourselves,’ because we believe in helping the community.”

Not only does HSA welcome all students, they also started a toy drive called “One Toy, One Dream” that delivers toys to underprivileged children in Mexico, as well as work to help translate and fill out paperwork for students hoping to benefit from the Dream Act. The act helps undocumented individuals who meet certain requirements to enlist in the military or attend college with government aid.

The organization works to make Hispanic students feel welcome and part of a group that allows them to express themselves while preserving their culture.

“Even though I was born in Texas, I was raised in Mexico until I was 18, and then I made the decision to study in the states,” junior Pre-med major Diana Grajeda said. “WT offers its students a lot of opportunities to get involved. They also provide students with many services to help them, so it’s up to them to take advantage of that.”

Grajeda also said she felt welcomed on campus by the friendly people, and although she was unsure of whether or not she would like it here, her experience has been great so far.

Despite the overall warm, welcoming nature of WTAMU, Prospero said there is still a noticeable divide between Hispanics and white people in society that bothers him.

“We’re all equal and we’re all the same,” Prospero said. “We’re all human.”

Prospero also wanted to set the record straight about Hispanic stereotypes that he felt were perpetuated by the comments of GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“He basically just labeled all Hispanics as rapists, illegals and drug dealers, when that’s not the case,” Prospero said. “We’re always going to be thinking they’re different from us, even if we don’t realize it. We’re all different people from various backgrounds and cultures.”

Although she has only faced what she described as a minimal amount of discrimination, Grajeda said that she has generally felt welcomed.

“Of course there are some behaviors or comments I may not understand or agree with, but they are due to the differences in culture, so I overlook them,” Grajeda said.