WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Sept. 18, 2018 — West Liberty University students studying Spanish are marking the national observation of Hispanic Heritage Month with special programs that look at the significance of Hispanic-Latino culture in the United States.

“Many of our states and regions carry Spanish language names like Texas, Nevada and Arizona and our country has many ties to Latino culture so we are happy to encourage the sharing of cultures and where better to do this than in Spanish class,” said Dr. Felipe Rojas, assistant professor of Spanish in WLU’s Department of Humanities.

Dr. Felipe Rojas is shown in Spanish 101 classroom.

A native of Chile, Rojas teaches Spanish to all level students and added a Spanish conversation and composition class this fall for those who minor in the language.

“Hispanic culture is growing in our region and West Virginia was home to more than 22,000 Hispanics in 2010. The numbers in West Virginia grew 81.4 percent from 2000 to 2010 and the numbers in Wheeling grew by almost 65 percent from 2000 to 2010,” said Rojas.

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15.

It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988. The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period.

Today Hispanic Americans are the nations largest ethnic or racial minority, according to United States Census data.

WLU also has many international students from Spanish speaking countries including Columbia, Honduras, Paraguay, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

WLU’s Modern Language Department is housed in the College of Liberal Arts, led by Dean Gerard NeCastro. Besides Spanish, French is also taught.

For more information on WLU, please call 1.866.WESTLIB or visit westliberty.edu.

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