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Students fail to show for Honor Hispanic town hall

Honor Committee, Dean of Students Office collaborate on unattended event

The University Honor Committee attempted to host representatives from the Hispanic community in a Hispanic Town Hall forum Monday, but only one student came out for the event.

The town hall was organized by the Committee and first-year Nursing student Ashley Munoz, an intern with the Office of the Dean of Students, who wanted the Committee to engage with the University’s Hispanic community. Munoz said she noticed a lack of involvement from the Hispanic community within the honor system.

“We decided to hold this forum to increase dialogue between honor and the Hispanic community and make sure everyone has a good depiction of what honor is and ways to get involved,” Munoz said.

Although attendance for the event was poor, Committee educators did discuss ways in which they could get more minority students involved in the honor system.

“I feel like one of the biggest hurdles [is] when you don’t have representation in the current system,” said fourth-year Commerce student Julia Stotler, an honor educator. “Getting that first step of diversity in would make it easier subsequently.”

Munoz reached out to numerous Latino groups, including many groups within the Latino Students Association umbrella organization, said Committee Vice Chair for Education Brittany Wengel, a third-year College student.

“I wasn’t thrilled with the lack of attendance because I think that it could have been a very successful event, for both groups,” Wengel said in an email.

Wengel blamed the low attendance in part on the end of classes and finals approaching.

Julie Roa, program coordinator for Hispanic, Latino, Native American and Middle Eastern Student Services for the Dean of Students’ office, said students of all races and ethnicities experience the honor system and have reason to engage with the committee — but these efforts should be made broadly, rather than targeted toward a particular group.

“Ultimately it is about commonality [and] finding what it is about honor and U.Va., rather than specific race group,” Roa said.

Representatives of the Latino Student Association could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

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