Pace offers a plethora of clubs for students to join. There are some clubs that align with certain majors like the Political Science Society and Debate Team, along with other clubs for students to find a sense of community in. As someone in the Latinx community, finding a group I closely related to was especially important to me when moving into college. I was naturally drawn to this club I hadn’t known existed on the campus prior to the Club Fair, and was immediately warmly welcomed by the E-board. They offered a fun and familiar environment, with reggaeton music and Mexican candy, that I was completely and irrevocably entranced by. This club is one that I felt needed to be spotlighted for any Latinx student at Pace, but also to any student looking to immerse themselves in the culture of Latin America!
LASO, short for Latin American Student Organization, is a club for pace students who want to participate in cultural activities of Latin America. For me, being able to find a space where I could be surrounded by other fellow Latinx students helped the transition better to Pace University. I felt a sense of connection with my peers that I couldn’t find in my other classes. They spoke my native language, listened to the same music I liked, and welcomed me into their community.
The club meets every Thursday and is run by a passionate Latinx E-board who is committed to making each semester better than the last. They talk to every member in the club, and always tell all members to bring their friends to the next meeting. Each club meeting usually has an attendance of roughly 40 students, which is a lot of Spanish students condensed into one room. Prior to LASO, I hadn’t realized just how many Hispanic people there were at Pace! Seeing all these students my age so engaged with everyone made me feel less of an “other” at Pace and is a club I look forward to attending.
Aside from the fact that they are so welcoming in nature, they also host a variety of fun events and games for students to participate in. The club always finds new and creative ways to engage pace students like “Battle of the Aux,”, Minute-to-win-it, a Valentine’s Day Party and more. They even host more casual events like “Y Quién Habla?” wherein they openly discuss pop culture topics like “Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner,”, the new Griselda show on Netflix, and the Grammy nominations!
Being a freshman in college has a lot of barriers to overcome, including worries about stress, grades, friendships, homesickness, etc. Having a fun club, like LASO, to take your mind off things, and allow you to genuinely enjoy the company of other students, is beneficial to anyone. LASO meets every Thursday in Room W511 and will certainly welcome any Pace student with open arms!