Founded in September 2023, the Brown Latine Leadership Council is a new club dedicated to uniting the Latine community on campus.
According to Co-Founder Fabian Antunez Lopez 鈥�25, the club, which now has approximately 40 members, hosts leaders from across Brown鈥檚 existing Latine organizations and clubs to form a space centered around celebrating identity and fostering empowerment.
鈥淭here was no formal organization that really unified all of the leaders of these respective organizations,鈥� Antunez Lopez said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the Brown Latine Leadership Council is intended to do.鈥�
Co-founder Camila Gonz谩lez V谩squez 鈥�25 recounted 鈥渇eeling quite thrilled about鈥� Antunez Lopez鈥檚 idea. 鈥淚t was just what we needed to keep the momentum of our community鈥檚 growth on campus going.鈥�
For Alejandro Jackson 鈥�25, another co-founder, the formation of the club represented a significant shift towards a strengthened network of Latine students on campus.
鈥淭he Brown Latine Leadership Council is important to me because it seeks to make the multitude of Latine-based cultural groups feel like a part of something bigger,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淪tudents who have moved in and out of the same spaces are meeting each other for the first time.鈥�
According to Jackson, leaders met early in the club鈥檚 development to create a constitution, work out meeting logistics, coordinate calendars and brainstorm events. They also worked together to submit an application with the Student Activities Office for a formal club recognition, currently pending approval, according to the co-founders.
Within the club, students can volunteer for different roles, and some represent multiple on-campus groups 鈥� including Gonz谩lez V谩squez, who also represents the Latinx Student Union and Colombian Student Association.
Beyond bringing together leaders of Latine organizations at Brown, the Council hopes to connect with members of the broader Latine community in Providence and at other schools and universities in the Northeast, the co-founders explained.
They also highlighted the Council鈥檚 biggest goal for this upcoming semester: to organize La Feria, a week of events organized by Brown鈥檚 Latine community and open to Providence community members. They hope La Feria will expand the club鈥檚 presence 鈥渁nd establish a precedent for future years, ingraining it into the fabric of student life at Brown,鈥� Gonz谩lez V谩squez said.
As the club enters its second semester, its co-founders expressed optimism for the future. 鈥淭here is deep excitement for what is to come,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚 truly do feel like the community is forging new connections amongst its members.鈥�
鈥淚 hope people will truly feel 鈥� the magnitude of our community, because with magnitude comes voice, and with voice comes power,鈥� Gonz谩lez V谩squez added.
Sophia Wotman is a Senior Staff Writer covering the Affinity & Activism beat under University 国产偷拍. She is a sophomore from Long Island, New York studying Political Science and Music with an interest in women鈥檚 rights. She is a jazz trumpet player, and you鈥檒l often find her performing on campus and around Providence.
