A chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists was started on Arizona State University’s Downtown campus by a group of students hoping to give the Hispanic community a voice both at the university and in the local community.
“One of our main goals is to establish an identity for ourselves at ASU,” said Gitzel Puente, president and founder of the NAHJ ASU chapter.
Puente, a journalism junior at the Walter Cronkite School, said she was prompted to start a chapter after attending NAHJ’s national convention last summer in Puerto Rico. As a national member, Puente was sponsored to attend the convention and was inspired to create her own chapter at ASU.
“We have a lot of Hispanic journalism students at the Cronkite School and a lot of Hispanic people in the Valley,” Puente said.
Puente said she hopes other students can benefit from being a member of the organization as much as she has.
“There are so many opportunities for scholarships and internships for aspiring Hispanic journalists (in NAHJ),” Puente said.
Former Vice President Ruben Veloz graduated from the Walter Cronkite School in December but was eager to get involved when Puente approached him to help Hispanic students.
“I’d like to see these kids presented with more opportunities in the journalism field and show them why they are important (to the industry),” Veloz said. “I got involved because there needed to be more involvement from the students at the Walter Cronkite School regarding Hispanics and Hispanic issues.”
Freshman journalism student Pedro Silva said he joined the ASU chapter because it was the club on campus that resonated most with him.
“Latinos are gaining presence in this field and it’s important to have a club that promotes Hispanic values,” Silva said. “It’s a club I can identify with.”
Silva said there are a lot of issues facing the Hispanic community in Arizona and thinks the chapter will help promote them.
“It’s about time,” he said. “Latinos are the fastest-growing demographic in Arizona so it’s great to have a club that caters to our concerns.”
During the three meetings held from October to December in the fall semester, the club discussed promoting itself, bringing in guest speakers for next semester, ways to raise funds and starting a club Web site.
“(With a Web site) we will establish our identity as a club and a credible source, so other students can join,” Puente said in an e-mail. “This will be a way for us, reporters, to give a description of ourselves and state our goals, write Hispanic-oriented news stories in the future, blog and create an outlet for other ASU students to get involved with our club.”
Puente said the club hasn’t created a club Web site yet, but it did make a blog that she hopes to further develop during the spring semester by reporting on events happening in the surrounding Hispanic community.
The club currently has 10 to 15 active members, but Puente said she hopes it will expand once more students find out about it.
“The students are so excited to be a part of this club,” she said.
NAHJASU is holding its first meeting of the semester on Feb. 8, featuring its second guest speaker, Yvonne Wingett, a reporter for the Arizona Republic.
Puente said her semester goals for the organization are to plan events, like a mixer between students and Hispanic media professionals in March, continue the blog and promote the benefits of the club.
“We just want to get the word out that we’re here to help,” she said.
Contact the reporter at dustin.volz@asu.edu
Stephanie Snyder contributed to this report.
