The University has seen a 14 percent increase in Hispanic enrollment since its 2007 initiative to better recruit Hispanic students.There are 898 Hispanic students enrolled at the University and 785 Hispanic undergraduates this fall— about a 9 percent total increase from fall 2008. There were 826 total Hispanic students and 741 undergraduates last fall, and 787 total Hispanic students and 698 undergraduates were enrolled in fall 2007.According to the Census Bureau’s 2008 estimates, 3.4 percent of Louisiana’s population is Hispanic or Latin American, and more than 15 percent of the U.S. population belongs to that demographic.Rafael Orozco, Spanish professor, said an increase in Hispanic influence around Baton Rouge is also evident, calling the group an “emerging population.””One of the signs is we have a Spanish-speaking radio in town,” Orozco said.He said Home Depot and Walmart air Spanish-language advertisements over the intercoms in stores, and it’s hard to find a church in Baton Rouge that doesn’t offer a service in Spanish.Lengthy wait-lists denote increased interest in Spanish classes at the University, he said.Orozco said because the U.S. is the third-most Spanish-speaking country in the world, the marketability of a second language is huge.”After all, English is the dominant language, but there is an increased number of Spanish [speakers] … and Americans who are interested in Spanish,” Orozco said. Orozco is the program director for LSU in Mexico, a summer abroad program during which students live with Mexican families and fulfill basic needs speaking Spanish. He said he’s studied the Hispanic population in Baton Rouge, and it’s different from Hispanic populations in any other American city. Instead of coming directly from their home country, Hispanics who settle in Baton Rouge choose the capital city after they’ve settled in other states. The Hispanic Student Cultural Society has nearly doubled in size since its inception last year — from 10 members to 18 — said Cerise Edmonds, Office of Multicultural Affairs coordinator and adviser for the group.”At first it was just a group of interested students … then they became a cohesive group,” she said. HSCS is a resource for incoming Hispanic students and a support network for existing students, Edmonds said. She said the group meets for various activities, like eating dinner and watching soccer games between native countries.She said members are still busy recruiting, and the Hispanic showcase this year, which featured food and salsa dancers, was the society’s biggest event of the semester.”There was a guy screaming, ‘This is America — speak English!’ I was like, ‘Here’s your bigot card,'” said Mimie Laurent, general studies senior of her experience at the showcase.The new multicultural sorority in the works, Interested Ladies of Sigma Lambda Gamma, is another effort to recruit all ethnicities to a predominantly Hispanic group, she said.And a Latino fraternity is being reintroduced to campus — Phi Iota Alpha, Inc., which disappeared from the University years ago, will soon be reinstated.Edmonds said Hispanic influence on campus and in Baton Rouge is increasing, and students of all ethnicities who have traveled south of the border are especially interested in Hispanic and Latin American culture.She said she is half Mexican — a native of Texas and a Spanish speaker. Daniel Toro, finance sophomore and HSCS treasurer, was born and raised in New Orleans by Honduran parents. He said he remains close with friends he met freshman year through the society.”I’ve seen more freshman [Hispanic] students than last year,” he said. “Now more Hispanics know there’s an organization out there they can join.”He said HSCS is open to all students, and he is organizing events for next semester to recruit non-Hispanic students. Toro said in the future a majority of the people in the Baton Rouge area could be speaking Spanish, and students will become interested in Latin American culture by taking Spanish courses.”More Hispanic people will come to LSU,” he said. “I want them to feel welcome.” – – – -Contact Sarah Lawson at [email protected]