Camila Varela is the political action chair of the Hispanic Student Association at the University of Georgia, which represents the Hispanic undergraduate students on campus.
Q: What are the goals of HSA here at UGA?
A: We basically just represent the interests of Latinos at UGA. We serve to give a platform to those voices, serve as a community for those individuals, and to just represent our culture to the rest of the campus.
Q: There are a little over 2,400 or Hispanic undergraduates at UGA, so roughly 5.2% of the school’s population, which is pretty low. Do you think this makes it easier or harder to build a community?
A: I think one benefit to having a smaller Latino population is that it’s definitely more close knit.
Q: Since you guys are a non-partisan org, can you explain some of your roles as political action chair?
A: My job is to give resources, give information and educate our community about the issues that affect us without necessarily promoting a certain stance on the issue. Just educating our body about what affects us, how they can take action and how they can be more engaged citizens of this country.
Q: The Trump administration, one of their biggest points is mass deportation. Do you think what they’re planning to do is going to become a major talking point at HSA meetings?
A: We do give our student body a space to express those opinions and discuss with each other about it. That happens in our group chats. It happens at our meetings. Me, as political action chair, I host an event called Voces Unidas, which is Voices United, where it’s like a debate night about certain issues that affect the Latino community.
Q: Do you feel like HSA has amplified or changed your experience attending a PWI like UGA?
A: When Laken Riley was killed, and Latinos on campus were kind of made like a scapegoat against this issue; the Latino orgs really banded together. We had community meetings, and we leaned on each other. And that’s when us going through something serious together made me realize that this org was so much deeper. It’s more than just a social time that I go to once a week. It’s like family, it’s a community to back on, it’s a support system. So, I don’t think my UGA experience would be the same at all without HSA. That’s how I met my roommates. That’s how I met my best friends.
Q: Do you believe that José Antonio Ibarra’s status and his ethnicity or origin, impacted the way that Hispanic students were treated around campus?
A: That was a really rough time to be Latino on campus. But yeah, his status, that’s what people were saying, even though you can’t tell an undocumented immigrant from a legal documented immigrant, physically. I think people were just afraid and looking for someone to blame, and we were the easiest target.
Q: How do you think UGA students, who are outside of the Hispanic Student Association or just the Latin community in general, can come together to support HSA efforts?
A: We love seeing non-Latino or non-HSA students come and enjoy our activities. So definitely, just come. It’s a fun night. It’s a fun time. Bring friends. We’d love to have you. It’s a Latino representative org, but it’s not Latino exclusive.
Comments trimmed for length and clarity.
Courtney Craft is a journalism and political science major covering the diversity beat.
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