Michelle Jimenez
Staff Reporter

On Dec. 3 2015, Latinos Stand Up hosted a dance or in other words, a Pachanga.
“Close to 100 people came. Latino clubs from the area came like York, Hersey, Mundelein, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Highland Park, Grayslake Central, and Zion-Benton High Schools,” said LSU sponsor Amy Alderson.
The Pachanga would never have had happened if it wasn’t for LSU. It was held in the cafeteria at Grayslake North High School from 5-8 pm. The theme of the Pachanga was latinos succeeding expectations.
“We decided (to have it) last year during the Academic Bowl at Highland Park. As a high school, we wanted to bring a positive influence to the community just like Highland Park did with their Pachanga,” said LSU’s president Paloma Alcala.
During the Pachanga, students would be doing activities about how to be succeeding expectations, and they would have time to make new friends from the different schools that showed up.
“(It was) an opportunity to play Latin music, socialize, dance and have fun. Students and chaperones even got to dance,” said LSU sponsor Cynthia Karabush.
The Pachanga played latin music and had many activities and skits for everyone to enjoy while they ate.
“My favorite memory of the Pachanga was of course the dancing but also the skits. At the times when students worked on the skits, we would see them working together and sharing ideas. The skits ended up being hilarious,” Alcala said.
Another event Latinos Stand Up will be hosting will be the soccer tournament on February 18 at 6:30 pm at the field house.
“Anyone can join (the soccer tournament). Students create teams of four, but students must complete a waiver with a team name. The total cost is twelve dollars, which means each player pays three dollars,” Alderson said.
Latinos Stand Up have been doing tournaments for a while now.
“(We do them because) it’s fun versing one another and having little brothers and sisters come to watch their siblings play,” Karabush said.
The club had many reasons why they do tournaments.
“It’s a really good way to create a fun event in the winter. Students get excited, and we usually have a lot of students join even though they are not in LSU,” Alderson said.