A new student organization starting in the fall hopes to spark interest in Latino culture.

Hol@s, or Hilltopper Organization of Latin@ Students, plans to get WKU student together to reach out to Bowling Green’s growing Latino community.

The organization includes both Latino and non-Latino students.

“Students that are not a part of the culture will come and realize that they are just like us,” said Ricardo Nazario-Colón, director of the Office of Diversity Programs and the moderator of the group.

“There is a lot of diversity in the group right now,” he said. “We don’t even use the same words when we refer to things.”

The organization’s main goal is to promote Latino culture, which it plans to do with educational events and programs, but it’s focusing now on growing its members. The group hopes to start with posters and T-shirts to help with promotion of the group.

“We are going to start small,” said Andrea Fuentes, a sophomore from Guatemala and the president of Hol@s.

Fuentes said that she wants WKU’s message of “A University with International Reach” to be able to reach out to the Latino community.

Lendee Sanchez, a Somerset freshman as well as Hol@s vice president, said she wants the organization to be a happy place for the Hispanic community to come to.

“All we are doing right now is to promote the Latin community and culture,” Sanchez said. “By hosting a movie or a picnic, we will show the campus that we are a community that needs to be represented.”