In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Spanish and Latino Student Association invited students to learn about the portrayal of Latinos in the mass media Tuesday from Federico Subervi, professor of Managing Media Diversity in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“Being aware to how media images portray Latinos and other minorities and how that influences how we feel about ourselves and how others feel about us is important,” Subveri said.

S.A.L.S.A. Kent hosted about 25 students at its event on Latinos in the media. Subervi spoke about the misconceptions and underrepresentation of Latinos and other minorities in movies, television shows and media in general.

He said Latinos have always been underrepresented in media, which has an effect on how the Latino community views itself.

“You didn’t grow up with positive images like you, so you were looking at positive images of other images but not any like you,” he said about the lack of Latinos in pop culture. “You didn’t even grow up with any heroes like you on television. So what were you imitating? The non-Latino heroes when you were growing up?”

Subervi said he has been studying Latinos in the media for over 30 years.

“Being from Puerto Rico and having the opportunity to teach in states, I wasn’t going to just do what everyone else was doing,” he said. “I wanted to do something that had not been done, so I started studying Latinos in media issues.”

The group decided to bring Subervi in to speak to the group because media representation of Latinos and its influences are an important topic, said Natalia Roman, vice president of S.A.L.S.A and sophomore organizational communication major.

“We believe it is important for us to learn about our culture and how we are represented to the world,” Roman said.

Through his research, Subervi said he discovered that less than one percent of the news involves the Latino community each year.

 Subervi said there are four conditions that maximize media effects: repetition, dramatic images and sounds, perceived relevance and the frame of reference.

“Awareness and understanding of the influence of media and your sense of identity is crucial for your success,” he said. “Because if you are not aware, you will feel a sense of inferiority in the face of others.”

Kelsey Levya, public relations chair for S.A.L.S.A. and senior magazine journalism major, said she believes it’s important for the Latino community to understand how the way they are perceived influences their daily lives.

“TV is just so prevalent and media are so prevalent in peoples lives today that it’s really important that Latino students understand the type of world we are growing up in and the type of changes we need to make in the future,” Levya said.

Contact Arbrion Chambliss at [email protected].