Hispanic Leadership club has officially changed its name to Olathe Leadership club.

The goal of the club has long been to make opportunities like scholarships, community service and others, available to the Hispanic community. It’s members often visit Universities, do community service projects, and go on educational field trips. Its appeal, however, is currently expanding and reaching a broader group of students. 

Formerly known, Hispanic Leadership club, was founded by Erik Erazo at Olathe North High school. It was Erazo that suggested the name change after a promotion to the district level. 

“It was mainly for hispanics,” the club’s vice president and junior Leslie Tellez said. “But now that we’ve seen more minority groups come together, we don’t want to make it feel like we’re isolating ourselves from the whole community, we want to include other people.” 

In November the club hosted a Baile, a Hispanic orientated, cultural dance for anyone at the Olathe schools to come to and enjoy. 

“Most of the people who helped us set up were kind of in this mindset that at homecoming we don’t tend to hear our cultures music,”  Tellez said. 

According to Tellez many other cultures came to the dance and enjoyed it as well. It was events like these, celebrated by people outside of their culture, that led the group to change its official name.

Others, however, aren’t as enthusiastic about the change. Junior Roxanna Perez a member of the club, said she prefers it remain Hispanic leadership club. 

“When they changed it I was kind of bummed,” Perez said. “I thought it was something only Hispanics had at this school. A lot of times its like their changing it all up but  this was the one thing Hispancis had.”

Perez, as well as other members of the club who are dissatisfied with the name change, also mentioned West already has a multicultural club and feels it’s unnecessary to make Hispanic leadership into something similar. Regardless, the majority of the Olathe Leadership club remains Hispanic and it’s hard to tell if that will change. 

Some club members have mixed feelings of excitement and uncertainty as the future of the club lays unwritten. Junior Bella Strom is one of these members. 

“I’m really excited to get other minorities involved. The least exciting part is Hispanic leadership club isn’t a thing anymore.”

Strom described the club’s importance to her as someone who is not fully Mexican, saying she is many time told she is not Mexican enough. Her overall thoughts on the club’s name change are hopeful. 

“I’m mostly excited about it,” Strom said. “Combining the cultures together helps you understand other people’s culture.”