Activities usually sponsored by Latino Caucus in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month are postponed until the spring semester.
The main event being rescheduled is Noche Latina, the event during which Mr. Latino and Miss Latina Penn State are crowned.
Events are being postponed because Latino Caucus is restructuring its executive board.
Latino Caucus President Nikki Rivera resigned last week and the group is working to reorganize, said Veronica Barajas, Latino Caucus secretary.
A decision is expected by Monday on whether or not current Vice President Alvaro Zumaran will assume the position of president.
If he does not, elections will be held to fill the position.
Zumaran said the group will co-sponsor Hispanic Heritage Month events with the Puerto Rican Student Association (PRSA).
"The events are for everyone at the university," Barajas said. "It's important to share our culture with others. Other kinds of groups need us too. It's not just the Latino community."
But Shaira Morales, president of PRSA, said she was not aware of any co-sponsored events with Latino Caucus. Morales expressed disappointment that on-campus Latino organizations have not collaborated this semester.
Members of Latino Caucus were not available for comment yesterday afternoon.
Erika Carrasquillo, Miss Latina Penn State said the postponement of Noche Latina will allow programming to be more thorough, but it could lose relevance for some because events won't take place during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Members of the group attribute the slow start this semester to a young executive board and a lack of communication.
"We weren't meeting regularly as we should've been," Barajas said. "I'm not ashamed to say we've been having a down period."
The disorganization has affected more than just those in the group.
"We really feel the community deserves an apology from us, because we haven't been as organized this year," Barajas added.
Zumaran said some activities traditionally sponsored by Latino Caucus, such as a date auction, will take place later this semester. However, the first order of business is organization.
"The ball will be rolling again by next week," Zumaran said.
