The National Organization of Hispanics in Criminal Justice (NOHCJ) held its first-annual NOHCJ Olympics last Friday at Emancipation Park. The event featured the International Hispanic Association, the League of United Latin America Citizens, SHSU Lambdas and the Mexican Student Association. The winner of the event received a $300 prize to donate to a charity of their choice, along with a trophy

The NOHCJ Olympics had many events for the groups to participate in such as tug-of-war, a three-legged race, wheel barrow race, beach ball race, balloon burst, human pretzel, Don’t Drop the Marble and water balloon dodgeball.

“The purpose of this event is to unite all of the Hispanic organizations to promote team work and networking,” senior Psychology major Stephanie Gonzales said. “It’s not only supposed to be fun, but to help all of the organizations to come together and I think we really got to do that.”

The SHSU Lambdas claimed the cash prize and decided to donate the money to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a program that helps emerging Latino leaders through its civic engagement and leadership programs, including paid congressional internships and fellowships in our nation’s capital.

“We donate to a specific program with them that sends Latino students to Washington D.C. to speak to the senators and the House of Representatives,” senior Criminal Justice major Adrian Sanchez said. “That way we can expose younger people to politics to show the importance of it.”

The Lambdas donate to the program every year and plan on doing a plate sale in April to meet their yearly goal.

“Some of the funds will go to our organization but the majority will be donated to the CHCI,” Sanchez said. “People can expect some good food and drinks to go along with that.”

The NOHCJ expects to keep the Olympics as an annual event for years to come.