common ground uc san diego cross-cultural center volume 13, issue 3 spring 2009
live...reflect...create...
Spring is in the Air: New Promise from Old Problems Edwina Welch
Coming to work this morning I was reminded that a new season is in full swing. Sounds of spring were all around: birds chirping, trees blooming, and toes peeking out of sandals. I was also reminded of transitions and transformations. Planning for next year’s interns, talking with seniors about next steps, writing letters of recommendation, and all the amazing events that will happen in the next weeks on campus are all on my mind as I write these words. While I am anticipating many wonderful events and experiences I am also worried about the downside of transitions and transformations. Given the state budget situation and the economy how will priorities of community and diversity fare in these challenging times? Individuals, offices, organizations, and departments are all being faced with bad and worst choices. Each individual, office, organization, and departmental choice will impact all of us for the foreseeable future. People at the Center say I am an incurable optimist. On my bulletin board is the Chinese symbol for both crisis and opportunity. I am hoping that new ideas, strategies, partnerships, and even budget practices can come out of what is a dismal situation. So here I sit glad for the sunshine and long days thinking what will be my and our collective response to this crisis? What opportunities will we create? What new and wonderful transformations will we see?
live... Spring is in the Air: New Promise from Old Problems...1 Ruby...2 Are you an ACTIVIST?...2 Mary’s Cross Tour...3 The Year in View...4-9 Upcoming Events...10-11
reflect... Reflection...12 Scooby Doo Blanket...12 Black Womanhood...13 Editor’s Note...13 butterflies...14
create.. For busy girls...15 untitled...15 60 Second Mediation...16
live...
with peace.love.joy always.
Ruby
Janice Sapigao For my self-initiated project as the Joy de la Cruz Art & Activism intern, I was fortunate enough to host poet Ruby Veridiano-Ching. As a spoken word poet, writer, artist, author (whose new book was recently released in Fall 2008) and “Gangsta Pinay Sista,” Ruby Veridiano-Ching describes her style as raw, honest, stripped and bare, yet sassy and strong. As a member of spoken word collective iLL-Literacy, Ruby has traveled around the world and the group has performed on many stages with the likes of Common, Mos Def, KRS-One, Lauryn Hill and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Inspired by a hip-hop concert she attended in college, Ruby knew she wanted to become a part of this positive energy building movement and found spoken word when she met fellow iLL-Literate, Adriel Luis. Ruby writes that she is inspired by “life, love, everything. Inspiration comes from the most spontaneous, unexpected places- I’m inspired by other artists. Art feeds me. Music feeds me. Every artist has to take in before they can put out- art is meant to be contagious and wide spread in that way.” She is constantly inspired by people--like her friends, who are what she calls the “most intelligent, creative and flyest people in the world.”
Are you an ACTIVIST? Mireya Morales
Did you know that you may be an activist and you don’t even know it? When people hear the word activist or activism, most people think of protests, sit-ins, picketing or things of the sort. Although those are definitely great ways to practice activism and mobilize people, there are countless ways you can give back to the community. Activism comes in all shapes and sizes and small actions can make small changes that add up to bigger results. As students we are all busy and it is almost impossible to make it out to every protest or meeting. At one point I even questioned my role as an activist because I often missed protests because of rugby practice or class. Then I realized that things I’ve been doing on my own, like creating alumni networks back in my high school, or outreaching to youth and encouraging them to go to college are also great ways to give back to the community. Therefore, the point is that it isn’t about labels or quantity, it’s about quality and the passions we each have inside that will eventually make a difference. So step back and tell yourself I am an ACTIVIST and make your move.
Onstage, Ruby always delivers honest, vulnerable performances and poetry that narrates a people’s movement based on love. Watch and listen to Ruby on iLLLiteracy’s Natural Electricity tour, which will commence in the Fall. In addition to performing spoken word poetry, she is currently a VJ for Myx North America (a music network in the Philippines) and has sold out copies of her book of poetry, Miss Universe. Miss Universe features writings, poetry and a distinctly female voice that demands truth and reflects beauty, strength and growth. As a message to aspiring Pilipina/o American poets, Ruby says, “I am so proud and honored to be a part of your community. This is an incredible time to be an artist- we are at the brink of a new era! Tell the world your story, our story- we need you to be brown, beautiful, and proud together. We’ve always been fly- know now is your time to soar, so own it! I’m watching and taking in my community with so much love and pride.”
(Shameless Plug: JOIN UCSD WOMEN’S RUGBY!)
Learn more @ rubyisill.com
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hallway/intern room
Mary’s Cross Tour Mary Kong
“There are 10 undergraduate student internships…”
I’ve realized that one favorite things to do at the CrossCultural Center is to give tours. I love being able to share parts and pieces of the space. Although the spaces below only represent a portion of the CCC, they signify reasons why I am thankful to be a part of the CCC community.
The hallway at the CCC is unbelievably long. If you are going from one side to the other you should enjoy your experience. Some of the tips are a) enjoy the passive programming; b) walk like you are on the runway; c) do a little dance and say hi to those in their offices; d) find someone to walk with; e) all of the above. Thank you to my fellow interns and the full time staff for being a part of my growing experience. The random moments, silences, and laughs are moments that will be hard to forget. Also, thank you for sharing nap space, computer time, and your favorite song of the week. I would also like to thank the community for participating and sharing your stories and ideas at the programs that we put on, your presence is greatly appreciated.
lobby “The CCC is a part of the Campus Community Centers working in community with the LGBT RC and Women’s Center…” One of things that I enjoy about our community at UCSD is the unique way that we have learned to work together to value and challenge our community and ourselves. Although you may walk through the doors once or twice throughout the quarter (or even in a day) the community extends beyond the CCC space in the Price Center. So whether you choose to come in to look for directions, checking your facebook in the lobby, sleeping in the library, warm up lunch in the kitchen, or chatting it up at a one-on-one, thank you for making the community what it is.
kitchen “Anything that labeled is off limits; anything that isn’t is fair game.” I love the kitchen, and most importantly the water dispenser. There have been many times that I look forward to going to work because I know that I can either leave my lunch there or expect something unlabeled to be there. Thank you to those of you who leave their food unlabeled. I look forward to the food especially if its ice cream, chips and salsa, or anything left over from GBMs. It’s nice going into the kitchen and realizing that you can grab a snack or scoop yourself some ice cream to eat at a meeting.
library “All the books in here are donated from community members…”
comunidad room “This is a picture of some of the community members at the old CCC…” I remember being hesitant about leaving 501 (CCC’s original space) at the end of my sophomore year. I was going abroad and it was hard to say goodbye to the community that I had found there. It was difficult to know that the space wasn’t going to be there once I came back. The CCC is more than a space, it is about the people that occupy it. The CCC is built upon a strong foundation of individual stories. It is the place that people not only share their food, but their stories, passions, and quirks. Thank you for being a part of the CCC and being a part of my experience at the Cross-Cultural Center.
I never really liked Geisel, for me it has always been a cold space and a place where I was always afraid to look for books or study at for fear of being too loud. The library (when I do study) has always been a nice space where learning is interactive. There is even a game library where you can play with board games or hula hoop! I want to thank those in the community for contributing to the community not only through donations of books, but the sharing of knowledge, stories, and conversations. I love how learning has become an interactive experience for me through questions asked and concepts to think about.
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The Year in View Lea Burgess-Carland
As the Cross-Cultural Center prepares for our annual All People’s Celebration on May 21, 2009, I have been reflecting on the first year in our new home in the Price Center. Last year All People’s was the very first time we opened the space to the community. Since then we have moved in, gotten settled, and with the community we have made the space a home. Here is a look back on some of the programs and people in the Cross-Cultural Center over the past year.
block party! The Welcome Week Block Party is our first activity of the year. It’s a time to welcome new and returning students to UCSD and the Cross-Cultural Center, and to help folks get connected to each other, our Affiliate orgs, and activism. Pictures: DJ Kutt’n Kandi spins beats and good vibes. Shout out to Kandi for her work making the world better through hip-hop, the Gabriela Network, and the UCSD Women’s Center! Timothy Mok and Mindy Tran getting their munch on with the biggest bowl of chips known to humankind.
Shawn Travers and Michelle Strange being adorable representing the LGBT Resource Center. Represent!
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affiliate potluck This year we held our first-annual Affiliate potluck. The potluck was a chill way for members of different orgs to come together for community building and good food. Pictured are people from MEChA, SEAC, and APSA. Also pictured are the remnants of a good meal.
election thought-spot This year’s election was a time for great celebration as we rejoiced in the election of America’s first black President. It was also a time of hurt and sorrow for many in our community because of the passing of Prop 8, which took away the equal rights of LGBT folks to marry. Knowing that many people in the community were experiencing very strong feelings, the CCC introduced our “Thought-Spot” board, where people can anonymously write and post their feelings about the topic. The “thought-spot” is still up, with topics that change on a regular basis. Here are some pictures from the election thought-spot.
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afternoon breather series! This year the CCC introduced our Afternoon Breather Series. Every other week we have a different fun activity to bring about some much-needed stress relief! Here are some shots from some of the afternooner series so far. Pictures:
Popcorn and Pop Songs. There’s that huge bowl again. It looks like it’s about to eat Denise!
It’s Spring! Paint Pots! People had a blast getting their creativity on by painting clay pots for spring flowers.
Coco and Crafts. Heaven for me would be doing crafts and eating (or drinking) chocolate all day long.
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art shows My most favorite thing about the center’s new space is the ArtSpace. As its name suggests, the ArtSpace is our space to experience art by, for, and as a community. It is a space to tell our stories through art, and to learn about others through their art. We did not name this room the “gallery”, for that implies a one-way conversation. Art is the personal and the political mixed together and baked into a sticky sweet. Art is our heart and our mind merging for creation. This is the ArtSpace.
We’ve had the chance to create and show some amazing art this year. Here’s a glimpse.
• World AIDS Day Art Show • Chiapas Collective Textiles • Art of Democracy • ArtAbility • In Our Hands: Art • Inspired by the Values of Cesar Chavez
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“‘Democracy’ is the name that has been assigned to a dream as well as to certain already existing realities that are lived, by many, as a nightmare.” -Fred Morten 8
“The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.� -Cesar Chavez
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upcoming events...
Honoring Our Joy
All People's Recognition Ceremony & Community Celebration Thursday, May 21, 2009, 5:00-8:00pm UCSD Cross-Cultural Center 2nd Floor, Price Center East Please join us for an evening of joy! This free event will include: “Soulful (re)Visions�, a gallery exhibit by artist Loralei Rose Bingamon Poetry performances by the Freedom Writers Live Music Interactive arts and crafts Appetizer buffet And more! Find out more by visiting http://ccc.ucsd.edu/AllPeople.asp Honor someone who brings you joy by nominating them for recognition. Complete the nomination form at http://ccc.ucsd.edu/AllPeople.asp by Wed., May 13.
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Week 7 May 14
CCC/San Diego Asian Film Festival: Can’t Hold Us Downe “Beautiful Boxer” and Dinner Reception CCC, 730p - Please RSVP to: Tim Mok at tim.y.mok@ gmail.com
Week 8 May 19
“Frontier Constitutions: Christianity and Colonial Empire in the Nineteenth-Century Philippines” Dr. Jody Blanco CCC 700-830p
May 22, 2009
Finals
My Paper Heart Workshop Loralei Rose Bingamon CCC 1200-230p
June 8
STRESS-LESS Study Jam 9a-12a CCC June 9
STRESS-LESS Study Jam 12a-8a CCC
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reflect... on the life you love.
Reflection Denise Manjarrez Awareness of our situation must come before inner changes, which in turn come before changes in society. Nothing happens in the “real” world unless it first happens in the images in our heads. -Gloria Anzaldúa At this stage of my life I am constantly reflecting on my role within my community. There are days when I am confident on what it is that I am doing. Then there are those days that I can’t help but feel like this La Jolla bubble is slowly suffocating me. Those are the days when I feel the most separated from the gente. The people I grew up and those I love seem more than a two hour Amtrak trip away. Being at this institution for three years now has transformed me. I went from a self-invested teenager and honor roll geek to a mujer who is determined to find and sembrar love into her communities. My first quarter here I would slap myself if I ever heard myself call UCSD (aka UC La Jolla) a home. But I can finally call this place a home. A home is never perfect and most days all you want to do is get out of the house. Yet here I have cried, laughed, and changed alongside the most honest and beautiful people I have met. I hold these people close to my heart and thoughts because through their own willingness in allowing me into their joys and fears I have become a stronger mujer. I now return to that sense of frustration that I feel when thinking of the distance from myself and my community. I know that the distance I feel has more to do with physical space. Not being around community everyday does make me question my work here at the University. Yet I recognize that my heart and mind are in the community. That is why I say this quote has come at the right time. Anzaldúa’s argument that to make “real” changes one must first see these changes, puts many things into perspective. I think my development as a mujer, Chicana, mestiza, feminist, sista and ally flourished the way that they did because of spaces like M.E.Ch.A, Colectiva Chicana and the Cross-Cultural Center <3. You all have shown me to not be resistant to change but create change and to not base myself on hate and dualisms but on love and wholeness. Isang Bagsak!
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Scooby Doo Blanket Timothy Mok I’m sitting in my Marshall Lowers Apartment, looking around for some sort of inspiration when I notice my blanket. It’s blue pallet with a picture of a silly dog licking a shaggy guy and glow in the dark bones spotted everywhere in between. I start to wonder… do we ever leave our childhood? I mean of course we mature physically and mentally, but how much of our childhood do we bring and always will have with us, regardless of our current age and emotional state? For myself, I do consider myself an adult, yet on occasion, I find myself watching anime and playing video games. I just can’t help but feel that it’s a comfort zone of some sort. I know that I have weird habits that I carry from when I was a child such as skipping down long hallways such as the CrossCultural Center or happily spinning around in the rolling seats. I mean sure, I may just be immature, but I have to ask: What is childhood? So I’m walking around campus, and I see college students tackle each other on library walk, and endlessly gossiping about the latest pop culture events, yet when it is taken outside of the frame and seen as a third person, such acts are seen as being immature. Now I’m not saying that it’s bad to randomly tackle someone or be updated with what’s happening to what’s their names, but I just wonder if we’re still living our childhood… I think it’s a very healthy thing because we can’t mill around all day trying to be sophisticated cheese eaters. We should be able to let our energies roam and explore, and what’s a better way than to venture without a single care for how you may been seen through a socially judgmental lens? I say let out the beast and roar!! RAWR!
Black Womanhood Paola Rodelas As a double-major in Art History and Ethnic Studies who is particularly interested in representations of women of color in art, the “Beyond La Jolla: Black Womanhood” Exhibit in the San Diego Museum of Art was of much interest to me. I woke up bright and early on a Saturday morning to go on a tour of the exhibit, fancy docent and all. After the tour, I walked around to look at the pieces not covered by the docent. Then I came across an image of Josephine Baker by Paul Colin, depicting the famous entertainer in her iconic banana skirt. But it wasn’t the image that struck me. The curator’s blurb alongside the piece caught my attention. Unlike the usually sterile blurbs one sees in art galleries, i.e. “Caravaggio painted this piece amidst the legal problems he faced” or something boring like that, this blurb was in the first-person and revealed the curator’s thoughts on the lithograph. The blurb was about the first time the curator saw an image of Baker in a cage. Unlike most cages, this was one in which the captive could voluntarily leave at any time. Baker nonetheless stays “content” in her cage, and the curator wonders how one can be so happy like this. My knowledge of Baker prior to this was limited, but I read her Wiki and then some once I got home. All I knew was that she was an African American dancer and actress in France, and Wikipedia confirmed this. Her Wiki and the image at the exhibit also confirmed that she was a hypersexualized figure, exoticized and “othered” - doing her shows in a banana skirt or with a cheetah, for example. Yet she was also known as a Civil Rights activist and a member of the French resistance movement against Nazi occupation during World War II. She refused to perform at segregated American venues, and she abhored the Nazi “Final Solution.” She was able to do a lot of this work because of her high status and popularity as an erotic, exotic entertainer. Is this what it means to be content in the cage? How does one perpetuate these misrepresentations but protest against these same systemic injustices at the same time? Is it doable, and did Josephine Baker succeed in doing so? Anna May Wong - another famous woman of color known for her portrayals of stereotypical Asian women in film (i.e. the “Dragon Lady”) and a contemporary of Baker’s - has been quoted for saying “Don’t be photographed too much or you’ll lose your soul,” out of frustration from feeling constantly stereotyped. Wong even left the U.S. to pursue an acting career in Europe due to these frustration. Baker herself is an expatriate... is it accurate to say that she was “happy in her cage?” Am I myself guilty of “othering” Josephine Baker, through my sudden fascination with her life and career? All I can conclude with is that I have now started wondering what kind of cage I am in.
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editor’s note anyong! thank you for taking the time to read our community newsletter for the past school year. it’s been a true pleasure building community with each and every one of you in the form of words, art, and love. please continue to find peace and joy in the ways that you express yourself. trust that you know what is best for you, and trust that the process is just as important as the outcome. remember to always live. reflect. and create.
sarang. john im
butterflies
just like butterflies...we, as cross-cultural center interns, have spent this past year growing and learning, and now we leave the center with our love, all the wiser.
janice sapigao john im mary kong denise manjarrez paola rodelas lorena ruiz carmela capinpin tim mok mireya morales mayra sifuentes 14
create...
For busy girls For busy girls For our everyday For being activists led by planners Like poets to notepads For being on a self-love schedule (because having Tuesday/Thursday classes means Monday/Wednesday/Friday meetings) For working during lunch hours For scratching off items on to-do lists For spending more time at school than home For being far away from Home home For alarm clocks going off at 7 am and For knowing that you won’t see your bed again For another 15 hours
beauty and love everywhere.
that are due the next day For green tea to soothe raspy voices from rally chants For conflict-free alternative bling, For becoming freegans, vegetarians and vegans and For learning the difference.
For organizing meeting agendas For advocating for workers’ rights, and living wages, For lowering student fees, For educating self and others, and awaiting the institutionalization of siestas For For For For For For For For For
For For For For For For For
hour-long check-ins, one-on-ones, dialogue, growth, free t-shirts, community centers, friendship, all people, social justice.
sitting with anxiety, confronting fears in large groups, harnessing anger, interrogating herstories, the five love languages, meditation and attempts at yoga, peace and internal warfare
For thinking that we don’t deserve what we’ve earned For revolutionary love For hoping that our fists raised in air will find our match For not needing bullhorns to be heard For sharing soundtracks, For being amazed at recognition For what we’ve been doing all along
For preferring to fight with books and words For taking shots to community-building, For clubbing on the weekends, and For partying with a purpose, For unlearning silence, For knowing each other’s triggers, For calling out ‘the -isms’
For the many forums that we have to create For us. -Janice Lobo Sapigao
For knowing our contradictions For our big earrings, For thrift store shopping, For seeing bodies and outfits as art, For always lookin fly, For still putting on make-up after knowing we won’t need it after all
untitled. Camino entre dos mundos opuestos: el de mis ancestros, y el de mi opresor. Escucho los gritos de mis antepasados entre sue~nos y al despertar veo el mismo dolor en los rostros de mis padres. Respiro el aire de mis ancestros y camino con ellos sobre la tierra. Lucho por un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos. Soy mujer indigena. Soy Chicana.
For our parents and their struggle, For our friends that don’t know, For our partners that listen, For our brothers that understand, For a piece of paper, For keeping just-in-case “No Justice! No Peace” protest signs in the trunk of my car. For fair trade coffee that fuels 8 to 10 page essays
-L
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60 second meditation... 1. Choose a quiet place 2. Sit up straight but don’t lie down...you’ll fall asleep :) 3. Concentrate on a word that doesn’t bring up too many thoughts 4. Close your eyes 5. Relax each part of your body from the head down 6. Count 5...INHALE....Count 5...EXHALE 7. Say the word you chose continuously in your head. 8. When you are done, open your eyes and take some time to center yourself before standing up
Continuing quick meditations like this will not only relieve stress but will help your energy and health.
ucsd cross-cultural center business hours: M-Th 9-9 F 9-4 9500 gilman drive. 0053 la jolla, ca 92093-0053 return service requested
cccenter@ucsd.edu (858) 534-9689 ccc.ucsd.edu