roots L a t i n o October 2010 Volume 3 Issue 6 H e r i t a g e Meet the 2010-2011 MultiCultural Center Staff Top Row (L to R): Devon Buddan, Renoda Campbell, Marille Cuison Middle Row (L to R) Ryan Santillian, Michelle Fox, James Rymel, Garrett Runck Front Row (L to R): Emily Long, Elizabeth Graham Not Pictured: Manuel Basaldua, Jonathan Kim, Shauna Kimball, Isabel Montenegro, Collin Tateishi Manuel Basaldua Diversity Advocate Graphic Artist Elizabeth Graham Diversity Advocate Native American Heritage Series Garrett Runck Diversity Advocate Newsletter Editor Devon Buddan Diversity Advocate Latino Heritage Series Jonathan Kim Diversity Advocate Diversity CORe Asian/Pacific Islander Awareness Month James Rymel Culturefest Chair USFC Advisor Renoda Campbell Coordinator of MultiCultural Programs and Services Marielle Cuison Diversity Advocate Another Type of Groove Michelle Fox Diversity Advocate Cross Cultural Meetings Shauna Kimball Diversity Advocate Black History Month Emily Lou Long Diversity Advocate Diversity CORe Isabel Montenegro Diversity Advocate Latino Heritage Series Ryan Santillian AmeriCorps Program Assistant Collin Tateishi Diversity Advocate Asian/Pacific Islander Awareness Month Contact Us: UU 217 805.756.1405 mcc@calpoly.edu Club Spotlight: Latinos In Agriculture Latinos in Agriculture‘s mission is to firstly promote the College of Agriculture to the Cal Poly community as well as encourage minority students to be more involved with the college. Secondly, Latinos in Agri­ culture’s mission is to promote higher education in general, to minority high school students. I got the chance to speak with some club members at their booth at WOW Club Showcase as well as sit in on their first meeting. They are active in the Cal Poly Agriculture Department and consistently put on events to further the betterment of students and the influence of the department at Cal Poly. Latinos in Agriculture, or LIA for short, has events that range from local, on campus events, to participating in conferences all across the country. Held at Farmer’s Market in SLO, Farm City Nights is one event that is put on for the community. LIA provides small pumpkins and paint for young children to decorate their own jack-o’-lanterns. One of their biggest events also serves as outreach to new members. “26 Hours” is an event held in March for high school students interested in Agriculture. It gives the high school students an opportunity to live “twenty-six hours in the life of a college student.” LIA hosts approximately 80 students and takes the students around Cal Poly, the Agriculture Department and different classes, to give them a taste of what to expect at Cal Poly and as an agriculture major. The goal of “26 Hours” is to promote higher educa­ tion to minority students, especially those who have never thought about going to college. LIA also participates in the annual Minorities in Agricul­ ture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) conference. MANRRS is a national society whose mission is to promote academic and professional advancement by empowering minorities in agricultural and its related fields. Latinos in Agriculture has competed and has placed First in MANRRS’s various competitions in research and public speaking. LIA also holds its own “Cluster Meetings” in conjunction with MANRRS. The club coordinates workshops, lectures, local industry tours and other professional events for the Cluster Meetings. Other chapters of MANRRS affiliated clubs from schools like UC Davis, CSU Fresno and various community colleges in California are invited to Cal Poly to participate in LIA’s Cluster Meeting. LIA members are always busy with new events but never seem to stop loving what they do for the college, community and the profession. Although it may seem that Latinos in Agriculture is only about the profession, it is still a close-knit group of approximately twenty members who have fun outside of meetings and events. By considering themselves “a home away from home” for students, LIA strives to support students both professionally and personally. It’s a place where faculty advisors and older members are eager to foster new members’ growth in and out of school. Latinos in Agriculture is a welcoming group who wants all students to find a place where they can belong. I asked their president, Michelle Jimenez what people might not know about LIA but should— “You don’t have to be Latino, or even a minority to join. You don’t even have to be an agriculture major to join either. We want to promote diver­ sity, so everyone is welcome.” LIA meets on Mondays at 6pm in Building 10, Room 100 Contact: Michelle Jimenez [President] mkjimene@calpoly.edu Club Spotlight: Imagen y Espíritu Ballet Folklórico de Cal Poly Baile Folklórico literally meaning “folkloric dance” is a general term for the local folk dances of different areas of Mexico. Each locality of Mexico has its own style or “region” of folk dance. International influences range from Germany, to Spain and Africa depending on what part of Mexico the specific region originates. It is a vibrant and expressive art form that Imagen y Espíritu Ballet Folklórico de Cal Poly has brought to our campus and community for the past twenty years. I had the chance to interview them at their weekly practice. Imagen y Espíritu’s mission is to promote Latino culture on and off campus through their preservation of the Mexican tradition of baile folklórico. They persevere to en­ courage Latino pride while continuing to remember their own heritages. The group of twenty members from all dance experience levels and backgrounds meets each week to practice different regions for various performances. Imagen y Espíritu has small performances through­ out the year at public and private venues. Their largest event is Mexico de Noche. It is held during the weekend of Open House in Spanos Theatre. Mexico de Noche is a culmination of several of the region’s the club had practiced all that year. Alumni of the club also come back to San Luis Obispo to per­ form along side the current members for the event. Their alumni continue to come back to practices to help teach new regions as well as preserve Imagen y Espíri­ tu’s presence at Cal Poly. Silvia Aldana, Imagen y Espíritu’s current coach is also an alumna of the club. Anyone one can join, even if they have no dance experience. Silvia and the more experienced members never hesitate to take time to help out the new, less experienced dancers in the group. Imagen y Espíritu takes pride in teaching the knowledge and traditions of baile folklórico. They see it as doing their part in preserving their own heritage. Imagen y Espíritu is a creative and welcoming group of students who want to promote not only Mexican culture, but also diversity as whole. I asked them what people don’t know about Imagen y Espíritu but should--Silvia said, “Peo­ ple assume that it’s just a ‘Mexican hat dance,’ but it really isn’t. There are so many diverse influences to each of the regions.” And their president Stephany Martinez added, “You don’t have to be Mexican, or even Latino to join, and you don’t have to have any experience either.” Imagen y Espíritu practices on Mondays 8-10pm in Building 05, Room 225 Contact: grupo-folklorico@calpoly.edu Website: www.calpoly.edu/~grupclub/ Another Type of Groove Matt Blesse Matt Blesse is a spoken word poet, activist, and educator from the small California mountain paradise of Truckee. A member of two national poetry slam teams, Matt was the Grand Slam Champion of the city of San Francisco in 2008 and placed 3rd in 2009 at the National Poetry Slam. He has toured and taught cross­ country for universities, festivals, non-profit trainings, artist collectives, and poetry venues, but still finds the most rewarding audiences to be the youth he works with in his current home, the Bay Area. There he teaches under the Lyrical Minded 415 program and is an active community organizer. He believes spo­ ken word poetry is, at its most basic level, a conversation and, in the larger sense, a movement. As such, he seeks to keep his art relevant to and reflective of his experiences with oppression and transformation. Chumash Auditorium __Wednesday 10/06/10 __7:30pm-10pm A Message from the Newsletter Editor As the summer waned and the school year quickly approached, I realized not only did I need to get ready for my upcoming classes but also figure out what clubs I wanted to interview for the MultiCultural Center Newsletter. To be quite honest, I had no personal affiliation with a cultural club or organization and had no clue where to start. The closest I have gotten to participating with a cultural organization on campus was planning a “Cultural Inclusion” program in the residence halls in my time as a Resident Advisor. How was I to decide what club deserved to be in the newsletter? Would it come down to who was the biggest and most influential? Should I try and hunt down clubs that were so inconspicuous that only the club members knew about it? I still haven’t really decided on an exact formula other than my own curiosity. Being the Newsletter Editor is no longer just a job that I simply execute to make my deadlines and earn some extra money. It has become an opportunity for me to learn about what Cal Poly has to offer. It has become an op­ portunity to discover and learn more about different cultures, customs, and hopefully some really good food. It has become an opportunity to make new friends that I otherwise would have never met. I hope the newsletter will be as fulfilling for everyone who reads it as much as it is for me to create it. If you would like your club or organization spotlighted in the MCC Newsletter please feel free to contact me. 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