ROOTS Volume 4 Issue 3 Herstory Month Another Type of Groove: Michelle “Mush” Lee. “Another Type of Groove” brings featured poet Michelle “Mush” Lee to the mic. She performed her poetry on campus in the Chumash Auditorium on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 from 7:30 – 10:00 p.m. Another Type of Groove is a spoken word and poetry event held on the first Wednesday of every month. From the soulful, perpetual renaissance in the Bay Area comes Mush. No stranger to the mic, Mush has rocked a myriad of platforms including: the Warfield Theater (SF), the National Asian American Theater Festival (NY), GirlFest Hawi’i (HI), Grounded: New Works Festival (SF), Intersections (MA); the corner of Powell & O’Farrell, Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry Jam, the National Collegiate Poetry Slam Championships, and—perhaps the most challenging of all—high school classrooms and cafeterias. Mush is a recipient of the 2008 Hip Hop Theater Festival Grant. She holds an M.A. in Education from San Francisco State University and applies her practice as the Program Director for Arts-in-Education at Youth Speaks Inc. Her greatest work has been mentoring young writers in the Bay. Another Type of Groove also features an open mic portion, which provides an opportunity to create dialogue between students, faculty, staff, and community members through poetry. Cal Poly Gender Equity Center. The Gender Equity Center (GEC), formerly the Women’s Center, is an on campus division of Student Life and Leadership that provides resources concerning identity development for Cal Poly students. With a staff of fourteen, the GEC is committed to providing support for all genders. Located in the University Union, between the ASI offices and the Student Life and Leadership office, the GEC is always open for student to ask for help, find information about gender identity, as well have a place to hang out between classes. The name switch from Women’s Center, to Gender Equity Center came about in order to become a more inclusive resource. The GEC wanted to make all students, no matter of their gender identity feel welcome, and realized there was a resource for all genders. The Gender Equity Center not only provides a place for students to go, but also offers several programs to the Cal Poly community. Their three primary offerings are Women’s Programs, Men and Masculinity Programs, and SAFER. Some of their programs include Run to Remember, a 5k run to commemorate those who were raped and killed in the 90s as well any survivors of sexual assault, and Love your Body Day which promotes healthy body image with Wellness workshops and a Wellness Fair. The Vagina Monologues are also a mainstay for the Gender Equity Center, which they put on annually. The Gender Equity Center is also involved with Change the Status Quo and Women’s Herstory Week. Some of their smaller programs range from Open Mic Nights to their Coffee and Career sessions on the first Friday of every month. With a passionate staff and creative ideas, the GEC is consistently coming up with new programs that reach out to students and expose its resources to the Cal Poly Campus. With a Women’s Leadership Council, Men and Masculinity group, as well as SAFER volunteer training, it’s easy for Cal Poly students to get involved with the GEC. The Gender Equity Center is stresses that their door is always open, and that it is a safe place for anyone. The GEC hopes to continue to grow and become more recognizable, but also plan more events that continue to challenge stereotypes. I asked the GEC Coordinator, Christina Kaviani, what people don’t know about the Gender Equity Center but should, she said, “We’ve changed our name, to make sure students know we’re here for everyone, regardless of gender.”