As a kickoff to the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, the Cross-Cultural Center presented its annual Cultural Unity Day of Awareness at Price Center Plaza on Jan. 16. The awareness event featured performances by UCSD and San Diego area artists.
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“”It’s a time for student organizations and staff to come together and celebrate the culture and diversity of UCSD, and to bring awareness,”” said Emelyn Dela Pena, interim director of the Women’s Center.
A DJ began playing at Price Center Plaza in the morning, spinning rap and hip-hop music. The first performance of the day began at 12:30 p.m., featuring three satirical skits from the Street Theater Troupe of the Student Office of Human Relations.
The first skit, “”Sports Wrap-up,”” featured a satirical impersonation of a news program that covered a wide range of existing social stereotypes. The next skit, “”My Religion, Your Religion,”” was a hilarious look at the hypocrisy of warring religions. The set of performances ended with “”Sports Wrap-up 2,”” which had a mock interview of American athletes.
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According to Jennifer Hildebrand, an Eleanor Roosevelt College sophomore who performed in the skits, the purpose of these performances was to “”make people aware that we discriminate against a lot of races and sexes and we don’t even know it. We want to make students aware of what’s going on around them and to hopefully try to stop all the racism.””
Following the Street Theater Troupe was the Freedom Writers, UCSD’s club for the spoken word. With the help of the DJ, Arash Haile performed his free-style rapping, and Joy de la Cruz presented some uplifting spoken word.
“”We’re basically out there to send a message about cultural experiences,”” de la Cruz said.
According to Dela Pena, a group of Korean drummers had also been asked to perform for the day, but was unable to attend due to scheduling problems.
Student organizations and resource groups set up tables around the stage area and passed out pamphlets and other information during the day. The organizations working at the event included the Student Office of Human Relations, the Women’s Center, the Peace Corps, the Programs Abroad Office, the HAPA club and the Office for Students with Disabilities.
The Cross-Cultural Center also organized a raffle drawing every half-hour. Students picked up sheets from the Cross-Cultural Center’s table and, after obtaining signatures from the tables of 10 organizations, could turn them in for a raffle ticket.
According to Dela Pena, the Cultural Unity Day event was started in 1989 by students who wanted to protest the status of underrepresented students.
“”It evolved into a celebration and a kickoff for the MLK Parade,”” Dela Pena said.
The Cross-Cultural Center on campus is dedicated to promoting the ethnic diversity of UCSD and raising students’ awareness of cultural issues.
