The Cadena Cultural Center and Associated Students co-hosted the 2nd annual CommUNITY Day in the Quad on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
Various Fullerton College and local organizations gathered to highlight Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to community service and to stress the importance of community building and cooperation.
Starting right in the middle of February, CommUNITY Day marked the beginning of several celebratory campus-wide events in honor of African American History Month.
The Quad was filled with the music from a variety of African American artists from 1960s Motown classics to the modern Hip-hop, rhythm and blues and soul of today.
Fullerton College clubs, programs and services surrounded the Quad with tents and tables to attract attendees for membership and participation of their programs.
Several local Fullerton non-profit organizations such as Crittenton, OC United, JOYA Scholars and the Korean Resource Center came out to promote their programs and offer students various volunteer service opportunities.
Crittenton is a non-profit child welfare and behavioral health agency that provides foster care and resource families in the Orange County area.
OC United, located in Fullerton, is dedicated to “empowering the vulnerable” in the contexts of foster and adopt care, domestic abuse, homelessness, and under-resourced neighborhoods.
JOYA Scholars provides resources to students from families of low-income communities in Fullerton to succeed through higher education. They provide tutoring opportunities for college students to teach to both elementary and high school level students.
The Korean Resource Center seeks to empower low-income, immigrant, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and people of color within Southern California communities.
Vince White, CommUNITY Day coordinator from the Cadena Cultural Center, collaborated with Associated Students to welcome new first semester students and introducing them to the wide and diverse variety of clubs and organization they can be a part of on campus.
After the successful collaboration with Associated Students on ¡Bienvenidos! in September of last year, White designed this event to be “another large scale welcome day” coupled with the kicking off of African American History Month.
White aimed to “reclaim that ‘community’ college title” in bringing about a successful CommUNITY Day and to promote a better college experience for students hoping to transfer to a 4-year university.
White also wishes to carry out similar plans for World Fest, an on-campus multi-cultural celebration scheduled to take place in April.
“It’s always great to give back” and delve into the “community spirit,” for it is “much needed in today’s political climate,” White concluded.
To continue the month’s festivities, the 3rd annual African American Forum, co-hosted by the Cadena Cultural Center and Umoja, will commence on Thursday, Feb. 16 from 12:00-1:30 p.m.
The 10th Annual Beat Café returns to the Student Center on Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 4-7 p.m. with up close and personal open mic performances by a range of Fullerton College poets, singers, and musicians.
Although not being held on the Fullerton College campus, the Cadena Cultural Center and Ethnic Studies Department will co-host a trip to a walking historical tour at Leimert Park Village in Los Angeles on Friday, Feb. 24. Students can learn about the location’s rich history and delve into an African American cultural experience. Attendees must RSVP to participate in the tour.
Contact or visit the Cadena Cultural Center website for more information and upcoming events.
