By Courtney Jones
Get ready Cougars, in addition to wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, you can also attend
a variety of events and lectures all month long in honor of Diversity Awareness Month.
The events and lectures are among the variety of resources provided by CSUSM and its speakers
to encourage students to gain a deeper understanding of the world and the diverse individuals
who occupy it.
Tuesday, Oct. 7, marked the kickoff of Diversity Awareness Month as guest speaker Suzan
Shown Harjo lead students in a powerful exercise aimed at promoting unity and strength.
The following day, Wednesday, Oct. 8, Noa Baum left attendees amazed following her stellar
performance during A Land Twice Promised.
On Oct. 9, CSUSM’s exceptionally diverse community had the opportunity to mingle over
a cup of coffee during International Coffee Hour. The same day, a spectacular lecture that
also enclosed a screening of Underwater Dreams, really knocked the socks off of attendees as
presenters shared the “epic story of how the sons of undocumented Mexican immigrants learned
how to build an underwater robot from Home Depot parts and defeat engineering powerhouse
MIT in the process.”
During U-Hour on Oct. 14, students had the option of attending ASI’s “interactive and
educational” anti-bullying event or playing a few exhilarating rounds of Loteria, a Mexican game
similar to bingo, in Kellogg Library.
On Wednesday, Oct. 15, Joseph Costello hosted an event at the San Marcos VA Vet Center
focusing on veterans and the various “invisible disabilities” they combat on a daily basis.
Also that day, the Arts building hosted guest speaker Sonia Gutiérrez as she spoke about the
“struggles, power and responsibility of being a bilingual writer today.”
This past Monday, Oct. 20, Dr. Louie F. Rodriguez, author of The Time is Now: Understanding
and Responding to the Black and Latina/o Dropout Crisis in the U.S., lectured about a silent
epidemic that has been plaguing students of color for some time now.
The events mentioned above might have already passed, but there are still many more to come.
Feel free to drop in on one or more of the remaining lectures taking place this month:
Ferguson: Racial Shootings, the State and Resistance lecture from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on
Wednesday, Oct. 22, at the USU- Ballroom B.
Transgender Identities lecture: during U-hour on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the USU- Ballroom C.
Love, Always: Exploring Identity through Spoken Word will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on
Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the USU- Ballrooms A&C.
Frontiers in Science lecture: will be held during U-hour on Thursday, Oct. 30, in Arts 240.
Also, if you’re interested in exploring the Half Moon Wall, then head on over to the Study
Abroad Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Kellogg Forum Plaza.
The last event for the month, International Coffee Hour, will take place on Thursday, Oct. 30.
Continue to celebrate Diversity Awareness Month, Cougars, for it is said that “the beauty of the
world lies in the diversity of its people.”