CSUSM showcases student centers at the Cougars in Solidarity Block Party
CSUSM’s Forum Plaza held the Cougars in Solidarity Block Party on a warm, Thursday night.
Hundreds of students gathered together to inquire about the many organizations that the University Student Union (USU) has to offer.
On Sept. 5, students lined up at the check-in booth for the event at the Forum Plaza.
The Black Student Center booth gave a friendly greeting to everyone who stopped by. This center opened in Feb. of 2017.
Since then, they have provided a space for black students to meet peers, learn about themselves and educate the campus on their history, relevance and issues that they face.
This center promotes inclusiveness by encouraging students of all ethnicities to stop by and engage with one another.
At the Latin@ Center booth, students had a chance to play a fun game of spin- the-wheel or lotería to earn prizes such as pens, stickers and more.
The booth also educated its visitors on how the center provides services relevant and responsive to Latinx needs.
Like the Black Student Center, students of all ethnicities are welcome to use the resources at the Latin@ Center such as free printing, complimentary testing mate- rials and electronic devices.
The main goal this center hopes to accomplish is to have students gain leadership skills, social responsibility and reflect and discuss the vastness and extensiveness that Latinx culture has.
Students running the LGBTQA Pride Center booth enthusiastically ex- plained all the great benefits of their organization.
LGBTQA stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (and/or questioning) and asexual (and/ or ally). It is an environment that welcomes students of all ethnicities, genders and sexualities.
Aside from providing free printing, the LGBTQA center provides free condoms, pads and pregnancy tests.
As a way to wind down and prepare for a successful week, they also host a group yoga session on Monday evenings where anyone can join.
An excellent place to learn about the issues related to the experiences that women, parents, trans and non-binary students have, is the Gender Equity Center.
At this booth, they explained the importance of understanding the impacts that sexism and misogyny have in today’s society.
Mothers can comfortably nurse their babies in the parenting corner of this center which also includes free diapers, a lactation pump, toys and children’s books.
Students of all genders should look out for the events that the Gender Equity Center holds on campus such as Women’s and Men’s health week, Trans Resilience week and Love Your Body week.
The Cross-Cultural Center hosted the famous flip the water bottle game.
The student had three tries to get the water bottle to land correctly.
For every bottle that landed, a student would receive a ticket for the raffles. If the bottle didn’t land on any of the three tries, they were still given a ticket for playing.
The Cross-Cultural Center talked about the programs they host such as the Activist Lab, Tukwut Talks and more.
The center focuses on advocacy, activism, multicultural competency, critical engagement and retention.
To learn more about the Student Life centers in the USU and what they have to offer, go to https://www. csusm.edu/usu/index.html.