By Ally Ruiz

Staff Writer

On Sept. 20, Markstein 125 was filled with students, faculty and staff anxiously awaiting Dr. Maylei Blackwell’s lecture on her sold-out book, “¡Chicana Power!”

Dr. Maylei Blackwell is an associate professor in the Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana and Chicano studies and women studies at University of California, Los Angeles. “¡Chicana Power!” was published from University of Texas Press in 2011. The book addresses the legacy of Chicana feminism that continues to reverberate today as contemporary activists, artists and intellectuals struggle to revise and rework this vision of liberation.

Dr. Blackwell was informative, enthusiastic, passionate and peppered the speech with cultural jokes like, “Now I know some of you have tried hot dogs in a tortilla.”

She kept the last ten minutes open for anyone who had further questions regarding her lecture. Cercsa Hernandez, a junior here at Cal State San Marcos, thought Dr. Blackwell’s lecture was an eye opener and a good learning experience.

“I didn’t know about some of the information she talked about,” Hernandez said.

Needless to say, the lecture was phenomenal and Cal State San Marcos showed her great respect with continuous applause. The event was sponsored by Cal State San Marcos’ own Associated Students Incorporated (ASI) Gender Equity Center, MEChA, and the Women’s Studies Department.