Cross-Cultural Center records
Scope and Contents
The Cross-Cultural records consist of eleven boxes of records and oversized materials related to the operations of the Center. Records date from the very early days of the Center, starting in 2003, and run until April of 2020.
Records related to the CCC include reports, handouts, programming information, meeting notes and agendas, communications, and documents on the establishment of Multicultural Programs, the precursor and parent university unit to the Cross-Cultural Center.
The collection also contains records related to initiatives from campus and beyond important to identity exploration and diversity. Some of these initiatives are ones that the Cross-Cultural Center spearheaded or participated in. Intitiaves in the collection include the Trevor Project, All People's Celebration, CSUSM's Peer Mentoring Program, Wheels of Welcome, SafeZone training materials, the Social Justice Symposium, Civility Campaign, Campus Connect, the Cross-Cultural Center mural, and Cesar Chavez Day of Service, among others.
The collection also contains some records pertaining to the Univeristy of California San Diego's and the Univeristy of California Irvine's Cross Cultural Centers. Some materials in the collection also address similar departments and initiatives at other institutions, and there is a strong collection of publications, articles, and writings on mutlicultural education, diversity, and activism in the collection, often as handouts used by Cross-Cultural Center staff for programs.
Departments, programs, and student organizations that are featured prominently in the Cross-Cultural Center records in addition to the CCC iteself include:
Associated Students Incorporated (ASI) is a non-profit, student-run auxiliary of California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). ASI's mission is to serve, engage and empower students. ASI is the official voice to express student opinions, foster awareness of student issues, and protect the rights and interests of students. ASI also delivers programs which promote a campus climate that meets the educational, social, and cultural well-being of all students.
Faculty/Staff Associations (FSAs) are all-volunteer organizations, officially recognized by the institution through the Office of Inclusive Excellence, which allows them to apply for funding and host events on campus. The Cross-Cultural Center records contain records related to campus FSAs, especially the Asian Pacific Islander Faculty Staff Association (APIFSA; now known as APIDA-FSA, the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Faculty Staff Association (APIDA-FSA).
GEL 101 is a first-year course that helps students make a successful transition from high school to the world of higher education and academic life at Cal State San Marcos. GEL 101 was started in 1995 and has shown to lead to higher retention and graduation rates.
CSUSM's chapter of MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Xicanx de Aztlan) promotes higher education, develops political and cultural consciousnesses, and has had a long involvement in advocacy and education for CSUSM's Latine students.
The Multicultural Student Leadership Council (MSLC) was a student organization founded in 2004. The primary mission of the MSLC was:
- To promote interest in multiculturalism and diversity at CSUSM;
- To provide fellowship among students and faculty;
- To provide a forum for the presentation of innovative ideas to the benefit of the Cal State San Marcos community.
Multicultural Programs (MCP) was the original organizational "home" of the Cross-Cultural Center.
SafeZone Training: The SafeZone Community at California State University San Marcos creates a visible support network for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and questioning individuals at the University and within North San Diego County. SafeZone's educational opportunities are designed to value and reflect the diversity within LGBTQ communities, fostering an environment that is affirming, inclusive, and safe. By nurturing open communication and increasing awareness and knowledge, SafeZone empower community members to serve as allies, resources, and advocates for LGBTQ individuals. Trainings are typically scheduled for three hours, including a student panel.
Student Life Centers for Inclusion and Empowerment: The Student Life Centers are committed to celebrating, educating and creating spaces for students to find a sense of belonging through developing self-awareness, exploring intersections of identity, and engaging in educational, social, and community programming. The Cross-Cultural Center has a rich tradition of collaboration with other Student Life Centers, especially in regards to programming. As of 2024, Student Life Centers include the APIDA Center, Black Student Center, Cross-Cultural Center, Latinx Center, Pride Center, and Women and Gender Equity Center. The APIDA Center, being a new center, does not appear in the Cross-Cultural Center records. The Latinx Center at times is written Latin@ Center in the CCC records. The Women and Gender Equity Center was previously known as the Women's Center. The Pride Center is sometimes referred to as the LGBTQ+ Center, LGBTQ+ Pride Center, and similar permutations of the name within the Cross-Cultural Center's records.
Student Life & Leadership, or SLL (currently the division called Student Life) creates intentional, co-curricular opportunities through programs, services, and physical spaces to cultivate and enrich the student experience.
Tukwut Leadership Circle (TLC): The TLC program gives students the opportunity to learn and explore leadership concepts through real life experiences, both on and off campus, so that they can better understand themselves as unique individuals. The program takes approximately 30 hours to complete and must be completed within one year.
Undocumented People Rising in Solidarity and Empowerment (UPRISE): UPRISE is a grant in collaboration between California State University San Marcos and MiraCosta Community College to bolster academic success, enhance professional opportunities, improve personal wellness, strengthen institutional support, and increase allies for undocumented students and their families in North County San Diego.
Dates
- 1993 - 2020
Language of Materials
Materials primarily in English with some Spanish-language materials also included.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Please contact Special Collections in advance to request access.
The Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room is accessible by appointment only, Monday-Friday, 8am - 4pm. Final requests for materials must be made one hour prior to closing. Please submit requests for archival materials at least 24 hours in advance of desired appointment. Materials requested over the weekend will be available on the following Tuesday at the earliest. Please note that Special Collections and University Archives observes all campus holiday closures as noted in the Library Calendar. For more information, please send an email to archives@csusm.edu.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the university. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs and in some cases the university. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact archives@csusm.edu.
Permission to examine Library materials is not authorization to publish or to reproduce the examined material in whole, or in part. Persons wishing to quote, publish, perform, reproduce, or otherwise make use of an item in the Library’s collections must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of the copyright holder.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of the material and agrees to hold harmless the University Library, and California State University, against all claims, demands, costs, and expenses incurred by copyright infringement or any other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from the use of the Library's materials.
In assuming full responsibility for use of the material, the researcher also understands that the materials they examine may contain Social Security numbers, other personal identifiers, and/or sensitive material on potentially living and identifiable individuals (e.g., medical, evaluative, or personally invasive information). The researcher agrees not to record, reproduce, or disclose any Social Security number or other information of a highly personal nature that may be found.
Biographical / Historical
The Cross-Cultural Center (CCC) is the longest running social justice center at CSUSM. Originally created as the Multicultural Center within the division of Student & Residential life, the Center changed its name to the Cross-Cultural Center or "C3" upon moving to a new location in the Administrative Building, room 3400. Today, the CCC provides intentional learning experiences that educate and support students throughout the stages of their identity development to engage students in the process of social justice action and change. A timeline of significant events in the Cross-Cultural Center's history is below.
- November 2002: Vision 2010: Division of Student Affairs & Student and Residential Life memo developed and refers to establishment of an Intercultural Services Center by 2010.
- March 2003: Dilcie Perez hired as the founding Associate Director and tasked with establishing Multicultural Programs under Student & Residential Life.
- July 2003: Lottery Proposal application was awarded funding of a Multicultural Center, development of a Multicultural Student Leadership Council and related programming.
- August 2003: Multicultural Center established in Administrative 4110 adjacent to Office of Student & Residential Life.
- September 2003: First program produced by Multicultural Programs was Celebration of Culture to celebrate the diversity at CSUSM and build community.
- January 2004: First Multicultural Student Leadership Council retreat is held at Zosa Ranch with approximately 20 student leaders.
- April 2005: Alexis Montevirgen hired as the 2nd Associate Director of Multicultural Programs.
- May 2006: First All People's Celebration held, a precursor to the current All People's Luncheon by the Office of Inclusive Excellence.
- January 2007: Multicultural Center changes its name to the Cross-Cultural Center or "C3" and moves location to Administrative 3400.
- February 2007: Augustin Garibay hired as the 3rd Associate Director of Multicultural Programs.
- May 2008: Cross-Cultural Center mural is created with the assistance of artist Armando Cepeda.
- July 2008: Sara Sheikh-Arvizu hired as the 4th Associate Director of Multicultural Programs.
- September 2008: In collaboration with the Women's Center and Pride Center Café La Paz is developed with a focus on intersectionality.
- January 2009: First Social Justice Summit held with the theme "Inspiring Positive Change."
- September 2009: Peer Mentoring program is established in collaboration with Orientation and New Student Programs.
- October 2009: The Cross-Cultural Center works with members of Kamalayan Alliance to heal from the death of Jeremy Pallon, a "resident" of the center.
- January 2011: Cross-Cultural Center moves to Commons 207.
- May 2011: Cross-Cultural Center is the research focus of cultural center influence on feelings of mattering and a sense of belonging for underserved college students by Dr. Gregory Toya.
- June 2011: Floyd Lai hired as the 5th Associate Director of Multicultural Programs.
- March 2013: Tukwut Talk: Conversations with Faculty launches with Dr. Xuan Santos as the first invited faculty presenter.
- August 2013: Cross-Cultural Center becomes an active partner with the Civility Campaign by sponsoring programs and providing staff support.
- January 2014: Cross-Cultural Center moves to current location (USU 3400) in the newly constructed University Student Union and the mural is relocated in Dean's Office Conference Room in the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences.
- March 2014: The center works with the Office of Community Engagement in creating the inaugural César Chávez Day of Service.
- September 2014: Cross-Cultural Center hires first Graduate Assistant staff member.
- October 2015: Six portraits of women in social justice are unveiled in an exhibit by artist Blake Byers and distributed within the various social justice centers.
- March 2016: In conjunction with Arts & Lectures, the center hosts journalist and hip hop music critic Jeff Chang.
- June/July 2016: In response to a series of tragic events in the summer, the Cross-Cultural Center and ASI Community centers come together to process and heal with the tagline "Cougars in Solidarity."
- August 2016: A refocus of the center develops the current programmatic themes of advocacy and activism, developing multicultural competency, critical engagement across social identity groups and retention of underrepresented and underserved students.
- September 2016: The center is part of the refocused Civility Campaign on civil discourse and begins to host monthly dialogues on current topics.
- November 2016: Cross-Cultural Center hosts an intimate discussion with Dr. Cornel West and student leaders.
- February 2017: Cross-Cultural Center commences a "leadership & multicultural competency" certificate with the Tukwut Leadership Circle.
- March 2018: Cross-Cultural Center celebrates its 15th year at CSUSM.
September 2018 - First annual Cougars in Solidarity Block Party during Weeks of Welcome
- July 2018: Along with other centers in the USU, the Cross-Cultural Center will report to the new Associate Vice President for Student Life.
- March 2019: Cross-Cultural Center expands social justice programming with inaugural Social Justice Symposium "Power. Action. Healing. Transforming the CSUSM Landscape"
- March/April 2019 - Muralist Isaias Crow is commissioned to create a new community mural as part of the 15th Anniversary celebration.
- August 2019: Cross-Cultural Center is part of the collective officially known as the Student Life Centers for Identity, Inclusion, and Empowerment along with the Black Student Center, Gender Equity Center, Latin@/x Center, and LGBTQA Pride Center.
- September 2019: The Love Generator Community Mural is unveiled in the Cross-Cultural Center.
- March 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic causes the closure of CSUSM and the Cross-Cultural Center.
- May/June 2020: The center reaffirms that Black Lives Matter and support of the Black Student Center in the wake of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.
- January 2021: CSUSM campus reopens from its pandemic-caused shutdown.
- May 2022: The Cross-Cultural Center receives a grant from the Instructionally Related Activities Fund to record an oral history of the CCC.
Extent
15 Linear Feet
Overview
The Cross-Cultural Center records document the creation and operations of California State University San Marcos's longest running social justice center at CSUSM. Additionally, the records document activities related to various other campus units and organizations, including student orgranizations.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged to the box level.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Records were transferred to the University Library in two accruals. First accrual was transferred circa 2016. The second accrual was given to the library in January 2023.
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
Statement on Harmful Language and Content in our Records and Resources
https://biblio.csusm.edu/content/potentially-harmful-language-and-content
Some materials in this collection deal with the causes and effects racism, homophobia, and other isms; in order to discuss these issues and their causes and effects, some materials contain harmful language.
Processing Information
Physical inventory and materials processed by Mie Basabos, Briana Gallegos, and Aaron Williams August 2022 to May 2024. Collection described to folder level.
A "More Product, Less Process" approach was taken with this collection whereby materials were left in order as they were given to the library and refoldered and minimally proccessed but not rearranged, so there is not order imposed on the materials. Without individual series, materials are best located via a keyword search based around specific subjects, as related materials exists across boxes.
Source
- California State University San Marcos. Cross-Cultural Center (Compiler, Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Cross-Cultural Center records
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Aaron Williams and Briana Gallegos
- Date
- 2023-05-19
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- This finding aid was made possible through a generous grant from the California State University San Marcos Instructionally Related Activities Fund.
Repository Details
Part of the CSUSM Special Collections Repository
California State University San Marcos Library
333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd
San Marcos California 92096-0001 United States
760-750-4312
archives@csusm.edu