June 2006

Briefly speaking: Navigating cross-cultural currents

Steven Baissa has been director of the Cross-Cultural Center since August 2005. (Karin Higgins/UC Davis)

When students head off to college, often they are leaving behind a family and community where they feel accepted for their ethnicity, cultural background, religious affiliation or sexual identity. Placed in a new environment, not all students are equally comfortable or know how to deal with the diversity around them.

At UC Davis, the Cross-Cultural Center works to create a campus environment that supports the cultural, social, personal and academic needs of the university’s diverse students.

“We’re here to make sure the campus is a welcoming and safe place for all students,” says center director Steven Baissa.

Ridding the campus of '-isms'

Since opening in the fall of 1992 as a result of students’ political activism, the Cross-Cultural Center has developed programs and services that seek to build a multi-cultural campus community. Baissa says the cross-cultural focus is not specifically designed to generate better understanding among various ethnic groups on campus, but seeks to rid the campus of all forms of oppression -- racism, sexism, heterosexism, body image oppression or religious/spiritual oppression.

“We work to be free of all the ‘-isms’,” Baissa says. “Clearly, we’re not there yet in many ways, but as a campus community, we’re making progress.”

The center, located on the corner of Shields Avenue and East Quad, is closely affiliated with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center. The Cross-Cultural Center promotes collaboration and integration among students, staff and faculty through workshops, cultural programs, student leadership, presentations and annual retreats. The center also offers a publication and video library, community resources and computer lab and lounge for students.

The Cross-Cultural Center supports the cultural, social, personal and academic needs of UC Davis' diverse students. (Karin Higgins/UC Davis)

Outreach

Alicia Henry, a graduating senior in African American Studies and Spanish from Los Angeles, says she became involved with the center as a student intern to further promote the advocacy issues she was interested in. She has given residence hall presentations on racism, stereotypes and cultural issues and has helped plan other events on campus.

“I’ve been able to learn so much through my experiences with the CCC by networking with not only students, but with faculty and staff,” Henry says. “I’ve gained better insight into the campus community at large and the issues we face.”

Within the past academic year, the center staff has presented more than 25 workshops in student housing alone, helping students better understand diversity and multiculturalism. Many undergrads are living in the residence halls, often with roommates from different backgrounds, Baissa says. These workshops help students learn to accept and celebrate differences as well as the value of diversity in a campus environment like UC Davis.

Every year, the center conducts an off-campus retreat called REACH -- Reaffirming Ethnic Awareness and Community Harmony -- for about 100 students, faculty and staff to work on personal development and exploration of issues that affect the campus community.

Baissa sums up the Cross-Cultural Center’s mission as a passion for advancing social justice issues on campus:

“We’re a tiny center,” he says, “that thinks big and has big hopes to bring our mission to reality.”

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