• Current Students
• Transfer Students
• Graduate & Professional Students
• Alumni & Friends
• Parents
• Administrators
• Donors

• Finances
• Academics
• Entertainment
• Student Clubs
• Recreation
• Important Dates
• SA Newsletter
• Contact Us

Spring Quarter Cultural Events

Darrell Peterson is well aware that spring is around the corner. He's director of the Student Programs and Activities Center, which coordinates the campus's spring quarter cultural events: Native American Culture Days, Asian Pacific Culture Week, La Raza Cultural Days, Black Family Week. "Everything happens at once," he laughs.

For Peterson, the spring events demonstrate the campus's commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. "UC Davis has a history of commitment," he says. "The Native American powwow has been taking place since the 1960s, for instance," he says.

Each week both celebrates a culture and has an educational component.

What Peterson finds gratifying about these events is the wide range of people attending. "People often assume that the cultural events are exclusively for people who identify with a particular ethnic or cultural heritage, but the events are for the public," he says. "The Saturday events are great for families."

Peterson says 2-4 student interns work with a planning committee on each week's event. Students apply for the internship positions in spring quarter for the following year's events. They take a training class in fall quarter to learn the ins and outs of the required logistics for each week and through the process develop leadership skills and how to collaborate.

"The students work very hard putting together each event, and it's gratifying for them when the campus and surrounding community shows a lot of support for the events," says Peterson.

"What happens outside the classroom should complement a student's academics. This is where Student Affairs comes in," says Peterson. "Attending a university is more than taking classes towards graduation, and students who are more involved in on-campus activities are more likely to persist."

For dates and schedules visit the following Web sites:

• Black Family Week
• Asian Pacific Culture Week
• La Raza Cultural Days
• Native American Culture Days

Black Family Week is one of four cultural events held each spring quarter.