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| SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENT LIFE :: Cross Cultural Center |
Cross Cultural CenterSteven Baissa, director of the Cross Cultural Center (CCC), envisions the center as becoming central to UC Davis students' education. "The university is engaged in creating what I call an effective global citizen," says Baissa. "In terms of students' cocurricular experiences, I want the focus for forming that global citizen to be the Cross Cultural Center." To attain that goal, Baissa is offering programs that make the center a place where cross-cultural experiences are intentionally created; a place that helps the campus move out of what he terms a mode of self-segregation. "Through the center, people will get out of their comfort zones, and learn to think about and experience other cultures, identities, traditions, histories, struggles and celebrations," he says. One program Baissa created is the Students of Diverse Affiliations (S.o.D.A.), a council of student organizations that are affiliated with the CCC. During the winter and spring quarters of 2006, the CCC began this pilot program with six student organizations, which came together to develop a new model that intentionally delivers collaborative programming across cultures, and the spectrum of diversity. The council was designed to develop more collaborative and long–lasting relationships with groups and organizations that share the mission and philosophy of the Cross-Cultural Center and foster a sense of community. As a first-generation immigrant, Baissa knows firsthand about finding connections. "I came from Ethiopia to Minnesota as a high school senior. I had no family nearby, and I experienced severe culture shock. I was in a great deal of pain," says Baissa. "I found connections with other international students and people who were open to my experience." Each year the center also offers the Reaffirming Ethnic Awareness and Community Harmony (REACH) retreat, in which 75-100 UC Davis students, staff and faculty participate. It's a three-day program that allows participants to explore personal identity, issues of race and ethnicity, and forms of oppression. Baissa says, "At the retreat, people share their stories one on one to learn why they're feeling challenged and also to share successes," he says. "The retreat is about entering uncomfortable areas and figuring out how to get at your fears. It's a time of personal reflection with the ultimate goal of preparing for global citizenship." An understanding of the need for a global perspective occurred for Baissa during his undergraduate years at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. "With 30 other students, I travelled to the Middle East for an in-depth study of Islam, Judaism and Christianity," says Baissa. "We visited Turkey, Palestine, Jordan, Morocco, Israel and Egypt. It gave me a world view." Only three professional staff currently run the center, and Baissa encourages people to volunteer. "We have a strong volunteer program, and the center is a place for everybody," he says. "We have five student interns who forge critical links with underrepresented student populations—African American, Native American, Chicana/o, Asian Pacific Islander and multiethnic—but we need people who want to help us advance our mission." Baissa considers an effective global citizen one who advocates for common ground. "I'm not interested in tolerance," he says. "I'm interested in moving us beyond tolerance to acceptance, respect and celebration, so we can be allies for each other, and advocate against systematic oppression. As the saying goes, 'It's not our differences that divide us, it's our judgement of each other that does.' We have the opportunity to connect students' academic experience to their personal and cocurricular experience. The center is a place that gives underrepresented and underserved students support and a voice while giving the campus community a place for cross cultural learning," he says, "but it can be so much more." |