Sunshine and Ice Cream Bring CCSF Students and Campus Life Together
Dozens of City College students and faculty gathered at Ram Plaza on March 11 to celebrate Unity Day.
By Patricia Baldwin
On March 11, Ram Plaza was teeming with all the opportunities offered by City College’s clubs, organizations, and resource centers.
At Unity Day, presented by the Associated Students’ Inter-Club Council, students could get a square on their bingo card filled in for each booth they visited. The bingo cards could then be redeemed for free ice cream.
Along the way, students could learn about the Rams Garden Club. Abraham Hall, City College student, said that gardening has improved his mental health.
At the Burmese Student Society table, Thant Phyu Sin Oo discussed celebrating Burmese culture, food, and traditions, such as the annual Thadingyut Festival. Students could try hot Burmese tea, a traditional black tea similar to Thai tea.
CCSF Students 4 Justice offered a letter-writing campaign to save Free City funding. Dejon Chopin provided information about the Student Worker Union, “to increase student workers’ salaries and raise the limit on hours worked, especially in light of the new work requirement for SNAP benefits,” said Chopin.
“Unity Day is fun and helpful to students,” said Freslinn Mejia Sanchez, who was tabling for the Family Resource Center. “It can be hard to get information on websites, and the in-person interaction allows students to get more information,” Sanchez said.
She’d already talked with at least 10students who hadn’t known about the FRC.
Chancellor Kimberlee Messina joined in the fun, learning how to do the Heimlich maneuver at the City College Nursing Student Association table.
Patrick Cassidy said that “FLEX [Finance Leadership Economics eXchange Club] offers students opportunities to attend networking events, as well as company visits, like our visit to Intel, and speaker events, like International Women’s Week at Stanford.”
Students could also visit booths to learn about UMOJA – the African American Scholastic Program, the Anime & Manga Club, the Writing Success Project, City Dream, She Who Codes Club, the Queer Resource Center, and approximately 20 other organizations.
“With everyone being in Ram Plaza together, it also allows people to connect across programs,” Sanchez said.
City College faculty Sabrina Edelen and Rhythm Luk were enjoying the sunny day and sharing information about Math Club, which provides peer tutoring in math and has partnered with data science to present a speaker series.
“More students attended this Unity Day than in the fall, and there is more engagement,” Edelen said, chalking it up to the good weather and free ice cream.
