One of the best aspects of the Sonoma State Community is its strong push for inclusion and celebrating diversity. This was on full display at Seawolf Dayz’ Wednesday Aug. 24 event: “Express Yo Self! Creating and Connecting in Community”. According to the Seawolf Living website the event was “a creative expression workshop to honor your story and discover ways to support and strengthen your well-being”. It also featured guest speaker, Tina Rogers, a Multicultural Art Educator from here in Rohnert Park, and took place in The HUB Cultural Center on the second floor of the student center. 

At the event, students of many different grade levels and backgrounds got to learn from the electric Tina Rogers. Her strong voice and upbeat energy made it easy to stay engaged throughout the event. Rogers grew up in Rohnert Park and was even recruited to play basketball here at SSU, but elected to instead attend UC Davis and went on to become a Multicultural Art Educator, which according to Rogers “takes any culture we have and teaches it through music and dance.” She believes it is the perfect way to teach culture because ”every culture has music, dance and history.”

Rogers did an excellent job of proving that to be true. She began by having attendees introduce themselves and then went around the room to see the different backgrounds and cultures in attendance. She then went on to use the evolution of musical styles in the United States to disprove common misconceptions about different cultures in our country. Students in attendance took very well to what Rogers was preaching. Overall, the event was a perfect example of what The HUB is all about.

The HUB is a key component to the University’s success in creating a welcoming environment for students from a collection of diverse backgrounds. HUB stands for: Honoring the past, uniting the present, and building the future. According to The HUB’s website, they “promote cultural expression and creativity because they are integral to well-being, social movements, and innovation.” 

According to The HUB’s website, they provide support for students, student organizations, faculty, administrators, and staff, as well as collaborating with other campus departments. Sr. Hub Program Executive, Shelly Gomez said, “now that we’re back in session we will be having three to four events a month, as well as various activities to celebrate heritage months.” She also added that they have support groups and training workshops.

HUB events aim to highlight diversity and strengthen community, and each one has a different lesson on how to emphasize those things. Jasmine Crumrine, a transfer student from Mendocino College who comes to HUB events for honesty and diversity, said the biggest benefit of attending is that “It would increase their awareness. Not only does it connect them to multiple communities that they could identify with, but gives you new perspectives to be introspective…you may think you’re self-aware at least about yourself and maybe a little bit about surrounding communities, but when you come to the hub and see these speakers it gives you a new perspective to discover new things.” 

Senior Jordan Jimenez, who was attending his first event at The HUB, added “it was interesting because some of us might have been aware of what she was talking about but at the end of the day there is so much more to learn.”

The next event in The HUB is “Women of Color Collective” tomorrow at noon. Future event dates and times can be found on The HUB’s website (hub.sonoma.edu) under the “programs & events” tab. Other information such as hours, location and contact information can also be found on the website.