New Mural in the MCC

By: Katie Nivison

If you have been in the Media and Communications Center this Spring Quarter you may have noticed a new visual art piece on the first floor of the building. This mural was done by a senior seminar class in the Communication Department and is a colorful collage that incorporates many current issues that have been of great concern on our campus this past school year.

Some of the issues that are incorporated into the mural are the March 4^th: Day of Action, past and present wars, budget cuts, political demonstrations on campus, and the battle against racism in the UCSD community. It has all of the University of California campuses painted into the mural and provides a message of the importance of free speech and taking political action. It also stresses the value of a unified community not only within UCSD but will all of the University of California campuses. This mural is a great example of student activism. It is great to see a thought provoking work of art that has a message that is loud and straightforward. It is a reminder to those who pass by it to take action and get involved.

Have you seen this project? What are your thoughts on some of the issues that it presents and how do you think past issues tie in the current ones in the mural?

Have you seen other murals like this one around campus? Do you think that we need more student projects like this on campus and in other department buildings that have heavy traffic? Do you know of other UC Campuses that are creating murals like this one?

Justice in Palestine Week~End the Apartheid

BY: Agnes Radomski

From the UCSD MSA website http://www.ucsdmsa.org/:

“As a faculty member at UCSD since 1986, I have rarely seen a more sophisticated and tempered demonstration of student activism as the Justice in Palestine calendar of events that took place last week. The centerpiece of the events–the impressive wall on Library Walk–was a superior educational experience that provided the campus community with both empirical and artistic data with which to analyze an extremely complex political issue…”

Professor Jorge Mariscal

UC San Diego
May 16, 2010

In week 7 of the spring quarter, 2010, The Muslim Student Association (MSA) organized the Justice in Palestine Week-End the Apartheid.  A mock wall was erected along library walk and several speakers came to the campus including Professor Norman Finkelstein, Professor Angela Davis and Professor Hatem Bazian among others. They all spoke about the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel.

While a controversial topic, the MSA were able to display the  apartheid wall along library walk featuring illustrations, pictures and writing expressing persepctive on the issue.  Whatever feeling one may have about the long and complex history of the region and conflict, there is no doubt that the organizers of the event were able to fully express their views. The display was set up in a heavy trafficked area allowing students to stop and observe the wall. In addition fliers were handed out spreading the message of the weeklong event and the many speakers that would be presenting their views about Palestine and Israel.

While heading down library walk on Monday the 10^th, the first day of the event I was handed one of the fliers. I noticed right away that Norman Finkelstein would be speaking that same night and arranged to go. I was introduced to Finkelstein through an online independent media source known as Democracy Now! so I knew how important of a speaker he was on this topic. I also knew that he himself was a controversial figure so I was pleased to be given the opportunity to hear him speak. When it comes to any type of controversial issue the college campus should always be a place that welcomes free expression and debate. Others share this sentiment.

From MSA website:

From the speak-out on Library Walk and the presentations by the invited guests, to the construction of the mock Wall that anchored the week’s festivities, the entire event was not only impressive, but provided an exceptional laboratory of learning. Admittedly, the issue of Palestine is replete with controversy and often difficult to present to American audiences, even on university campuses. Organizers of the week’s events revealed extraordinary skill and professionalism in reaching out to different constiuencies and presenting perspectives on the conflict often unheard and silent…”

Professor Gary Fields
UC San Diego
May 18, 2010

Were you able to attend any of the events put on by MSA? If so tell us about your experience.

Do you feel that there is artistic freedom on the UCSD campus when it comes to controversial issues?

March 4th @ UCSD: Do UC us?

BY: LIVIA MARATI

March 4th, 2010 was a call for all students,teachers,parents, and their organizations and communities across the country to massively mobilize for a Strike and Day of Action in Defense of Public Education. Education cuts are attacks against all of us, particularly in working-class communities and communities of color. Through UC schools participating in  strikes, rallies, walkouts, occupations, sit-ins, teach-ins throughout the state, March 4th became a historic turning point in the struggle against the cuts, layoffs, fee hikes, and the re-segregation of public education.

Student responses @ the rally held in front of Giesel Library

The events at our school were tied to both budget cut issues and race issues due to events that circled around the Compton Cookout. It brought about a variety of issues that speaks volumes about our current campus climate and show how UCSD students respond to controversial events.  The rally held in front of Giesel Library included student made art and posters and spoken word performances (see below) from the UCSD Arts Collective.

Did you attend the rally? What did you think about how the topics were presented?

SHARE with us any art that you have created or have seen dealing with the events of March 4th!

Arts in Action: Real Art for Real Change

BY: LIVIA MARATI

Arts in Action came about because a few of us sat down and said, ‘We believe that this campus needs a place for its artists to respond to the racial emergency and events of last quarter,’” event organizer Heather Ramey said.

These feelings inspired the dance department to respond through artistic expression. Throughout the “Arts in Action: Real Art for Real Change” week, students were encouraged to speak out for their colleges, create and share art, and express themselves through alternative means.

Some of the campus wide projects this week featuredcommunity murals, art displays, and site specific performance art. Performance marches were also organized to invoke the tradition of arts activism creating change for Civil rights, Women’s rights, Gay rights, and Chicano rights. Additionally, using a mix of political songs from different eras and incorporating a variety of dance styles, members of the dance department organized a flash mob routine that was performed throughout campus. Organizers used the internet as a way for people to learn the dance number and find out information on performance times and ways to get involved.

This creative event forced people on campus to take a look at student reactions to recent racial tension, and sparked a conversation about diversity and artistic expression.

Check out video of the  flash mob performances at the Arts in Action website!

http://www.artsinaction.us/flash-mob-dance.shtml

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!

What other artistic ways have you seen students and the administration respond to the racial events on campus?

Did you participate or witness the flash mob performances? Let us know your experience and responses!