It is the end of August and the new school year is just around the corner. Already the wheels are in motion for the upcoming semester. While the UMass administration tackles the various problems of organizing and running the university, and the faculty prepares to engage in the ongoing process of education and counseling, the burden of re-energizing the cultural and social life of the campus falls mainly in the hands of the students themselves-particularly those who coordinate the operation of the Student Centers. It is largely thanks to the work of these centers-which offer students opportunities to attend many cultural events throughout the year-that the UMass Boston campus is such a lively and stimulating place to be during the school year.
I asked Bob Cole, an assistant director of Student Life and advisor to the Student Centers, if he could tell me a little bit about what the centers do and how they work. “Sometimes students need a place to go where they can feel comfortable and relaxed, where they can identify with other students,” he said.
He went on to explain that, unlike student clubs, which can change from semester to semester, “A center is a permanent organization… It was assumed that there was a need for those organizations, and the university along with the student government agreed to put them in place.”
Running a center is no small task; it requires strong leadership skills as well as a commitment to being socially minded and socially active. The Student Centers provide the student body with an important aspect of the college experience by fostering cultural discourse in an informative, supportive environment.
Camphung Luong, the new coordinator of the Asian Center, informed me that there are seven different groups gathered within that center; each will probably hold an individual Open House in the next month or so. A general Open House, welcoming students to the center, will most likely take place in October. It is still early in the planning process, but more events will be planned in the next few weeks. The center will be hosting its annual Asian Cultural Festival, now in its 18th year, in the spring. “We are open to the students,” said Luong, “Especially those who come into school and don’t know where to go…we do a lot of outreaching as well…we like to be involved with the students.”
That commitment to involvement was affirmed by Riche Zamor, coordinator of the Black Student Center.
“I think I can speak for all the centers when I say that we are here not just to support cultures, but also to help you find your niche on campus and make things more comfortable for the students,” said Zamor. “Anything that you need, the centers are there, any center that you go to they’ll try to help in any way that they can. If one center can’t help you, they’ll point you to another center or to a faculty member. It’s like a family, you’ve got to come in and feel like you’re a part of everything.”
The BSC apparently has a few surprises in store for students this semester, but Zamor wasn’t giving anything away. “Wait and see,” he said, “You’ll find out…we have some big things planned for this semester.
Zamor did say that the center was planning on holding a “Fashion Show” as well as hosting the annual Unity Awards Banquet and a Kwanzaa celebration.
The Open House for the Black Student Center will take place during the third week in September, starting on the 17th.
Some centers are currently in flux due to changes in their administration. Both Casa Latina and the Women’s Center are currently in need of coordinators. Hopefully, they will be up and running soon.
Other centers on campus include the Queer Student Union and the Veteran’s Center.
Over at the Harbor Gallery, I spoke to coordinator Ian Boyd who told me what to look for in the coming year.
“We are doing some collaborative work with Arts on the Point, with Paul Tucker, who is responsible for the sculpture parks on campus: an artist-in-residency in the spring and a show in the fall… We’re talking to a guy, Ken Hruby, who is a retired army colonel. He does a lot of work that is based in his experience in the military. This project is also going to be supported by Arts on the Point and the Joiner Center.”
“The first show of this year (Damn The Torpedoes, which opens on the first day of classes) is by three students: Stacey Howe, Ben Merris, and David Klee…I think that this year it is mostly going to be student artwork.”
The Harbor Art Gallery is a non-profit, student run exhibition space with a focus on student art and local artists. Of particular interest to students is the annual student juried show, which will take place in the spring, running from about the third week in April to the end of May. Students wishing to submit work for the show should have it ready by the middle of April.
In addition to art exhibits, the gallery is also host to a variety of performances throughout the year. “I want this place to be a focal point for art, performing or otherwise,” said Boyd. “The music department said they wanted to start doing little jazz trios and quartets in here. Poetry readings, plays, whatever, that’s all art and I support that.”
Students interested in using the space for a performance event should contact Ian Boyd at the Harbor Art Gallery.
Those with more literary tastes might be interested in knowing that UMass Boston’s student run literary journal, the Watermark, is also gearing up for the year. The Watermark is an annual publication, released in the spring, and is open to all students, graduate and undergraduate. It publishes student artwork, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The submission period runs from the first day of the semester up to the first half of the winter break. Nancy Derby, who is co-editor of the Watermark this year along with Diane Costagliola, informed me that the staff is looking into the feasibility of creating an on-line submissions system for this year.
The Watermark also hopes, budget permitting, to continue hosting poetry open mics as they did last year.
For those who are interested in doing more than simply contributing work, the journal has several staff positions available. “We need a nonfiction editor and someone to do web-site design, as well as anyone who wants to help with flyers and whatnot,” said Derby.
Anyone interested in working for the Watermark should contact its editors at the office or by phone at 7-7960.
As the students work to prepare the centers for their incoming companions (better word than this, please!), the academic departments at school are also busy with the changes brought on by the new semester. Most notably, the Music Department is in the midst of moving to the second floor of McCormack, where they will be merging with the Theater Department to become the Performing Arts Department. Thought the move brings with a slew of new issues to deal with, the department, still plans continuing it’s usual series of high quality concerts and performances throughout the year. For example, they will be presenting a chamber opera in November.
And that’s about it for now. As the semester progresses and the various campus centers get into their groove, it is certain that more detailed plans will emerge. One thing that is clear, even at this point, is that the fall semester will be one of new and exciting events, offering students across campus a chance to share in many entertaining and rewarding cultural experiences. Onwards and upwards, my good friends!