Spring Break
Photo slideshow aims to offer an understanding of mixed races
Ben Cadena
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
A multimedia display of photos depicting students and staff of mixed race and ethnicity, celebrating different heritages, opened Monday at the Mosaic Cross Cultural Center in the Student Union.
"The main purpose of the show and week was to create awareness for mixed race people," said Heather Lou, coordinator and senior public relations major.
The show started with series of PowerPoint slides displaying the definitions of different racial terms.
"I thought it was an interesting way to showcase a rainbow of races and introduce us to different mixes in our community," junior microbiology major Hafsa Sayyeda said.
"Race" was defined as a social construct.
"Mono-racial" was defined as an identity consisting of one racial group.
The last definition was "biracial," a first-generation mixed-race person who is the product of an interracial relationship.
"Names were purposely left out, but put back in later, in the sense that they were seen as people with different ethnicities, but essentially human beings," Lou said. "That is the point of the multimedia project - to look at our similarities and celebrate our differences."
Ariel Gonzalez, a senior health sciences major, said she always checks "Other" on institutional forms.
"I don't want to identify by just one of my backgrounds, because that doesn't represent what I am," Gonzalez said. "I see and dance in the colors of the world."
Junior photography major Edgar Ramirez said, "I know some of the people in the project and didn't know they had so many races in their blood. We too quickly stereotype people from the color of their eyes or classify them in a group from their type of clothing."
Lou said, "In the 2000 census, we see the first-time use of the 'other' classification and that now there are 7 million mixed race people in the U.S., with 4 million being children.
"We don't have to hide or feel embarrassed about our mixtures. People realize they live in a multicultural society. As a result of the show, people now have a more positive view and can talk about stuff they usually don't bring up unless it's in a directed classroom discussion."
The photo slideshow will be on display through Thursday.
The center will be holding one-woman mixed race performance in the Morris Dailey Auditorium today at 5 p.m.
"The main purpose of the show and week was to create awareness for mixed race people," said Heather Lou, coordinator and senior public relations major.
The show started with series of PowerPoint slides displaying the definitions of different racial terms.
"I thought it was an interesting way to showcase a rainbow of races and introduce us to different mixes in our community," junior microbiology major Hafsa Sayyeda said.
"Race" was defined as a social construct.
"Mono-racial" was defined as an identity consisting of one racial group.
The last definition was "biracial," a first-generation mixed-race person who is the product of an interracial relationship.
"Names were purposely left out, but put back in later, in the sense that they were seen as people with different ethnicities, but essentially human beings," Lou said. "That is the point of the multimedia project - to look at our similarities and celebrate our differences."
Ariel Gonzalez, a senior health sciences major, said she always checks "Other" on institutional forms.
"I don't want to identify by just one of my backgrounds, because that doesn't represent what I am," Gonzalez said. "I see and dance in the colors of the world."
Junior photography major Edgar Ramirez said, "I know some of the people in the project and didn't know they had so many races in their blood. We too quickly stereotype people from the color of their eyes or classify them in a group from their type of clothing."
Lou said, "In the 2000 census, we see the first-time use of the 'other' classification and that now there are 7 million mixed race people in the U.S., with 4 million being children.
"We don't have to hide or feel embarrassed about our mixtures. People realize they live in a multicultural society. As a result of the show, people now have a more positive view and can talk about stuff they usually don't bring up unless it's in a directed classroom discussion."
The photo slideshow will be on display through Thursday.
The center will be holding one-woman mixed race performance in the Morris Dailey Auditorium today at 5 p.m.
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