USD Magazine, Spring 2003

of the university, which is to provide students with a learning experience that includes awareness of other cultures and other perspectives." Guadalupe Corona Director, United Front office

"United Front is a coalition of students who joined forces to advocate for issues collectively," says Corona, whose duties include developing part– nerships with

is to provide students with a learning experi– ence that includes awareness of other cul– tures and ocher perspectives. " W hen students walk into the Hahn University Center offices of United Front - officially dubbed the Multicultural Center - they leave race, reli– gion and gender at the door. There are no barriers as they mingle and share experiences. On a typical day, as many as 30 students get together to eat, study and relax in the cen– ter's lounge. The center provides resources on scholar– ships, internships and job opportunities, as well as a headquarters for United Front and

funds come mainly from the AS budget. Over time, United Front members went from talking about issues to putting their thoughts into action and making changes, and they now often act as the campus' social conscience and its activist arm. Student pres– idents of the clubs gather once a month to set goals and objectives, which in the past included advocating for the position of vice president of multicultural relations now occupied by Neighbours, who acts as the alliance's voice on the AS executive board. From the beginning, United Front offered programs to increase cultural awareness among students, some of whom say they might otherwise not have given diversity a second thought. Senior Aisha Taylor got involved with United Front after attending one of the group's human relations work– shops, offered several times a year to talk about diversity issues. She says United Front gave her a deeper understanding of her rela– tionships with others and radically changed her career goals. Although she wanted to be a docror, Taylor now is considering a career as a rheology or ethnic studies professor, or as an organizational counselor who works on diversity issues. "Before, I just saw things through my per– spective, and didn't realize there were other lenses ro see through," says Taylor, 22. 'Tve benefited from hearing about so many differ– ent viewpoints, and learning about ochers gave me a broader perspective from which to see myself." O ne of United Front's biggest accom– plishments is the addition of an ethnic studies component to the curriculum. In 1993, faculty and staff, with the support of students, began lobbying university administrators to add an ethnic studies pro– gram. Five years ago, ethnic studies was introduced as a minor, with 11 students cur– rently in the program . In February, after a two-year effort led primarily by students, the

community groups, helping retain and recruit students with diverse backgrounds, organizing cultural events and coordinating hare-crime workshops. "Instead of dividing and each fighting for one small piece of the pie, they work together to get a bigger piece."

each of its nine member groups (see box). The groups frequently sponsor notable speakers, such as civil rights activist Angela Davis, who came to USD for Black History Month in February, as well as seminars, workshops and cultural events like the annual Gospel Jam. But that's just what the association does. What's more important is what it is. United Front is a haven for students who may have experienced discrimination in their lives. And it is a driving force for inclusion and understanding at Alcala Park, which histori-

United Front came into being in 1993, after five student clubs proposed the creation of a multicultural center, which they believed would encourage diversity on campus, provide a stronger voice for under– represented groups and educate all students about ocher cultures. "It was just like having a home," recalls Pamela Putian '94, a co-founder of United Front. Purian, a Filipina, says it was a struggle at first to convince the administrators and Associated Students that it was important for the clubs

United They Stand

Nine student organizations comprise United Front. They are: Aikane O'Hawaii, which promotes Hawaiian culture; the Asian Students Association; the Association of Chicana Activists, the Black Student Union; the Filipino Ugnayan Student Organization; Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, which advocates for educa– tional equality for the Latino commu– nity; PRIDE, a group for people of diverse sexual orientations; the Jewish Student Union; and the International Student Organization. For more information, log on to www.sandiego.edu/unitedfront.

to have their own space. "We were getting more students coming in every year from different backgrounds, and we wanted to make sure we had enough resources and a place for those students to come," says Putian, 30. "We were not being separatists, as some people tho ught at first. We were trying to help people who needed to identify with an organization." As part of their plan, the groups agreed to share resources, to promote and support each other's activities and to work together. In its infancy, United Front operated from a desk in the Associated Students office with a $700 budget. In 1997, Corona was hired as assistant director of activities, and has since become director of the Multicultural Center. Today, United Front has a budget around $50,000 and has several paid staff. Grants expanded the center's resource library, while operating

cally has attracted a predominately white stu– dent body, and where administrators have struggled at times to increase diversity. Diversity has greatly improved - this year, 24 percent of the 7,126 USD students are black, American Indian, Asian or Hispanic, compared with 15 percent in 1990 - but minority and gay students still say they sometimes feel outn umbered and over– whelmed. Besides a sympathetic forum , United Front helps these students present a unified voice for change, cultural education, funding and a role in forming campus poli– cies. The group is all inclusive - students need not be a member of one of the cl ubs to join the umbrella organization. Corona says United Front is unusual

because individual groups came together before attempting to bring about changes. 26 USO MAG AZ I N E