Local downtown Latino art and cultural center La Raza Galeria Posada is presenting a two-day event Oct. 29-30, serving as a culmination of art exhibitions and workshops in commemoration of Dia de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead.

The celebration displays 70 large colorful altars built by local artists and will include workshops set up for children with various crafts, such as mask-making and live acoustic music, as well as a DJ.

The event, Panteon de Sacramento (Sacramento’s Cemetery), will be held on Oct. 29 from 8 a.m.-8

p.m. and Oct. 30 from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. at 1015 20th St. in the parking lot behind KlickNation (formerly the Sacramento News and Review).

“I think that when students or people of any age learn about other cultures what results from that is an appreciation of the fact that were all human beings all living on the earth,” Mindy Giles, gallery media director and publicist said. “It’s a connecting factor that allows us not to see other people as ‘other,’ something you can read about in class, but you can feel it at events like this.”

The Day of the Dead is most commonly celebrated in Mexico,…» Read More

City College has a new edition to its management team this semester in Christine Hernandez, interim dean of Enrollment and Student Services.

Hernandez, who replaced Catherine Fites, said she hopes to draw on her years of experience in administration and technology to better serve City College students, and plans to start by organizing the Financial Aid department.

“Improving the financial aid system is a priority for us,” Hernandez said.

The dean of Enrollment and Student Services provides leadership and management for a multitude of important departments, such as financial aid, admissions and records, Cal-Works, EOPS and RISE.

Hernandez, the former associate dean of Enrollment and Student Services at Truckee Meadows Community College, comes to City College with a master’s degree in educational technology from Pepperdine University and years of experience with community colleges. She was the co-project lead for Truckee Meadows Community College’s systemwide implementation of Peoplesoft, the software used in for eServices.

“[During] the systemwide implementation of Peoplesoft, I had a great opportunity to integrate different skills, experience in student services and the use of technology,” Hernandez said. “Everything we do these days involves technology and what our students want is efficient streamlined processes.”

Hernandez has also been responsible…» Read More

Riad Bahhur and Holly Piscopo, history professors at City College, held a open group discussion on campus Tuesday, Feb. 8, to consider the current social unrest in Egypt and how to introduce current history-changing events to students in the classroom.

“Good afternoon everyone. I wanted us to sit in a circle because it was less authoritative, patriarchal and more revolutionary,” Bahhur said.

Open to both students and faculty, the group discussed ways to incorporate current international events, such as the revolution in Egypt, into the curriculum of disciplines such as history, science, politics and math.

“We felt that it was, in general, important to internationalize the curriculum, to bring in global perspectives and events. So we felt that this particular revolution that’s happening now – because it’s so dramatic and so momentous, people are talking about it including our students — that it would be a great example of how to bring in an event like this into our curriculum to internationalize it.”

Professor Dominic Cerri, Professor Carl Sjovold, and Coordinator Riad Bahhur (left to right) joined together Tuesday, Feb. 8 in Rodda Hall North with the International Studies Program and the Staff Resource Center to discuss the Cairo…» Read More

It’s never too late to turn back, realizing that hopes and dreams of the past still kindle somewhere inside waiting for fresh air to bring them back to life.

A Sacramento legend and an internationally acclaimed business owner, Russ Solomon, has turned back now to his passion for art and photography, choosing the City College Kondo’s Art Gallery to debut his “Faces of Art” exhibition.

The exhibit debuted on Jan. 27 and Solomon’s art will be on display until March 4 noon- 4p.m Monday through Friday, or by appointment.

City College art professor Michael Stevens met Solomon at Steven’s art opening in San Francisco.

“He came up and backed me against a wall and started shooting,” Stevens says.  “He got to join us for dinner that night and we got to know Russ really well.”

Solomon, a former City College student and photographer for the Express newspaper, which at the time was called The Pony Express, is very active in the City College art scene and attended the Kondos Gallery’s grand opening exhibit which featured works by former City College professors including, Gregory Kondos.

Stevens says he is a fan of Solomon’s work and has high hopes for his debut.

…» Read More

The Cultural awareness Center and Eastern Ways martial arts school held a celebration in City College’s quad Feb.1 commemorating the Chinese New Year. The fifteen day celebration started on Feb. 3 and closes most businesses in China. Many Chinese residents take advantage of the long holiday to visit family.

Eastern ways martial arts school of Fair Oaks, Elk Grove, and Folsom has performed martial arts performances at City College for more than 13 years. This year, the event had many different performances including lion dancing, a traditional form of Chinese dance, one and two person weapon technique demonstrations, as well as a group Tai Chi show. The weapon demonstrations were performed with an assortment of traditional Chinese weapons.

“We’ve been coming to Sac City since 1997,”  Sifu(The official title for a Kung Fu teacher outside of China) Hubbard from Eastern Ways said. “Monica Souza of the Cultural Awareness department asked us to come out and do a lion dance, and it was actually our first lion dance we ever did was here at Sac City. It’s always a great audience, everybody is so excited to watch.”

Hubbard had his own thoughts about the importance of participating in City College’s Chinese…» Read More