CSUMB affinity ceremonies bring solidarity and emotion

By Theo DeRosa

For Rudy Medina, director of the Otter Cross Cultural Center at Cal State Monterey Bay, the school’s annual affinity ceremonies are always a highlight.

For Medina, the ceremonies — which honor the journeys of CSUMB graduates from historically underrepresented groups — are some of the most fun events OC3 puts on each year. At the same time, they’re also emotional occasions.

“I feel like every year, every ceremony just brings it out,” Medina said. “It’s really special to see.”

CSUMB held 10 affinity ceremonies for graduating students: Asian Pacific Islander Desi American, Black/African heritage, Latiné, Native American, Jewish, students with disabilities, rainbow (LGBTQ+), undocumented students, veterans, and a family-friendly ceremony for students with children. The ceremonies began May 1 and concluded ahead of the May 16 Commencement.

“I would say it’s an acknowledgement of some of the challenges that some of the folks that we celebrate have faced, and being in community with folks that understand what some of those challenges were,” Medina said.

CSUMB’s affinity ceremonies have long been a way for students to find a shared sense of community alongside those from a similar background. The school’s first Latiné affinity ceremony was put on by students from CSUMB’s second-ever graduating class in 1997. A year later, the first Black/African heritage affinity ceremony was held.

Given the long history of affinity ceremonies at CSUMB, Medina said the annual events fit right in with the school’s mission.

“I think they’re important because we’ve served all these different communities,” he said. “If you look at the original vision statement, I think it goes hand-in-hand with the original vision of the university.”

Traditionally, students organized the ceremonies, but about 10 years ago, CSUMB faculty took over the events to let impending graduates focus on commencement. Recently, student leaders have been once again been part of the planning, connecting with  the committees led by Medina and OC3. 

That way, every ceremony has its own special attributes. In 2025, for instance, student leaders from the Helen Rucker Center for Black Excellence joined the planning committee and helped put their own twist on the Black/African heritage ceremony.

“We had entrance music,” Medina said. “We had shoutouts to various identities within the African heritage diaspora, and more involvement from the audience. That was all directly our student leaders adding some of those touches to the ceremony.”

The Latiné affinity ceremony,  CSUMB’s largest – with 47% of CSUMB students (3,906) identifying as Latiné during the fall 2025 semester -- was held May 8, this year, at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas. Held each year in both English and Spanish, the event involves cultural music and performances. 

CSUMB’s affinity ceremonies this year weren’t limited solely to graduating students and their families, either: Local tribal leaders attended the Native American event on May 2, cheering on graduates. 

While each event has its own unique twist, each has a celebratory, “welcome to the university” feeling, Medina said.

“For some families, this was their second time on campus,” he said. “They came to drop off their kids, and in essence, they’re kind of picking them up again — but as graduates. It’s a really cool experience to see that.”

Photos of the affinity ceremonies, some of which are still being updated, are available online.