OC3 Hxstory
Created in 2010 by a group of students who wished for a more inclusive campus at CSUMB, the Otter Cross Cultural Center (OC3) provides resources and a space for those in our campus community. These students––Leslie Grinner, Drea Elzy, Brittany Car, and others––wanted to ensure students of all backgrounds would feel supported and work together to cultivate an inclusive future. Today, the OC3 is integral to the Otter Student Union and the CSUMB community.
OC3 hosts various events and programming, including the All Black Gala, Werk Witch Drag Show, Social Justice Ignite Retreat, and the Affinity Celebrations Ceremonies and new programs each semester.
Most programs are co-created through campus collaborations with departments, colleges, and, most importantly, the students. We also intend to build relationships with our surrounding communities within Monterey County.
Over the years, the OC3 has grown and held onto its vision. Currently, our three professional staff and seven student coordinators continue to collaborate with each other and campus partners to sustain spaces, events, and dialogue for social justice.
Take a stroll down memory lane.
The first OC3 cohort and staff. A group photo of 8 student staff.
Lion Dance Club at Cultural Jam event.
Group photo of the entire staff for an OC3 farewell to Leslie & more!
OC3 Student staff, interns and community members celebrate the end of 2013 with a social gathering, reflect, have fun, and relax.
First annual Social Justice Ignite retreat held in Santa Cruz. Group photo of all participants holding fist in the air and a sign that says welcome to Ignite!
A group of student activists preparing for Black History Month 2014, the California State University, Monterey Bay NAACP, BSU and OC3 organized this march in solidarity for justice. Specifically, this march was in honor of Trayvon Martin and all others who have been victims of racial profiling around the US.
End of the year Banquet to say goodbye to the OC3 interns and Student Coordinators. A group photo of all the attendees in the event.
2014 - 2015, Student Coordinator Cohort, Staff Coordinator and Advisor. A group photo of 8 people.
Die-in CSUMB, 2014. A demonstration in the CSUMB Library to bring awareness to campus about police brutality and to be in solidarity with the organizers in Ferguson, MO who were protesting the murder of Mike Brown and the police killing of multiple Latine men in Salinas, CA. A crowd of people standing in silence with signs that say “I can’t breathe” and Black-N-Brown Lives Matter.
2015 - 2016 Student Coordinators cohort. A group photo of 7 people holding up a Art piece of a hand making a fist.”
