The SCC strives to celebrate all parts of students’ identities and promote academic excellence

By ELIZABETH WOODHALL — features@theaggie.org

Forming friendships and becoming part of a community can often be challenging for incoming students, especially for those with anxiety about moving in and adapting to college life. Although there are various ways of getting involved on campus, the Student Community Center (SCC) — located “West of Shields Library and North of the Silo,” as stated on their website — is home to various centers that foster student success and belonging. 

The SCC houses various centers, including both identity-based centers and academic centers for success. Mayra Llamas, Ed.D., the Executive Director of the Student Resource and Retention Center, said that the building stands for a “dynamic student life.”

“The building opened up in the winter of 2012, so that’s over 10 years ago,” Llamas said. “The building is fairly new and added a vibrancy to the diversity of our campus, and because some of the resources were sort of spread out, [the building] now feels like a central location that helps with […] promoting intersectionality through some of the identity-based centers.”

Although the building includes a majority of identity-based centers, like the Cross Cultural Center and LGBTQIA Resource Center, Llamas said that the SCC hopes to offer different resources needed for students’ feeling of belonging, which also includes an environment that can help promote their academic success. 

“The building offers different resources — we wanted to make sure it was a building that students could come into and feel like they belong,” Llamas said. “The building is more than just identity-based centers; the students could see themselves reflected in other priorities of the campus, such as the Undergraduate Research Center.” 

Beyond the centers, Llamas said that other areas within the SCC make it welcoming to all students who might just be dropping by. 

“We also have a partnership with the Coffee House, and we have the South Coho, so we appreciate having the little coffee house,” Llamas said. “We also have conference rooms, event rooms and a computer lab. It’s a well-rounded space where students can come and hang out, study, be part of a group or just go to the student life centers and feel more at home, build that sense of belonging, begin to unpack their identity and feel that connection with others who are like-minded.” 

In addition to the SCC’s smaller spaces, seven units are a part of the Community Resource and Retention Centers, which are greatly focused on education equity. “We educate, engage, and empower students to act as dynamic leaders for their communities so that we can all transform knowledge into action,” the Student Recruitment and Retention Center Mission said on their website.

In terms of fostering a safe environment for students, Llamas said that intersectionality is something incredibly important for students who are visiting the SCC. 

“We understand that students have intersectionality, so you may feel very comfortable with being in the Cross Cultural Center, the LGBTQIA+ center and being involved in the core-curricular experiences,” Llamas said. “We want to enhance the overall experience of all of our students; we want students to feel welcome, to feel like they can thrive, like they have a space to unpack their identity, to affirm their cultural awareness, to be celebrated, to be embraced. Often we hear from students that being part of this community center makes them feel at home, or ‘because of this program, I was able to persist and graduate.’” 

Joyce Zamorano Sanchez, the Resource Coordinator for the AB540 and Undocumented Student Center, said that their center is focused on achieving a safe community that will support undocumented students at UC Davis. 

“We’re big on the holistic approach of supporting students via financial wellness, mental health, wellness and emotional well-being above all because we believe that their status as an undocumented student is not just their sole part of their identity,” Sanchez said. “There’s so much more, and we’re here to support them to ensure they have an equitable experience like any UC Davis student.”

AB540 and the Undocumented Student Center will be hosting a welcoming event, UndocuWelcome, on Oct. 14, 2023. More information is available on their Instagram, @ucd540undoc. 

“We’re really encouraging students to come out and learn about our center,” Sanchez said. “It’s on a Saturday. We try to make it a little later on from the start to ensure that students can attend because there’s just so much going on in the first few weeks, so I hope that students, especially freshmen, can come and reach out to us. But overall, any undocumented first-year student coming into UC Davis or transferring, we encourage them to stop by and say ‘hello’ and get to know us.”

Mahum Manan — the Program Coordinator for the Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian Student Resources (MENASA) unit —  said that multiple events are coming up, and they encourage students to come into the center and check them out. 

“Our center is hoping to engage students together, build community, touch on cultural identities [and] provide academic support resources,” Manan said. “It’s a casual space. We have RSVP forms and whatnot, just to kind of gauge how many people might attend, but no need to RSVP or anything like that — you can just drop by. Most of the events are social events, and if you drop by halfway through, you’ll still be fine. We just wanna create a sense of belonging and home on campus where students can meet each other, meet our resources and students can also connect with us.” 

Manan said that their events, such as Chai Chats, are open to all students who are looking for an inclusive, safe space.

“We’re going to be having three of our annual Chai Chats,” Manan said. “So ‘Chai Chats’ [are] just a casual space where we’ll have chai, which is tea, and other drinks; it’s kind of like a discussion space or activity.” 

MENASA is hosting a fall welcome mixer on Oct. 11 for students to become familiar with the center and meet other students and campus partners. More information is available on their website and Instagram page, @ucdavismensasa.

Reynell Hamilton-Starks, the Director of the Undergraduate Research Center (URC), hopes that the center encourages students to understand and take advantage of the various resources available.

“The Undergraduate Research Center […] helps them understand the benefits of engaging, and then gives them some strategies to help them go out and start researching,” Starks said. “It really is a space for them to explore safely. We have wonderful staff here who are friendly and welcoming and they can come ask any questions. Sometimes the undergraduate research is very, like, ‘we know what it is, but we don’t know what it is, we don’t know how we should get involved — or even why,’ so this is a space for students to come and ask all those questions in a safe space.”

The URC’s first-ever undergraduate research fair will happen on Oct. 12, 2023, and the center hopes to bring students in to speak with faculty about available internships and jobs.

Whether students are dropping by for a coffee at the South CoHo, snagging some free scantrons or holding study sessions in a place that reminds them of home, the SCC encourages incoming students to come by and explore what the centers have to offer. It’s a home away from home — if students are looking to become part of a welcoming, positive community on campus, the doors are open to everyone. 

Written by: Elizabeth Woodhall — features@theaggie.org 

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the last name of a source. The article has been corrected to accurately reflect the names of all sources.

Finding community within Davis housing co-ops

By YASMEEN O’BRIEN — features@theaggie.org

On a morning stroll past 217 2nd St. in Davis, CA, your eyes wander before you can catch them. The bold shamelessly crane their necks while the timid sneak glimpses through calculated side-eye. As the white picket fence enclosing the front yard unexpectedly conjures an image of the 1950’s American Dream, your gaze curiously travels onward, enticed by the colors and beauty of the big blue house.

Along the edges of unkempt grass, the yard is lined with bicycles, flower beds, trash cans, art pieces, tables and chairs. Soft ukulele strumming drifts past the fence and echoes through the trees. A metal turtle hangs from the roof like the mermaid of a ship’s bow while an armless statue presides over the front gate, wearing an elf hat and a T-shirt showing a lion with dreadlocks.

Among these happenings, a small barefooted group diverse in age, ethnicity and gender stares back at you smiling and waving from their spot on the porch steps, soaking in the early sun.

This group belongs to the Turtle House Co-op: currently home to 18 residents, 15 of which are UC Davis students. Housing co-ops — or democratically controlled corporations that are established to provide affordable housing for its members — are popular in Davis, with Turtle House and the Davis Tri Co-ops being notable examples.

Turtle House frequently hosts events open to the public such as live music shows, clothing swaps and open mic nights. Although a tight-knit community, they strive to welcome all with open arms.

“We share a lot of things. I get a lot of free clothes and free opportunities,” one resident, also known as a Turtle, said. “This is so much fun, this is exactly where I want to be.”

One evening, the aptly named Sierra Goodfriend wrapped me in a hug and enthusiastically welcomed me into the bedroom she shares with Katie Hostetler. Their door opens to the front porch where items littered across a large metal table invite images of late-night conversations, jam sessions and even play readings. An impossibly thick and slightly water-damaged copy of “William Shakespeare: The Complete Works” opened and book-marked to “Henry V” is responsible for the last image.

Goodfriend shared that while she feels close to her fellow Turtles, 14 of the 18 residents are newcomers so they are still in the process of getting to know each other deeply. Both Goodfriend and Hostetler have lived at the house for five months and praise the community of warm, artistic and open-minded people they have come to know as their family.

Draped in warmly glowing string lights, Turtle House at night resembles a person dressed up for a special occasion. Art and flowers adorn its exterior walls and yard. Hammocks sway like locks of hair over plants bursting with life.

One thing’s for sure: this house has a mysterious past, or at least a widely unknown one. And the large number of newcomers can’t help with this lack of knowledge. They’ve all heard whispers of origin stories, but no one is certain — although I heard a resident named Joe knows all.

“Apparently it used to be a boarding school for boys like a hundred years ago,” Hostetler said. “Maybe that’s wrong, I don’t know.” Goodfriend giggled, “Could be.”

Another relatively new Turtle, Ryan Foster, offered more information: “I think it was originally named ‘Music Note House’ and then someone had a turtle and they renamed it Turtle House. Not sure about that at all though.”

These sentiments unknowingly echo one of Turtle House’s most important ideals: life is about connecting and experiencing in the present moment. It’s about the beauty and fluidity of change.

This is an important factor when it comes to being accepted to live at Turtle House because the process essentially measures if you hold similar values to the other Turtles. It involves a written application followed by an invitation to dinner where the main focus is to see how comfortable both the applicant and the current residents feel in the space, according to Goodfriend.

Both Goodfriend and Hostetler expressed their admiration for each Turtle’s differences and how they make the house stronger together. Goodfriend added that it brings them closer together as everyone offers something irreplaceable to the group. People are celebrated for who they are and are always welcome at Turtle House, no matter how different they appear.

“Are you the person interviewing people?” Foster chirped excitedly as he hurried up the steps to the table I’m sitting at. He had just arrived home from an outing with his friend and fellow Turtle House resident, Maya Hendrix. Before I could even respond, they were sitting across from me, beaming.

Hendrix was clad in a headscarf and raccoon fur hat — complete with the tail — atop her shaved head. Her long, orange skirt had floated her onto the deck as I was greeted with a soulful and infectious smile. Ornamented in layered silver necklaces, jeweled bracelets, long hanging earrings and rings on every finger, each step she took jingled and chimed. Her right hand displayed an Apple Watch. An unapologetic modern hippie.

Foster wore blue jeans, a simple long-sleeve and a bomber jacket.

Under the string lights, Hendrix told me that Turtle House is a place where all ideas feel welcome. She conveyed that at the core of any housing co-op is democracy. Appropriately, house meetings are held in the basement at least once a month where people are encouraged to voice their concerns and share ideas on improvement and future projects.

Interested in the power dynamics of the house, Foster shared that the two people who have lived there the longest are the official communicators with the landlord, as per the lease agreement.

“They hold extra sway and are the rule-followers,” said Foster. A grin started to form on his face, “And then there are the more rebellious and rambunctious — some old people, some new people — and they say f*** the rules.”

Hendrix chuckled, “We don’t say that. We just want this place to be a good time.”

Written by: Yasmeen O’Brien — features@theaggie.org