Black History the Cuyamaca Way

Come celebrate Black History with us at the Cuyamaca College library! From the beginning of our spring 2012 semester until the end of February, our library display will honor African Americans and their tremendous contributions to American history. We will showcase Black History through time with posters displayed on both floors in the library as well as books featuring famous African Americans and landmark historical topics. In conjunction with Cuyamaca’s Student Affairs, the first-floor display will highlight Dr. Tanis King Stark’s book, And Her Name was Katrina: Life After the Storm.
Additionally, on February 13, 1:00-3:00, Cuyamaca’s Student Affairs will host a campus visit and talk by Dr. Tanis King Starck followed by San Diego State’s Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity performance of Step, a type of dance typically competitively performed by African American fraternities and sororities. For more information, please visit ASGCC College Hour page or contact Lauren Weiner.
For more information and ideas for celebrating African American History, visit The Library of Congress, African American History Month hosted by The Library of Congress, Black History Month hosted by History.com and Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

National Native American Heritage Month

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the Library display for November will feature beautiful Native American items from various tribes from Maria Gearhart’s home. Exhibit animals such as the golden eagle and hummingbirds as well as bison, horse and caribou hides on loan from the San Diego Natural History Museum will also be on display in addition to Native American artwork on loan from our very own Heritage of the America’s Museum. Stop in and pay them a visit! We will also feature books that address Native American tribes, culture, social issues and myths. Our campus College Hour this month will celebrate Native American Heritage on November 15 from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm in front of the Student Center. Be sure not to miss the Native American Contemporary Dancers on November 22 from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm in front of the Library!

National Disabilities Awareness Month

October is National Disabilities Awareness Month. Come visit the LTRC this month and learn more about human disabilities and how our college assists and supports students with disabilities. Our display contains books, information sheets on famous disabled individuals as well as five Paraquad Disability Awareness Posters. In addition, the display includes items on loan that are used to assist our students with disabilities such as assistive computer technology (both hardware and software) and alternate media from Cuyamaca College’s Disabled Students Programs Services (DSPS). These items have been provided by the High Tech Center located in the LTRC in room C-114.

October 24– 28 is National Disabilities Awareness Week here @ Cuyamaca College. The annual Wheelchair Basketball Game will take place on October 26, 2011, from 12-1pm in the gym. Be sure to join the fun!

From August 22, 2001 through the month of September, the library display will focus on Constitution Week and the 10th Anniversary of September 11.

Constitution Week this year is September 16-23. The display will contain items and books related to the September 17, 1787 signing of the Constitution of the United States of America.


This year marks the 10th anniversary for 911. The library display will feature materials that showcase the heroism of the New York City rescue workers and how we united as a nation to rebuild America.

Some refused even to talk about themselves, insisting on recounting the heroism they witnessed. – America’s Heroes; Inspiring Stories of Courage, Sacrifice and Patriotism
by Peter L. Bannon.

Our Neighbors to the South

Although much of the current news about our neighbors to the south tends toward the negative, Mexico is an amazing country with a rich and fascinating culture and history. This month, the LTRC display will feature this remarkable country.
Join us in the LTRC for our month-long fiesta and enter for a chance to win one of three prizes! Two of our prizes, stunning, authentic Mexican piñatas, will be on display throughout this month. You can also enter to win two VIP admission tickets to the San Diego Museum of Man located in beautiful Balboa Park! Anyone-- faculty, student, or staff may enter!
Our exhibit this month will also include Latin American literature featuring our very own Patricia Santana’s novels Motorcycle Ride on the Sea of Tranquility and Ghosts of El Grullo. Mexico is a country with an exciting and sometimes very controversial history. Stop in to check out information on the ancient Indian tribes such as the Aztecs, Mayans and Olmecs, the origins of Cinco de Mayo, Mexico’s mythology and legends, border issues, as well as travel information about our intriguing neighbor to the south.

The winners for the drawing were:

1. Samanth S.-- 2 Passes to the Museum of Man in Balboa Park


2. Nicole R.--piñata


3. Morgan P.--piñata

Springtime at Cuyamaca College

For the month of April, Cuyamaca College’s LTRC display will focus on Springtime @ Cuyamaca College!

We will feature beautiful fresh and silk floral arrangements generously donated by Diane Citrowske and Susan Butler from our very own Ornamental Horticulture program. And did you know that our amazing Water Conservation Garden is home to a family of fine-looking Barn Owls? Hoot and Holla (father and mother barn owls) set up residence in the garden’s owl box on February 16 and Holla immediately laid her eggs. Some of those eggs have already hatched! Wanna see? Check out the owl cam ! To get an even closer look at barn owls, stop by the LTRC and check out the display specimen barn owls on loan from the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. And speaking of owls, we’ve recently discovered that great horned owls nest on our campus as well. A very lost and confused fledgling great horned owl appeared behind the library one morning and Project Wildlife came to the rescue. Stay tuned; we may have a guest speaker from Project Wildlife visit our library in the very near future.

Let the magnificence of spring further inspire you to be GREEN. Our display will include environmentally friendly tips from our Water Conservation Garden in the form of free handouts kindly supplied by Elizabeth Ramos. Water conservation tips from the City of San Diego’s Public Utilities are also available free in the LTRC.

Enjoy our campus’ springtime splendor any time of the year! Watch the video.

P.S. Don’t forget to visit our Spring Garden Festival on campus Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 9 am to 4 pm. Free admission!

Our History is Our Strength!

March is Women’s History Month! This month’s display in the LTRC features the women leadership of Cuyamaca’s campus and the District Office. Our campus’ deans and vice presidents, Connie Elder, Robin Steinbeck, Danene Brown, Arlene Satele, Serene Pritchett, Madelaine Wolfe, Susan Topham and Julianna Barnes as well as the district Vice Chancellor, Sue Rearic and our Chancellor, Cindy Miles are introduced through photographs and short bios in our 1st floor display case. The 2nd floor cases focus on our powerful and courageous she-roes, those who’ve paved the way for women to overcome oppression and discrimination and set out on their own personal paths of empowerment. Our collection here in the Cuyamaca College LTRC contains excellent literature that highlights the extraordinary accomplishments and amazing strength of many influential women such as Wilma Mankiller, Emily Dickinson, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Charlotte E. Ray and many others. Stop by the LTRC this month and join in our celebration of our SHE-ROES!

Display Creatively Designed by Maria Gearhart