focus Peer Mentor

A review of events in the Peer Mentor Community

Winter 2014 Edition

On campus spotlight – Food Trucks

Black history month

What You Might Have Missed: Henrietta Lacks

What You Might Have Missed: Leading with Love

IN THIS ISSUE

by: Brittney Wallace

On February 27th, 2014 Peer Mentor Club’s

highly anticipated Karaoke Night was out in

full swing. Whether it was belting out rock-

in’ tunes on the karaoke machine, dancing it

up with the Just Dance game for the Xbox,

or playing board games—it’s obvious that

the attendees were loving it! And of course,

how can you have a party without tons of

pizza? Yum. A few Peer Mentors braved the

stage to sing their favorite tunes. The night

ended with a tribute to the new Disney mov-

ie Frozen. A perfect way to end a perfect

night! Look forward to more exciting activi-

ties from the Peer Mentor Club!

What You Might Have Missed:

Meet the Lacks Family

Anyone who’s on the East bay campus knows who Henrietta

Lacks is. The legendary story about genetics and ethics is

one all CSUEB freshmen have heard before. On February

17th, CSUEB students got to experience the real story of the

Lacks family. On the next page is an article detailing the

event

With a great sense of humor, Henrietta

Lacks grandchildren, Kim and David Jr.

Lacks spoke about their grandparents:

“My grandfather would have done any-

thing my grandmother (Henrietta) want-

ed! There are many strong women in the

family.”

A presentation with the chronicles of the

Lacks family on their journey after the

whirlwind success of the book was

shared with the audience as Kim ex-

plained how difficult it was for scientist

and author Rebecca Skloot:

“ I had a hard time getting in contact

with our family”

“we just didn't know if we could trust

her.”

Kim goes on to say that Skloot was de-

termined and persistent and always had

their best interest at heart. “Hard work

pays off,” Kim sums up afterwards to the

tune of raucous applause.

Audience members were granted a Q &

A section with the family, which re-

vealed many things about Henrietta’s

cells today. In terms of reparations, the

family has not received payment for

Henrietta’s cells. However, David is now

working very closely with the cells and

makes sure that the HeLa cells are given

proper acknowledgement.

“Oprah’s making a documentary about

it!” Kim says excitedly to the audience.

It appears as though things are finally

looking up for the Lacks family. They

have their hands in numerous founda-

tions, movie projects, and even contrib-

ute in the recognition of the HeLa cells.

Near the end of the interview, David ad-

dresses the crowd with a call to action

stating for people to, “do their research,”

and “educate yourself on what doctors

are involving you in.”

The message is not only an homage to

the Lacks legacy but to the millions of

people who have benefited from the

HeLa cells. Henrietta’s life has truly be-

come immortal.

What You Might Have Missed

Have you seen the food trucks?!

Located across from Einstein’s Ba-

gel, there are four new kinds of

tastes available now on campus.

Roderick’s BBQ Food Truck, Li-

censed 2 Grill Truck, Siam Loco

Wraps, and Munch India are the

four food trucks spotted weekly

this quarter. Students say “It felt

amazing to have such great food in

my belly”- Justin F. and that they

are “handy when you are rushing

to class”. These trucks offer a vari-

ety to the food already present on

campus, although not all four al-

ways serve on the same days.

Don’t want to wait in line at New

Union? Come find the food trucks!

By: Jonathan Hur

On campus spotlight:

HAVE YOU SEEN THE FOOD TRUCKS?

The month of February our

very own campus was filled to

the brim with events and dis-

cussions regarding Black His-

tory Month. An "Inner

Thoughts" table dis-

cussion was held by

the Xi Pi Chapter of

Alpha Kappa Alpha

Sorority Incorporated

on Thursday February

20th, at 7:45 pm. Dis-

cussions of various

topics such as Black Politics,

African Americans in main

stream, the internal and exter-

nal struggle of the black com-

munity, and much more were

held. The chapter also held a

Battle of the Sexes game night

in El Dorado Hall where

Black History month trivia

questions were posed Jeop-

ardy style. It was a both fun

and mentally stimulating for

all in attendance. Students of

East Bay also held an open

discussion on the topic of

"Light Skin VS Dark Skin" of

February 5th. The month of

February on the campus of

East Bay was certainly a

month to not only get in-

formed, but to speak your

mind!

Black History Month at CSUEB By: Cynthia Husband

What You Might Have Missed

Student Life and Leadership Pro-

gram invited the leaders at CSUEB

to Leading with Love: Making an

Impact through Service on Feb 28,

2014. The keynote speaker Debbie

Choy began the conference by ask-

ing the participants to say ““I am a

leader. I am capable of motivating

others”. In this, she allowed us to

feel confident while finding our

voice. A myriad of activities al-

lowed for community building and

networking amongst those present.

What seemed to be a shy environ-

ment at first turned friendly towards

the end of the conference. There

were three local non-profit organiza-

tions also present at the conference.

Hayward Community Action net-

work, Alternate Family Services,

and Freedom House hosted some

on-campus service activities. The

project that I completed was for the

Hayward Community Action Net-

work. My group created beaded

badge holders, which will be sold to

support the training and cost to help

individuals who are homeless or are

at risk of homelessness. I learned

that your attendees at the event

should have something for them to

learn, be entertained and to have fun

with other people.

Leading with

Love

Campus Events

Campus Events

This newsletter was brought to you by the Peer Mentor

Newsletter committee:

Jeanette Butler Kolyne De Jesus Jonathan Hur

Cynthia Husband Alejandra Oliva

Catherine Quesada Komal Rana

Brittney Wallace

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