Advisor’s note: As part of their final project for the fall term, students in the DJRN 200, Newswriting for Multimedia, live blogged from Block Party, an end-of-semester celebration of student skills and accomplishments. The content then served as the starting point for a wrap-up story written by 200 student Melisa Cabello-Cuahutle. That story can be found here. – Nicole Vargas

As tradition dictates, San Diego City College held its biannual Block Party on Thursday, showcasing students work and inviting them to learn about other classes and professors.

Located in the Curran Plaza, faculty from City College organized it for students to join and create their own booths.

The party-like atmosphere included booths from diverse classes and programs.

Below is a sampling of the booths and events held during the two-hour event.

12:38 p.m.
By Malcolme Morgan

City student Violeta Gonzalez stood at the Block Party booth explaining the purpose of their endeavor.

According to Gonzalez, the mission was to raise “awareness about the struggles and risks that immigrants go through to cross the border and Americans don’t want to admit.”

Like many Americans, Gonzalez and her classmates want the ICE raids conducted at high schools and churches to stop immediately.

Gonzalez also gave practical advice concerning how American citizens can help put an end to the ICE raids.

“U.S. citizens can stop showing identification to prove their not allowed to forcefully check identification,” Gonzalez said.

12:25 p.m.
By Rachel Finch

12:16 p.m.
By Luz Jaimes

12:02 p.m.
By Jovani Juarez

11:39 a.m.
By Uyen Pham

City College’s English Language Acquisition program created a moodboard for students to express their emotions through post-it notes.

Professor Natasha Fricoche saw this block party as an opportunity to spread the importance of balancing health and stress.

“Stress is normal. It’s a part of life,” Fricoche said.

Seeing mental health as a stigma that people usually avoid, Fricoche wanted to help students cope with stress and live a healthier life.

11:35 a.m.
By Rachel Finch and Elisabeth Vermuelen

One of the many booths found at the San Diego City College block party was the cosmetology salon.

The Cosmetology Department was giving out free manicures, braids, and hairstyling for students at the Block Party to promote their department and let students know that their services are always available.

“We offer student discounts and not a lot of people know that we have a salon here on campus,” Leslie Cante, student cosmetology, said.

The department is located in the V building and offers other services, including styling, haircuts, highlights and perms.

“We want people to be aware and feel welcomed,” Cante said.

11:30 a.m.
By Elisabeth Vermuelen

San Diego City College has brought Earth Guardians onto campus and into the Block Party by educating students on how to reduce waste, creating their own deodorants, and holding a trivia game.

“We wanted to educate people on this issue and how much plastic is wasted per year on it (deodorant), what harmful ingredients for the environment that are in it,” Jazmine Riego de Dios, team member, said.

Deodorant containers sit in our landfill which is releasing a lot of greenhouse gases which is the reason for the extreme heat and wild weather San Diegans face, according to Dios.

Students received the opportunity to learn and create their own deodorants at the booth, using reusable containers and three simple ingredients such as shea butter, non-GMO cornstarch, and baking soda.

“These are ingredients that you know and are familiar with supposed to other ingredients like aluminum,” Dios said.

For more information or to join the movement, you can follow them on Instagram @earthguardianssdcc.

11:28 a.m.
By Lacey Stefano

The Information Technology booth was filled with curious eyes as the professors displayed a talking, dancing robot. 

“The reason we work with the robot is because he is programmed,” said professor Theresa Savarese. 

The department offers many courses from programming to cybersecurity. To learn more, visit the California Community Colleges website. (link: www.ict-dm.net/biw)

11:27 a.m.
By Malcolme Morgan

Black and brown students face trials that can affect their academic success.

According to Umoja member Hermanisha Tauiliia, the struggles minority students deal with include “student engagement and adjustment issues.”

There was a host of tables and tents at the block party. The Umoja booth, which was located by the noisy main stage was small but had a large objective.

The ultimate goal of the Umoja booth was to get students prepared to thrive in universities.

11:08 a.m.
By Lacey Stefano

The “Meatless Monday” booth at San Diego City College’s block party was a booth set up as an English 101 project. 

The group of students are not vegetarian, but have really began questioning their choices since choosing the topic. 

“It’s kind of shocking,” Joanna Lopez said. “Everyone talks about the chips and stuff like that. Us eating that is making all of these companies go destroy everything.” 

The booth is complete with many statistics and examples regarding a plant-based diet, and even includes a board game made by the students themselves. 

11:02 a.m.
By Sven Domingos

If you needed some time to unwind during the Block Party, there was to a place to do just that at the west side of the Curran Plaza.

Games that were available to play were a giant Jenga set and Connect 4.