Valentine’s Day Club Rush draws City College students together (with video, audio)
One of the clubs on campus for the first club rush of the spring semester was Cycle Care, a group that focuses on sustainability and giving back to the environment and fellow students.
Athena Paredes, an English major and Cycle Care’s president, was inspired to take on the role shortly after her first club meeting last October, where she learned about the club’s mission.
“What they were doing was really cool,” said Paredes, who hopes to pursue a career in teaching. “It spoke to me.”
Cycle Care can be found outside City Gallery on Wednesdays, hosting a weekly clothing drive from 3-5 p.m.
Students are welcome to donate clothes to the cause or receive clothes if they are in need.
Cycle Care holds workshops at the same time, offering lessons on upcycling clothing along with practical skills such as sewing by hand and on a machine.
Find Cycle Care on Instagram, @cyclecareproject.
City College’s Radio and Hardware Club partners with San Diego’s KSDS Jazz 88.3 FM station, collaborating on and off campus with audio and visual productions.
When the club is not working with the radio station, its members are focused on creative projects with technologies like DIY electronics and signal hunting, said Alexander Lopez, president of the Radio and Hardware Club.
“We also try to encourage people to get involved within the community, such as the radio station, or also other cyber-related stuff,” Lopez said.
The club is helping put together City College’s upcoming Podfest this year, according to Lopez.
Podfest is a campus festival for students to learn and ask questions of local podcasters about how to run a successful podcast.
The 2026 event does not yet have an official date, but it will be hosted by the club’s advisor, FJMP Professor Jodina Scazzola.
The club meets on an as-needed basis. If you wish to join, contact Lopez at [email protected].
City College Bird Alliance strives to create a welcoming environment for all current and budding conservationists, according to Professor Lisa Chaddock, who teaches physical science and geography.
It focuses on defending the birds and habitats of San Diego, offering members activities ranging from building bird gardens and hiking on local trails.
Members can also attend the San Diego Bird Festival, a multi-day celebration of wild birds that brings together avid birders and conservationists.
Chaddock, who has been the club advisor since 2013, said her interest in birds bloomed when her college advisor got her into the San Diego Audubon Society, which was the former name of Bird Alliance.
Chaddock said it was dominated by older, white men when she first joined as a college student.
She advocates for diversity in the conservationist community and said the Bird Alliance hosts birding hikes for the LGBTQ+ community as well as disability-friendly hikes.
To get involved or to learn more about the club, you can attend the club meetings on Thursdays at 10 a.m. in S-108.
Find the Bird Alliance on Instagram, @sdcitycollegebirdalliance.
Students for Justice for Palestine is a club for City College students focused on political activism and being action-oriented, said Grae Fairlie, one of SJP’s members.
“The club really is more (about) planning and getting the word out,” Fairlie said. “We want ideas, we want to see what we can do, we want to see how we can get it done.”
Club member Zavahna Chavarin, a business major at City, explained that right now SJP is focused on pressuring the San Diego Community College District on free speech and getting rid of Starbucks products in the campus cafe, located at City Commons.
Students for Justice in Palestine holds its meetings on Wednesdays at 2:15 p.m. in MS-451.
El Artivism y Cultura Klub de City College spreads political activism through art and teaches students how to use it to create social change, according to club president Francisco Galvan and member Hunter Ivan Jack.
The club, which started last fall, hosts mural workshops and works with community organizations like Sherman Unidos and the Barrio Artist Partnership.
The club was started by Galvan, a Chicano Studies major. He was inspired to create the club after meeting Mario Torero, one of Chicano Park’s founders and a guest who came into one of his classes.
“I was able to talk to him, and then (we) started working together more and more,” Galvan said. “We eventually came up with an idea, why don’t we start a club? We can make murals, we can do more of these workshops.”
If you are interested in joining the club, the club meets every Tuesday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in AH-305.
Find the El Artivism y Cultura Klub on Instagram, @artivism_ycultura.
Your donation will support the student journalists of San Diego City College. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment, cover the cost of training and travel to conferences, and fund student scholarships. Credit card donations are not tax deductible. Instead, those donations must be made by check. Please contact adviser Nicole Vargas for more information at [email protected].
