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California State University San Marcos’s Cross-Cultural Center is the oldest identity-focused student success center at the university. The CCC – or C3 as it is also affectionally known – was established in 2003 as the Multicultural Center with an initial focus on intercultural celebration and recognition of underrepresented identities. Initial programming focused on how these things interacted with student success and engagement. The CCC’s first Social Justice Summit began in 2009, and the summit in addition to the CCC’s Peer Mentoring Program assisted many first-generation students from underserved communities. The CCC later refocused on programmatic themes of activism and advocacy, development of multicultural competency, critical intersectional engagement, and retention and empowerment of underrepresented and underserved identities. As the Center evolved in name and space, the mission remained the same: to curate a safe space for students' intersectional identity exploration.

In 2003, CSUSM’s first Student Life Center was opened out of “Vision 2010,” a memo from the Division of Student Affairs & Student and Residential Life that called for student engagement and inclusivity, with the goal to empower students to take ownership of their identities. Then known as the Multicultural Center, the CCC’s original mission of establishing a safe space for traditionally marginalized and underserved communities has remained. In partnership with the University Library’s Special Collections department, and funded by a grant from Instructionally Related Activities, the Cross-Cultural Center has produced this digital exhibition in celebration of their twentieth anniversary. 

Twelve oral histories are narrated by former Cross-Cultural directors, alumni peer mentors, and administrators who played instrumental roles in the center’s mission for intersectional social justice, student empowerment, and student success. Experiencing this exhibition will lend insight to the center’s history and its integral role in securing diversity and cross-cultural inclusivity at California State University San Marcos.

The logo of the Cross-Cultural Center at California State University San Marcos
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