As McArthur Court begins to serve as the new home for student groups, many groups are returning to their normal schedules. Among the relocated groups is the Survival Center, a student group for environmental and social activism.

The Survival Center is one of the longest running student groups on campus, dating back to 1970. Currently, the group consists of four co-directors who share equal power within the group in a non-hierarchical system. Despite having only four co-directors, the Survival Center accomplished a lot this year — from hosting events to partnering with other groups like MEChA and the Multicultural Center.

“I’ve been involved with the Survival Center since my freshman year,” co-director Jeremy Hedlund said. “I’ve been co-director since the beginning of the year and I’m specifically interested in student activism and working on issues that I find important. The Survival Center has given me the opportunity to become well-rounded with other students.”

The Survival Center hosted various events that address issues of social inequality both nationally and in the Eugene community. The Survival Center recently hosted an informational session called No More Deaths in which they invited volunteers from the No More Deaths organization to discuss their mission on preventing deaths on the Mexican-American border. The organization primarily serves to aid those crossing the border by offering basic necessities like water and medical supplies.

“Being a part of the Survival Center is meaningful to me because it is a group of students and community partners that are passionate and devoted to our community and world,” co-director Althea Olds Seloover said. “Whether it’s keeping something good alive, like protecting old-growth forests, or fighting to change systems that don’t work, like our criminal system.”

Outside of its big events like No More Deaths, the Survival Center also puts on a range of different activities including “knowing your rights” training, lectures, protests, networking and co-sponsoring events. Behind each event is a simple purpose: Make the world a better place.

“We have, in the past, co-sponsored many events for different student groups,” Hedlund said. “We have the resources and if a student group wants to host an event and they don’t have the resources, they should come talk to us. We have the resources to help them.”

With the relocation into their new space, the Survival Center is also considering implementing other changes to the organization. Possible future changes include changing its name, expanding membership and offering more leadership positions for students.

“I think, like most student groups, no matter where you are, there are cycles that student groups undergo,” co-director Violet Elson said. “I think we’re at that moment and we’re thinking of making some changes. For example our name the ‘Survival Center’ doesn’t really describe what we do or who we are. We really want our meetings to be open and facilitate different jobs. What we would like to do and see happen is getting a large range of people who want to change and shape our world.”

With nearly 800 faces and smiles and providing an environment where it’s free to be who you want to be, the Saudi Student Association works its best to serve the community. Last year, SSA wasn’t very active. But under a new president and leadership, SSA has managed to accomplish community gatherings from planning and coordinating two holy events to small events like Coffee Hour.

“The best way to describe this year would be ‘unusual and extraordinary,’” event coordinator  Mansour Albadran said. ”The SSA’s new administration made huge improvements than the previous one. Our relationship and reputation with the University of Oregon, the ASUO and campus community has improved a lot. Empowering Saudi female students and Saudi students from different cultural backgrounds on campus and bringing them all together.”

The SSA is one of many student associations across the U.S. connected with the U.S. and Saudi embassies. Its purpose is to provide resources and a nurturing environment for Saudi students. SSA is a place where students can get help with academics and ease their living in Eugene.

“We want to change a lot of the misconceptions surrounding the Saudi culture,” SSA President Abdulrhman Aljaafari said. “We think about how we can get people involved in one particular place and we found that the most effective way is through workshops. We did a lot of workshops in business and I learned the power of it.”

After wining the SSA’s election last spring, Aljaafari has worked to give the group direction. Under Aljaafari’s new administration, a lot has changed in SSA and Saudi students are glad to have a president who is dedicated and responsible.

“Saying this as both a close friend of his and a member of the SSA, I think Abdulrhman has done a very good job as president in the association,” Albadran said. “He fought to make change for the association and promote culture of the kingdom on-campus and to draw a new picture for the association. He is a great example of student leadership.”

Fall term, SSA hosted celebrations for Eid Alfiter and Eid Aladha, the Saudi National days. Both events are holy and celebrated in Saudi Arabia according to the calendar the group uses. Six hundred people attended SSA’s first event, which included a dance and gallery show. The second saw 500 people attend and this time the group’s members took a different approach to the event: they threw a comedy show.

“My favorite thing about SSA is mostly the events,” media coordinator Saleh Alkhuzayyim said. “There’s a lot of culture in it and the people in SSA try their best to show this culture to the students and community.”

For student associations at the University of Oregon,  it’s important to maintain relationships with other student groups. The bond they create with each other is a simple friendship and when a group is in need of help they know they can count on other groups. Whether it’s getting to know each other or co-sponsoring an event, collaboration between student associations helps build community and common purpose.

Among the student unions that have had the opportunity to collaborate with one another are the Asian Pacific American Student Union, Vietnamese Student Association and the Black Student Union. All have taken advantage of various opportunities to partner with other groups on different projects, working together toward a common goal.

Some of the student groups that APASU has been able to collaborate are the Multicultural Center, VSA, Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence, Active Minds and Oregon State University APASU. In each of the student groups that APASU has been able to work with it’s either been collaborating for co-hosted events, joint meetings and support from co-sponsorship and attending events.

“It is important and valuable for student groups to collaborate with each other,” APASU Director Roseanna Ling said. “Student groups need to collaborate with each other to make connections on how group’s mission and purpose can relate with other communities. Through collaboration students within these groups are able to get a greater experience within college, while gaining a holistic point of view of society.”

For spring term APASU is hoping to collaborate with BSU, Multiethnic Student Alliance and Kultura Philipinas. Ling hopes group collaboration will create a space where members can get to know other members, and also have a discussion on issues both groups face in society.

Like APASU, the VSA also enjoys the opportunities of working with different student groups. Previously, VSA has been able to collaborate with APASU, KP, BSU and the International Student Association. This year the VSA has had a hand in hosting cosponsored events including a collaboration with Kultura Philipinas, BSU and APASU on a watch party for the Oregon versus Stanford football game, VSA co-hosted Coffee Hour.

“The relationships we have with other student groups are great,” VSA student media coordinator Thuc Vinh said. “We’re very close-knit and we always have our ears open about any upcoming events that other groups might be having. It helps that there are a lot of friendships and connections between members of organizations.”

VSA hopes in the future they can collaborate with university departments and other non-student union organizations such as Fraternity and Sorority Life. Similarly, the BSU also hopes to find the right opportunity to work closely with APASU, VSA, KP and the Native American Student Union in the near future.

For student groups, getting to know one another through collaborative group functions can help build a sense of unity of purpose.

In a recent example, the BSU was able to collaborate with MEChA on an event called ” Black and Brown Get Down” where both groups went to Skate World.

“We have great relations and I always try to go to union events like inside Africa part of the ASA and Ice Cream socials for BWA in order to give support and have fun,” BSU co-director Godwin Nwnado said. “They key is to be able to be flexible and move things around if there is something comes up for the sake of unity.”

Every Wednesday at 5 p.m. senior education major Roseanna Ling makes her way towards to the Mills International Center to discuss the weekly agenda. Ling arrives and sees familiar faces and commences the meeting. Ling is a senior and co-director for the Asian Pacific American Student Union at the University of Oregon. Her involvement in APASU inspired and changed Ling into a charismatic leader and she’s proud of her time in APASU.

“Roseanna is very bubbly and I think she’s made a very good leader this year,” senior Daniel Chang said.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Ling made the decision to leaving the island and come to the mainland. She wanted a school that offered Wushu and when she saw the UO offered it, she knew she had to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I chose to leave Hawaii because as an educator there’s a lot to learn and I wasn’t going to get it if I stayed at home,” Ling said. “All of my coaches encouraged me to go to the mainland. A lot of the advice they gave me was to leave the island because if I stayed on the island I wasn’t going to get where I wanted to be.”

For Ling, the college experience has shared its ups and downs but she’s grateful for her involvement in APASU. Ling remembers struggling her freshman year trying to adjust to the college life and the difficulty she had.

“I remember freshman year and the difficulty I had especially because I was from Hawaii. People would ask ‘where are you from?’ and I’d say ‘oh, I’m from Hawaii’ and then they would say ‘oh.’ Then they would ask someone else and they would say ‘oh, I’m from Beaverton’ and someone would answer ‘I’m from Beaverton too.’ No one from my graduating class came to the UO,” Ling said.

While freshman year was difficult for Ling she was invited from a friend to attend an APASU meeting. Although at first she was skeptical she’s glad she attended the meeting because she found a place where she could make a lot of friends and have a sense of culture while being away from home. Towards the end of her sophomore year she was encouraged to run for junior executive and got the position. Now she serves as co-director.

“Rosie is the kind of leader that works with sincerity and passion,” sophomore Wing Ng said. ”While I wouldn’t call her the typical leader she works just as well because she makes it so that people want to work with her.”

Aside from her busy schedule, Ling enjoys watching movies with her friends, bike riding and playing ‘League of Legends’ under the username xiaolingo. She has recently become obsessed with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ series and hopes to get started on the ‘X-Men’ series too.

After graduation Ling hopes to secure a UO Teach grant that would allow her to teach in a low-income area and help those in need.

As the clock winds down, student groups in the EMU are packing boxes with documents, office supplies and computers ready to make the journey to a new location. Stacks of boxes surround rooms and groups of people spend hours looking over what will be taken.

Starting March 21, student groups currently located in the Erb Memorial Union will be moving to McArthur Court during construction on a new wing of the EMU. It’s a task that entails spending hours sorting through old archives, campaign posters, yellowed ASUO budget files and various documents that date back to the early ’80s.

About 18 different student groups will be relocated to Mac Court. Once a basketball arena, McArthur Court will now also be a student center, providing a temporary home to students groups for about two years.

Some key goals that were considered by the renovation team when finding a new location for student groups were keeping groups close to the EMU, moving groups only once if possible, prioritizing student group needs and providing many options.

“When we started looking for different locations for student groups we wanted to keep them as close as possible to the heart of campus and we looked at different places,” EMU Renovation coordinator Dan Geiger said. “Then we saw Mac Court and asked ourselves: ‘is this even possible?’ When we saw it we thought it was a place that would keep student groups close and not scattered. We wanted to maintain that sense of community and we believe Mac Court can provide that.”

With hours dedicated to preparing for the move, many student groups have found the moving process both stressful and nostalgic. For many groups it has been a process of recycling old documents and deciding what to take to Mac Court, while for others it has been a smooth process.

“So far it has been a process of going through old documents from the ’80s and finding old posters, but we still have a lot of packing to do,” co-director for the Survival Center Jeremy Hedlund said. “Moving is a chance to start fresh again and the biggest hurdle for us has been going through everything and deciding whether to keep it or not. Were looking forward to being close to the other student groups.”

Though most of their time has been occupied by looking over old archives, many student groups look forward to interacting with other student groups and getting to know their new neighbors.

“The process has been great and were excited for our grand opening in Mac Court. We’re putting together some fun activities,” Club Sports Director Kristen Gleason said. “It’s been a lot of work, but it’s like moving into a new house and were looking forward to meeting our new neighbors and meeting new people. Were bringing most of our stuff and making some modifications as well.”

Though the room is crowded with busily working coordinators and assistants answering calls and checking emails, there remains a welcoming atmosphere. By striving to provide a support system for students on campus, volunteers and coordinators at the ASUO Womens Center hope to be more than just a utility for students, but also to provide a community that enhances the University of Oregon student experience.

The Women’s Center’s main mission is to advocate the need for education and working environments for women at the UO, says Director Brandy Teel. To provide that experience, they work toward societal change that reduces oppression and supports personal growth. The Women’s Center also strives to teach empowerment and leadership to students through various events such as sexual violence prevention educational night, women’s empowerment conferences and educational meetings to address issues that arise at the UO.

“I love the environment and working with students,” Teel said. “I love how the Women’s Center provides leadership and support to students. We host a lot of events and a lot of people don’t know that the Women’s Center organizes it, and we want more people to know about our contribution.”

Not only does the Women’s Center offer support groups and programs, it also provides useful resources for students like free printing, free coffee, tampons, pads, condoms and employment opportunities.

“I transferred to the UO two years ago and I wanted to find a space for me that provided comfortable space and I found an opening to the Women’s Center,” volunteer coordinator Ana Areli Rodriguez said. “I was new and as a feminist I found to be that the Women’s Center offers an environment that provides great conversations and it really widen my eyes as far as issues that are happening around the community.”

The Women’s Center hosts a variety of events throughout the year including Take Back the Night on Apr. 24 which is a sexual violence prevention event that focuses on speaking out against sexual violence and offers students the opportunity to hear stories of survivors of sexual violence. Another major event Out/Loud Queer, Women’s and Trans Music Festival on May 17 — one of the largest women’s and queer festivals in the West Coast.

“The Women’s Center is a great place for students, and working for the Women’s Center has been great,” office assistant Meerah Powell said. “I’ve enjoyed working for them and all the events we host are great opportunities for students. We definitely want to have more of an outreach for students.”

In a few short weeks the Women’s Center will be relocated due to the EMU’s renovation to MacCourt and it will continue to provide its resources to students.

“Although we’re moving to a new location will still offer the same resources we have been offering,” Rodriguez said. “Once we settle in MacCourt we want to personalize it and make it welcoming to students.”

The Asian Pacific American Student Union will host a cultural celebration called United by Diversity in The Great Room in Global Scholars March 1 at 6 p.m. The event will include a range of different entertainment and food for an entry fee of $5 for students and a general admission price of $7. All the proceeds collected will go to end child prostitution, abuse and trafficking in Cambodia.

“Basically this is APASU’s cultural night where we will focus and talk about issues regarding loss of culture and multicultural identity,” APASU director Roseanna Ling said. “We want to focus on some of the issues that are overlooked and will incorporate different forms of culture through performances from Wushu, Indian dancers and people can enjoy good food.”

APASU is a student organization on campus that serves as a support service and network for the needs of Asian Pacific students, faculty and community members. APASU’s main mission is to educate members on some issues that indirectly and directly affect the Asian Pacific American community on various levels. From a campus, national and global level. In part they can achieve that mission through the United by Diversity night.

Catering will be provided from Sweet Life and East Meets West. Students can also expect to learn more about the Hawaiian culture from Island Arts.

“Students can expect to become educated and have a sense of awareness of some of the issues that multicultural communities members and students face,” Ling said. “Also our event is open to all students and some of the issues will discuss does not fully pertain to just the APASU community it pertains to all cultures.”

All eyes are on senior Ricky Salinas’ movements as he slowly raises his hands and begins to clap. Mimicking the sound of a heartbeat, the claps start slowly at first, quickly gaining speed and momentum as people from around the room join in and the melodic thrum rises to a crescendo of a crowd of hands, all slapping together at once.

The “unity clap” is how Salinas, internal director of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano Aztlan, signals the start of group meetings. Every Wednesday at 6 p.m. the cadence echoes through the Multicultural Center in the EMU.

Salinas was born in Phoenix, Ariz., but primarily grew up in Hillsboro, Ore. He has two younger brothers and is the first in his family to attend college. Initially, college was an intimidating prospect for Salinas in the sense that he knew it was necessary to further his academic pursuits. But with no contextual references, he didn’t know what to expect from the experience. Looking back on his four years, the senior couldn’t be more proud of his time at University of Oregon. Salinas graduates in the spring.

“College has been a whirlwind experience. You take different classes, you have jobs and there’s this further element that you need to add meaning to it,” Salinas said. “For me that was getting involved in MEChA.”

Salinas remembers attending his first MEChA meeting his freshman year and being scared. He says he got more involved with it in the second half of his freshman year when he felt more established in the college environment. By dedicating himself to MEChA, Salinas has had the opportunity to not only influence Chicano culture at the UO, but to be a mentor as well.

“Ricky is very friendly, very welcoming and anyone can approach him,” freshman Abel Cerros said. “He’s someone who will listen to you and give you constructive criticism and even though he might be leaving soon we know that he’s leaving MEChA in a good place.” 

In the last four years, Salinas has been involved on campus as a residence hall assistant, budget manager for MEChA, coordinator of their Ganas community outreach program and in his current position as internal director.

“I’ve known Ricky since we were in middle school and he’s done a lot and gets involved in so many things,” senior Liz Avalos said. “He has a lot on his plate and manages so many things, but in the end he gets it done. It’s a time crunch for all the things he does.”

Aside from his busy schedule as MEChA director, Salinas enjoys rock climbing, traveling and going on Netflix binges — most recently getting hooked on “House of Cards.” He also works hard to visit his family to keep from feeling overly stressed about his duties.

After graduation, Salinas hopes to find a career where he can continue the kind of mentoring and advising that he’s discovered a passion for as a MEChA leader.

“Through my time at Ganas and MEChA, I want to continue helping people,” he said.

It’s five minutes until 6 p.m. in Willamette 112 on a Monday night. Music of banging drums with a mix of guitar fills the room with energy and liveliness. Bodies begin to fill the room and voices hum to the beat. Glances are exchanged and at 6 p.m. the music quiets and a meeting starts, first with a brief presentation on an African country  followed by games and an open conversation forum.

This is a typical weeknight meeting for the African Student Association.

ASA is a campus organization that strives to unite, honor, project and celebrate the African heritage at the UO. Its members focus on promoting African cultural awareness through open forum discussions concerning fashion, cuisine, music and offering self-empowerment to its members by supporting them both academically and personally. ASA meets every Monday in a gathering of its seven student staffers and 40 active members.

For many members, joining ASA created an outlet from their busy student life and formed a strong family bond. The group has become a home away from home. Many members enjoy the atmosphere of the ASA and are glad to share experiences with these other students.

“I personally see ASA as a family and I enjoy the support that ASA provides,” club secretary Saba Embaye said. “Coming to Eugene and not knowing anyone was tough but ASA was a great tool for me to network. Being part of ASA has let me express my culture and learn other cultural experiences that I had not known before.”

Members discuss different aspects of Africa and address issues that directly and indirectly affect them. As a group they discuss wide range of issues surrounding the continent and primarily work together to cope with stereotypes they have encountered.

“In our meetings it’s not just about sitting down and talking. We want our members to engage with one another,” ASA co-director Nardos Tadesse said. ”It can be through our activities our staff plans out. For an example, one activity we did was pairing up members and having them teach a word to their partner in their native language and then sharing it with everyone.”

A key component ASA strives toward in its meetings is creating a fun atmosphere for its members while also inviting students to take a moment to learn about the African culture. ASA’s meetings are open to all students and they are more than willing to hear an outside perspectives on some of the issues  discussed.

“ASA is a fun place to hangout and it’s a great opportunity to learn about the different cultures that are present at the UO,” Atsan Senghor said. “The fist word that pops into my head when I think of ASA is fun and I enjoy all the activities most of all the African musical chairs.”

A few events that ASA will host are its Inside Africa dinner on March 8 and African Night on June 7.

Priscilla Dantas never thought she would be studying at the University of Oregon. Born and raised in Recife, Brazil, Dantas is now in the United States studying and playing the piano thanks to the Students Helping Street Kids International scholarship that was given to her when she was ten years old and made her education a reality.

SHSKI is a nonprofit organization founded by former Eugene school teacher and Peace Corps volunteer Bob Crites that binds together sister schools in America and Brazil in order to emphasize global education and scholarship for at-risk Brazilian youth. Carnaval Brasil, one of the main sources of funding for the event, is hosted annually to raise money for the organization. This year’s event will be held this Saturday and will include Samba lessons and a piano performance from Dantas.

“The main role of the Carnaval Brasil is to represent the kids who are supported by SHSKI — and I am an example of what SHSKI is doing,” Dantas said.

Growing up, Dantas remembers her parents struggling economically. Her father worked as a security guard at a music school and worked to support his family. With limited means, Dantas’ parents knew they wanted to provide a better future for their daughter they just didn’t know how.

Though playing the piano came naturally for Dantas she never imagined that one performance would change her life.

“I remember I was playing and Bob Crites was invited to the performance. After it, he met with me and got to know my hardship,” Dantas said. “Once he knew it he offered me the scholarship and I was able to attend a private school and study English, and that scholarship has made studying at the UO a possibility for me.”

Every summer since 2008, Dantas has performed in a series of concert where the funds collected go toward her scholarship fund. Donna Snyder, a close friend of Dantas and former musician has helped organize the summer series.

For Snyder, Dantas’ energy on stage is as inspirational as the her climb to success.

“She is just a charmer; she works so hard with all age groups and it seems like after her performances everyone wants a little piece of Priscilla,” Snyder said. “The audiences love her. Although she struggled with her English sometimes, she doesn’t let that get in the way.”

Snyder has seen Dantas’ English improve greatly over the years.

At this year’s Carnaval, participants in the event will see the direct impact of their donation money, event coordinator Jessica Zapata explains. Unlike many funding events for international scholarships, the only thing separating Dantas and her sponsors will be a piano.

“The money that we raise at Carnaval Brasil goes to help fund two scholarships,” Zapata said. “SHSKI is supporting Priscilla while she is at the UO and will support her sister, Pamela throughout high school. These scholarships are very expensive and the money we raise is an important contribution to SHSKI being able to support their education through the university level.”

Carnaval Brasil is will be held at Cosmic Pizza starting at 7 p.m. All funds from the benefit will go to support SHSKI’s scholarship recipients