If you've passed through the PUB recently, you might have seen and heard various musical, cinematic and informative events. This is what SCC has been learning about.

This year, Student Government (S.G.) replaced the usual club kick-off at the beginning of spring quarter with Splash: A Festival of Learning from May 16 - 20. All week long, students got to show off what they'd been working hard on all year long. They did this in a variety of formats, like songs, films and panel discussions.

Anyone was free to submit their own Splash event, but the majority turned out to be artistic showcases. The cafeteria was treated to "A Choral Extravaganza," in two parts on Monday and Tuesday, during which individual singers impressed the audience with original and covered scores, from Michael Jackson to Katy Perry's "E.T."

SCC film students' short works were screened in a continuous film festival on Tuesday as well. This is where the range of talent was especially apparent: Comedy, angst, social psychology and a montage of what seemed like hundreds of clips compiled into a 1950's teenage dream (see also "The reel of fortune for film majors," page 9).

Diversity also played a big part in the more academic side of Splash. Wednesday celebrated multicultural understanding with a group of drama students performing their own Multicultural Monologues, after a successful performance for multicultural week earlier this month.

There was also a student panel discussing on campus experiences and learning in multicultural understanding classes, a subject SCC has taken a very progressive stance on by requiring them for graduation.

The history of Splash is a surprisingly long one. For years SBA put together an earlier incarnation, Sunfest, at the end of each year, according to S.G. support staff member Jessica Gonzalez.

The new and improved name – like a dolphin bursting through the surface of the water – demonstrates a new era in SCC history. And after being set back by some scheduling conflicts, it only became all the more apparent that Splash could draw in the talent and the crowds in a pinch.

Teri Guethner - A&E Editor