Resource Centers

African American Resource and Cultural Center (AARCC)

The mission of the African American Resource & Cultural Center (AARCC) is to provide support for the students in the African, Black, and Caribbean (ABC) communities at the University of California at Santa Cruz. We aim to foster an environment and community that supports all folks from the African Diaspora and encourages the pursuit of a deeper understanding of identity and culture as it relates to one’s educational journey.

The AARCC provides a wide range of programs, support services, and resources centered around the Black Diasporic experience. The AARCC serves as an advocate for ABC students on an array of campus matters. We encourage and facilitate student involvement and success in campus life, student organizations, academic excellence, and community engagement.

The AARCC endeavors to empower ABC students and community members to explore, honor, and respect their intersecting identities throughout their educational journey. The African American Resource & Cultural Center aims to be a hub for Black community on campus, while addressing systemic issues that impact the ABC community. AARCC is located on the third floor of the Bay Tree Building in Quarry Plaza, and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (831) 459-3207, email aarcc@ucsc.edu, or visit the AARCC website.

American Indian Resource Center (AIRC)

Our Mission Statement

The AIRC is dedicated to supporting the needs of American Indian students and increasing Native visibility on campus by hosting student-centered programs, cultural events and providing tools for academic success and personal well-being. The center is a vital link between American Indian students, the University, and tribal communities that fosters growth through mentoring, leadership opportunities, and scholarly development.

The AIRC's objectives are as follows:

To promote the value of a college education for American Indians.
To serve as a supportive space for students as they transition from home to campus life.
To center Indigenous knowledge and practices in our activities and help preserve the culture and heritage of American Indian students.
To serve as a liaison between Native communities and the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) works in collaboration with other resource centers, faculty, staff, students, and organizations such as the Student Alliance of North American Indians (SANAI), the People of Color Sustainability Collective PoCSC), and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of California Indians, as well as the indigenous tribal community leaders of the region to develop co-curricular programming, cultural activities, and events that assist public understanding of Native Peoples. Invested in creating a campus climate that supports all students, the center provides leadership development, internship opportunities, mentoring, and personal and academic advising. AIRC is located on the third floor of the Bay Tree Building in Quarry Plaza, and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (831) 459-2881, email airc@ucsc.edu, or visit the AIRC website.

People of Color Sustainability Collective (PoCSC)

The mission of the People of Color Sustainability Collective is to make UCSC a leader not just in mainstream sustainability, but also environmental justice, in recognition of our changing demographics and pressing ecological challenges. PoCSC will accomplish this through:

Raising awareness about the contributions that people of color have made to the environmental sustainability movement in general and at UCSC in particular.
Re-examining the definition and values of the sustainability movement to identify how it can be more inclusive of all underrepresented populations.
Creating a critical dialogue about environmental justice through student discussion spaces, student of color caucuses, social media awareness campaigns, workshops, and speaker presentations.

PoCSC represents a groundbreaking collaboration between the Ethnic Resource Centers, College Nine and John R. Lewis College, and the UCSC Sustainability Office, and we will continue to grow the coalition through outreach to departments, student organizations, and other units.

The AIRC is located on the third floor of the Bay Tree Building in Quarry Plaza. For more information and overview of the center, please call (831) 459-2881, or email pocsc@ucsc.edu, or visit the AIRC website or PoCSC website.

Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center (AA/PIRC)

The Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center (AA/PIRC) co-creates engagement with students who identify as part of the Asian American, Pacific Islander, & Southwest Asian & North African (AA/PI/SWANA) diaspora at UC Santa Cruz; exploring the complexities of their holistic experiences, and individual and collective identities. AA/PIRC’s engagement includes leadership and holistic development, along with educational opportunities with, for, and in support of AA/PI/SWANA communities.

AA/PIRC envisions AA/PI/SWANA communities to be affirmed and empowered in their identities. We imagine individual and collective healing, wholeness, and liberation from oppression, both within and expansive of their existences in relation with UC Santa Cruz.

For more information, contact aapirc@ucsc.edu or follow AA/PIRC on Instagram (@aapirc_ucsc).

Chicanx Latinx Resource Center (El Centro)

The Chicanx Latinx Resource Center (El Centro) serves as a hub of organized activity and resources that support student transition, retention, graduation and academic advancement. Through collaborative efforts with campus partners, students can participate in a host of activities that encourage intellectual growth, leadership development, preparation for graduate or professional school, and career options. El Centro encourages and supports student and community development through cultural and educational programming.

Annual programs include the following: Bienvenida—New Student Welcome Program; Día de los Muertos; Pachanga; Nuestras Raíces; dialogue on academic, social, cultural, and personal issues that affect Chicanx and Latinx communities; and a weekly online newsletter; CHISME E-News. El Centro offers student internships that support leadership-skills development, while students help to organize events and activities for the community. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (831) 459-5806 or email elcentro@ucsc.edu, or visit El Centro.

Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center

The Cantú Queer Resource Center at UC Santa Cruz provides an open, inclusive, intersectional, and welcoming space, promotes education about all genders and sexualities, and empowers self and communal explorations of sexual and gender diversities. We serve as a resource to LGBTQQIA students and the wider campus community by providing opportunities for leadership, personal development, advocacy, community, and academic exploration grounded in queer and trans experiences. Through our programs and services we seek to eliminate heterosexism, bi-phobia, trans-phobia, queer-phobia, and and other forms of oppression while also lifting up queer and trans resilience on and off campus. We strive to develop an atmosphere of acceptance, celebration, and well-being from which the campus community can fulfill the academic mission of the university.

Besides the Cantú Queer Resource Center, there are two queer spaces on campus tucked within McHenry Library: the GLBTI Reading Room on the 4th Floor, and the Gloria Anzaldua Reading Room on the 3rd Floor. Both spaces have beautiful displays that will make you feel at home. You can drop by and use these rooms if they are available or reserve them for individual or group use.

The Cantú Queer Resource Center website provides an overview and contact information.

Womxn’s Center

The UCSC Womxn’s Center affirms the dignity and diversity of all womxn. The center continues and challenges feminist traditions by creating community space for all womxn and their allies to achieve individual and social change.

Students are encouraged to get involved in the center's annual events, which include our Welcome Fall Ball, Sister Solidarity: Womxn's Heritage Month, Take Back The Night, Year-End Celebration, and more. Other opportunities for involvement include volunteering, work-study paid internships, and academic internships. The center is the ideal space to study, take a break from classes, check out a book from the lending library, and connect with the womxn's community.

The Womxn's Center is located at the Cardiff House, an historic farmhouse near the Carriage House in the lower campus. For more information or to book an appointment, please contact (831) 459-2072, email women@ucsc.edu, and/or visit the Womxn's Center website.

The Student Union

The Student Union is a student-governed facility where students can study, take a break and lounge, meet friends, play pool, use computers, or watch television. Located in the Quarry Plaza across from the Bay Tree Bookstore, the Student Union complements college facilities by providing a centrally located place for social, recreational, and educational gatherings for all students and members of the campus community.

The Student Union is also home to the campuswide student governing body (Student Union Assembly) and to student organizations, the Bike Co-op, Engaging Education, and Student Organization Advising and Resources (SOAR).

The Union is open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Union is closed holidays and quarter breaks. For more information, call (831) 459-3167.