On a warm sunny Monday afternoon a number of Native American dancers wearing their native dress could be seen dancing and chanting as a drummer beat on his drum. At one-point, children who were either from the crowd or who had parents dancing joined in to form a huge circle around the drummer.

Sponsored by the SF State Family Resource Center this event was organized as a Stay In School Day for SF State parents who are trying to manage their family life along with taking their classes. It showcased dances by the Grupo Xiuhcoatl tribe who were protesting Columbus day, a day they say honors a man who helped start the horrendous killing of indigenous people. After the Native performers were done performing, the Native band called Crave took the stage for their set.

Christina Badasow, a 41-year-old nursing student who helped organize the event for the Resource Center said that they decided to showcase Native dancers because they wanted to attract different ethnicities to their center. Badasow said that the Native American performers don’t consider their performance as a dance but as a way of offering prayer to the earth and for the different students who are parents. According to Badasow, the meaning of the performers going into a circle was that they wanted to represent the Earth as a global community.

“We wanted to inform the different students who are parents that they can get help, since these students not only have to face looming deadlines and budget cuts but they have to deal with work and their family life too," said Badasow.

“The Center has a computer lab, a child family room that has different activities to help keep the children content while their parents go to their classes, write papers or study for their exams.”

This day was also Bring Your Child to School Day so that’s why a lot of dancers, who happen to be SF State students brought their children along. There were different tables set around the outside of the Malcolm X Plaza where students could get information about financial aid, the SF State program Jumpstart and aid for low income families.

“Many people would be surprise to hear that we have lot of students that are on welfare -including myself – but that doesn’t mean that we don’t work, it just means we need a little extra help to get by as we try to get our degree,” said Badasow.

“Another fact that would surprise people is the number of students that are temporarly homeless meaning that they go from house to house or live in their car as they try to get their feet back on their ground. We help them fill out financial aid forms along with welfare forms so that they can go to this school to improve their lives”.

The Family Resource Center is located in HSS 120 across from the café. Their number is (415) 405-0410.