Press Release

Bunker Hill Community College Students Create Production on Social Issues

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Students at Bunker Hill Community College will present Shine a Light, an original performance using the arts to speak out on poverty, war, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS and other social issues. The event, free and open to the public, will be at 6 p.m., Friday, December 10, 2010, in the A300 Auditorium on the Charlestown Campus

“With rap, folk, theatrical performances, dance and the spoken word, students have created a powerful statement about social justice,” said Monica C. Poole, Assistant Professor of History and Social Sciences, advisor to the student group. Their original works will draw their inspiration from writings by Maya Angelou and Ursula K. LeGuin.

“Words communicate ideas, and ideas that spread to a community can affect the physical reality of that community,” said Jorge García, one of the performers, who is studying to become a community college history teacher. “We are presenting Shine a Light to give voice to some important things we all think are wrong with our society today.”

The works presented will include “Take a Minute,” a dance about preventing AIDS; “A Circle Never Ends,” an acoustic rock piece; “Imagine” by John Lennon; and “Still I Rise,” a poem by Maya Angelou. At the event, the College Office of Community Engagement will hand out flyers with suggestions on how to take action on the issues presented. Shine A Light is the inaugural performance of the Take A Bow Common Interest Learning Community, part of the College-wide Engaged Campus initiative, designed to help students remain in college and succeed.

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About Bunker Hill Community College
Celebrating 50 years of excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).