Kip Fulbeck Fosters Cultural Dialogue at Open Mic Night

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Author: Nick Nam

Friday night, the Cooler got raw as The What Are You (WAY) Crew and Kip Fulbeck engaged an avid audience with poetry, emotion and cultural pontification. Student speakers took the stage for the first portion of the event, which led into an engaging discussion and presentation, mediated by Fulbeck, that addressed race and minority identity. From 8 to 10 p.m., the performers considered the pertinent question and theme of the evening: “What are you?”

Photographer, author, slam poet, award-winning filmmaker and professor of arts at UCSB, Fulbeck speaks and performs nationwide on multiraciality, pop culture and personal identity. Fulbeck’s previous works inspired the “What Are You?” installments in the Cooler, and his participation in Friday’s open mic night served as a fitting conclusion to Asian Pacific Islander (API) heritage month.

Oxy’s Asian Pacific Islander Association has been hard at work to organize a variety of important cultural events this month, and their “What Are You Project” was one of their larger undertakings. To dispel misguided notions that all Asians are the same, the project aimed to give students the opportunity to express themselves, define their individuality and delineate their unique heritage. APIA adorned the Cooler’s walls with a snapshot and paragraph for each participant.

“The mission of our [What are You?] project was to turn the question [that is usually oppressive in its generalizations] into an opportunity for expression of individual identity,” said Kaitlin Toyama (sophomore). These thoughtful installments stood powerfully on the wall, enlightening students about the diversity of their peers. The night began with original poems and recitations of spoken word from eight Oxy students. Performances by Nina Pine (senior), Melissa Chow (senior), Keeya Bighorse (senior), Emily Kimes (sophomore), Bena Li (senior), Kaitlin Toyama (sophomore), Andri Tai-Ward (sophomore), Thomas Heyl (first-year) and american studies professor Tony Sandoval ranged in topic and were well-received by the audience. The performers attacked capitalism, cultural backlash and ignorance both at Oxy and in society. Though the event was technically in tandem with API heritage month, the open mic night aimed to spark thought about sensitivity to race, ethnicity and personal identity in a larger sense.After the student performances, Fulbeck took the stage. Despite his laid-back demeanor, he quickly dove deep into the central theme of the evening, answering the question, “What are you?”

Humorous and deep, Fulbeck truly forced the audience to ask questions about individualism. He first eased the audience into discussion by surveying them about pop culture and current events. This survey showed the audience exactly how limited their knowledge of the current state of political affairs was. Everyone seemed to know the answers to the pop culture questions, but the answers to the political questions did not come as easily. With this exercise, Fulbeck shed light on our pop-culture saturated world.

After this icebreaker, Fulbeck shared a short autobiographical film that addressed the stereotypes he encountered and endured in his upbringing as half Chinese and half Caucasian. Despite the harrowing stereotypes, his mixed cultural experience molded Fulbeck into who he was, shaping his interests and his passions.

In addition to showcasing his filmmaking, Fulbeck shared photos and answers to the question “Who Are You?” from his book “Part Asian, 100% Hapa.” With such a diverse mix of people showcased in his project, the audience was exposed to an empowering spectrum of individuality. Answers varied from the statements of a small boy, “I am part Chinese and part Danish. I don’t usually tell people I am Danish though, because they think I’m a pastry,” to “I am goddess, I am woman, confident and arrogant,” answered by a bold middle-aged woman from Hawaii.

Though Fulbeck stressed the beauty of ethnic diversity, he does not like to be called a “diversity speaker.” He states that he is, first and foremost, an artist.

Fulbeck ended the night by performing one of his own poems, which addressed the importance of embracing one’s diversity and the flaws in our current society. By the end of the night, Fulbeck got the audience asking, “Who am I?” and, to a certain extent, he aided all of us in answering that question.

“Getting Kip Fulbeck to Oxy was also a great success,” Toyama said. “The completion of the project shows that it is possible for Asian-American students to be heard on campus, and it empowers us to keep putting on events like this until our haters finally understand what we are all about.”

Additional reporting by Tara Daley

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