On Thursday, April 10, the CIPHER Hip Hop Learning Community hosted their award-winning and the nation’s longest-running 18th Annual Rock The School Bells (RTSB) Hip Hop Conference to over 300 high school and college students. This year’s theme asked, “What Now?” given today’s social, cultural, and political climate. “What Now” can be seen and heard as a statement, a commitment, a point of reflection, and a rally cry to explore new possibilities. It’s about stepping beyond our comfort zone and committing to intentional growth. “What Now” is about continuous learning, developing resilience, and cultivating meaningful relationships that inspire our students and our communities through the lens and medium of Hip Hop.
Some of the workshops, hosted by our very own Skyline College faculty, were intentionally designed to create the intersectionality of Hip-Hop and the academic disciplines of Business, English, Counseling, Dance, Sociology, History, and Ethnic Studies. Thank you to Dr. Rod Daus-Magbual, Dr. Liza Erpelo, Soledad McCarthy, Angela Serrano, Mustafa Popal, Monica Macaldo-Gubatina, Rika Fabian, and Lucia Lachmayr for co-creating this experience for our high school students.
In addition to attending various workshops such as The Rise of Anime in the Black Community, Breaking the Binary: Queerness in Hip Hop, Building Community and Collectivism through Hip Hop Culture, and Game & Gems for Aspiring Entrepreneurs, attendees also had the opportunity to experience live performances by the Boogie Brothers (Owlboogie & Ouiboogie), the amazing Neighborhood Kids, and a PCN dance performance by the Kababayan Learning Community. They also had the opportunity to experience the first-ever Battle of the Schools, where high school students had a chance to perform and compete against each other through different forms of Hip Hop, where Mills High School took home the championship trophy.
We also had the opportunity to celebrate our Rock The School Bells Creative Arts Scholarship recipients and our RTSB Legacy awards to community members who have significantly contributed to Rock The School Bells.
Creating this educational experience for our students, there are so many people that came together in making this happen. Thank you to RTSB coordination leads – Bing Lozano-Lim, Alex Urbina, Joseph Jaballa, Matthew Embry, and Kim Davalos for their assistance in making this conference a reality. Thank you Manny Verdin, Chris Avalos, and Marisa Thigpen for organizing the Resource Fair that included the Learning Communities, Financial Aid, Strategic Partnerships and Workforce Development, Project Change, Undocumented Community Center, Cosmetology, and many other programs. Special shout out goes to the Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics (BCE) Program for giving our attendees free clean-ups and quick shaves. Gratitude to Strategic Partnerships and Workforce Development for providing lunch and transportation for our attendees, facilitators, and performers. Thank you to the TRiO team, Brianna Clay and Jacquie Espino for the lunch coordination efforts. To our Facilities team, thank you for creating the space we envisioned for our conference. To the Media Services team for supporting our AV efforts throughout the day. We are also grateful for our donors and vendors who made this event successful. Special shout out to our community vendors, HD Light & Party SF, who brought life to the event with their amazing LED dance floors.
None of this would be possible without the support of our Skyline College Administration who have supported our event for the last 18 years – Acting President Dr. Newin Orante, VPSS Dr. Luis Escobar, Dean Chris Gibson, Acting Dean of Counseling Ellen Murray and all of our academic deans, educational leaders, and support staff. Lastly, to the RTSB planning team who have tirelessly planned this event for the last 6 months along with the 50+ volunteers that made the event flow seamlessly.
From the words of one of our high school partners, “Being a Hip-hop scholar and educator, I have brought students to this event for almost a decade. The growth and encouragement I see from the students I have brought to experience this conference is priceless. They obtain a better understanding about how our culture can impact each person’s journey and growth. This is the only conference with a track record where Hip-hop is always represented well, the organizers genuinely care about the experience of attendees, and Hip-hop culture remains number one. Without this conference I know my work would be impacted. By showing youth the connection of Hip-hop and education, students gain so much knowledge on how to apply our culture in every area of life.” It truly takes a whole village to create this magic in the spirit of Hip Hop culture.
To learn more about Rock The School Bells, you can go to www.rocktheschoolbells.com. If you want to get involved for next year’s RTSB, please contact Dr. Nate Nevado at nevadon@smccd.edu.
Article by: Nate Nevado
Photos by: Mei Lee, David Nguyen, Jermaine Fletcher
