The Visual Arts department at UCSD was where I studied and developed my passion for art. Not only did the coursework help me develop my artistic voice, the professors had a huge impact on changing my perception of what art really means in a broader spectrum. One of my professors, Ricardo Dominguez, has been causing quite a controversy around my former campus because of his style of artwork which centers around social action. The most recent incident centered around him rallying up some 200 students and faculty for a nonviolent protest while taking an informal vote of the crowd to decided if he should meet with Campus advisers. Dominguez, an expert in the emerging field of electronic civil disobedience, is being questioned about a previous virtual protest intended to disrupt the Web site of Mark Yudof, the president of University of California.
The "virtual sit-in" was organized online and caused the UC president's Web site to reload every time someone registered for the "event." In addition to the reload, the computer program would generate random messages on the site such as, "There is no transparency found at the UC Office of the President.” According to SignOnSanDiego, about 400 students, faculty and staff participated.
In my opinion Dominguez was providing a voice to all those people who are underrepresented in the UC system, students struggling with the budget cuts, increasing student costs and being affected by administrative priorities. I remember how expensive it was for me to attend UCSD so I can't even imagine what the costs are like now. Studying under Professor Dominguez was a once in a lifetime experience, teaching me that art is not just expressing yourself but standing up for what is right and what you believe in.
More on Professor Dominguez and his ongoing can be found at SignOnSanDiego.com
[image Nelvin C. Cepeda/ Union-Tribune]
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