San José State students gathered at the Starbucks in the Student Union to listen and participate in the MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center Open Mic Night in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month Thursday evening.
MOSAIC is a division of Student Affairs on campus that seeks to achieve social justice by promoting understanding and communication among students, in addition to providing a safe environment inside the Student Union that celebrates diversity, according to its website.
About 50 students gathered to watch their fellow Spartans perform both covers of songs and original music.
MOSAIC Program Coordinator Cheska Dolor arrived at SJSU in July and helped organize the first Open Mic earlier in the semester.
“It was pretty easy to coordinate it,” Dolor said. “What I was surprised about was how many folks signed up the day of the event.”
She said she was surprised to see students sign up and perform a song after watching other students sing.
“This month is themed after Latinx Heritage Month, so we are celebrating Latino and Latina heritage,” Dolor said. “We want to really emphasize the talents of the Latinx community for this open mic.”
She said MOSAIC staff advertised the event by passing out flyers to other solidarity centers and students in the Student Union.
“It’s important to host this event on campus because it reduces the barrier of entry to performing at an open mic,” Dolor said. “You don’t have to leave campus and go to a place that doesn’t feel familiar.”
Dolor said students can feel more comfortable signing up and performing where they might have studied or met with friends the day before in a place like the Student Union.
Music education senior Kaelyn Howard performed a Kundiman song, a Filipino love song traditionally written and performed in Tagalog, and “The Weekend” by SZA.
“These open mics are important because they give people the opportunity to share their gifts,” Howard said. “Regardless of the experience you have, you have a space where you can explore what you want to share with others.”
Howard said she saw a friend perform at the previous Open Mic Night and wanted to participate in the second event.
Mathematics senior Yabets “Cheefy” Merid helped host both of MOSAIC’s Open Mic Nights, introducing performers and hyping up the crowd.
“I realized that the crowd was more nervous than me,” he said. “I might be up there like, ‘Oh my god-’ but I’m going up there asking people to show their talents . . . things they do behind closed doors, but in front of everybody.”
After shaking off his nerves, Merid said he started being more vocal and poured more energy into the audience.
“You never know who is super talented,” he said. “We’re all human beings so we are all kind of insecure, but you never know when you could be sitting next to the next Freddy Mercury.”
Merid said Open Mic Night was a chance to showcase and appreciate the talent that makes the open mic special to campus life.
“The vibes are always really good and fun,” Business analytics junior Jimena Lara said. “Everyone is always encouraging people to sing and it’s very welcoming.”
She said the open mics are a direct way for students to express themselves and share their favorite music.
“It’s a way for students to become braver,” Lara said. “Something like this takes a lot of courage and it’s inspiring.”
RTVF junior Max Martin has been a cultural programmer at MOSAIC for the past three years and joined after attending an Open Mic Night at the Student Union theater courtyard.
Coordinating with Christopher Yang, the director of MOSAIC, Martin said he set up a YouTube stream to record the event, prepared the microphones and helped establish MOSAIC’s table.
“One of the biggest ways that we get people to come to the open mic is Instagram,” he said. “If we market on the Instagram page in advance, a lot more people come.”
Martin said the Open Mic Nights serve as a means to relieve stress from school while making new friends and networking with the community.
“The audience getting excited and hooting and hollering is the best feeling,” he said. “That’s when this campus comes alive . . . when people are actually getting involved.”
