Center plans semester of diverse events

Faces of all colors, all designs and all emotions cover the walls of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. On paintings and sketches, these faces create a montage of human pain, pride, beauty, glory, restlessness and unity.

"(The human experience) is right here in the artwork. I feel it," Assistant Director Shar Marbury said of the art that adorns the center's walls. "It's all about people and what's translated in the faces."

The cultural center's events for this semester celebrate the human diversity that its interior decorating promotes.

"One of our goals is to provide a forum within the University for a variety of cultural and intellectual opportunities for all students," center Director Lawrence Young said.

In addition to co-sponsoring many University programs, the center will also present two one-person performances and a Motown review, Marbury said.

First, Schwab Auditorium will house Faces of America, a Generation X look at multiculturalism, according to information provided by the cultural center.

A one-woman show, Faces of America presents eight characters who each represent diverse cultural aspects of American society.

"(The play is) about successes and failures, trials and triumphs, of all the people that make up the salad bowl that is America," Young said.

Another one-woman show entitled If Only The Strong Survive What Happens to the Weak? will be presented in March at the cultural center to coincide with Women's History Month, Marbury said.

Performed by Moniqué Porter, the story revolves around a young black woman's struggle to grow up in the inner city projects and pursue her dreams, according to the cultural center.

"We wanted (Porter) because she does the trials and tribulations of African-American women," Marbury said.

In a change of pace, the cultural center will present Loni Gamble & Co. in April at Schwab.

The event is an entertaining retrospective on the music of Motown, Young said, but it is also an educational event.

"Besides being a group of talented musicians, they also provide a history lesson," Young said. "The influence of Motown is universal."

In addition to the cultural center's main events, the center will also present films, lectures and discussions during February, Black History Month, Young said.

The cultural center's events should be utilized by all University students, he added.

"I think some students come to Penn State and feel that the Paul Robeson Cultural Center is only for students of color," he said, "but we have something of value here for all students."