Cherry Blossom Festival to celebrate Japanese culture, life and legacies of former faculty members

By Joshua Flores • March 27, 2024

View of the cherry blossom trees at the Student Services Plaza in front of the Social Justice Center on Tuesday, March 26. The Cherry Blossom Festival will take place in the Student Services Plaza on Tuesday, April 2 from noon to 1 p.m. (Joshua Flores | The Union)

The 24th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, hosted by the Social Justice Center at the Student Services Plaza, will celebrate the contributions made by former employees of El Camino College on Tuesday, April 2 from noon to 1 p.m.

The annual festival celebrates the life and contributions of Nadine Ishitani Hata, former vice president of academic affairs at El Camino.

The festival will include a taiko or drum performance by Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko LA, haiku reading by students and complimentary Japanese snacks.

“As the [Social Justice Center] was being established, the students who were involved in proposing the center really wanted to create a space where different voices and identities were highlighted on campus and celebrated,” Coordinator for Student Equity and Achievement Village Monica Delgado said.

This led to the Social Justice Center becoming the host of the festival last year. Delgado said that the center is not the sole proprietor of the cultural heritage celebrations on campus, just that they are the ones who are trying to get everyone to work together on the events.

This year’s festival will also be celebrating another former faculty member of El Camino, Gloria Miranda, who was the former dean of the behavioral and social sciences department.

The college is holding a memorial service for Miranda in the East Dining Room above the Bookstore on May 8 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Delgado said a scholarship fund, the “Dr. Gloria E. Miranda Student Scholarship,” has been established in her honor.

Miranda was also a former student of Nadine Hata’s husband, Donald Hata, at California State University Dominguez Hills. Donald Hata donated $10,000 to the scholarship in her honor.

“The Cherry Blossom Festival…is a way to bring honor in everyone and their legacies together, so it’s nice that we’re continuing this event,” Delgado said. “It’s a chance not just to highlight Japanese culture,… but also have this way to highlight some of the past leaders and the work toward diversity, equity and inclusion that they brought to this campus.”