Opening the doors of opportunity School money for homework

PCC discusses remote learning resources

BY AURORA RIVAS

The Pierce College Council (PCC) on Oct. 21 explored ways to pay for new expenses brought by teaching from home. Math Department Chair Eddie Tchertchian wanted to talk about the additional money that could be used through Proposition 20, passed in 2000, which allocates state lottery funds for educational materials for public schools.

“It’s really the entire Pierce community that is working remotely,” Tchertchian said. “A lot of us are having a hard time with equipment, with connections, with bandwidth, with all kinds of technology.”

BY KARLA AVALOS

Immigration continues to be a controversial topic in the public opinion just as voters around the country cast their ballots during the current presidential election.

Leaders from the California Community Colleges and the Los Angeles Community College District came together to advocate for more aggressive support and resources for their students without legal immigration status.

Members of the community college system in California culminated the 1st annual Undocumented Student Week of Action Summit with an exchange of ideas and solutions to encourage and uplift these students in their pursue of higher education.

“We’ve had multiple activities this week all aimed at advocating, providing support, resource2s, awareness for our undocumented community not just here in LACCD, but indeed throughout California,” Francisco Rodriguez, LACCD Chancellor said. “We organized webinars and virtual panels that were directed to our students, faculty, counselors and administrators in our district and statewide.”

The LACCD represents the most significant number of undocumented students in a single district in the entire country.

“We serve almost 10,000 undocumented students in the LACC district. That’s more than the CSU and UC systems combined,” Gabriel

Buelna, member of the LACCD board of trustees said.

This fact presented the opportunity to create a movement that could reach as many students in the Los Angeles area as possible as the leaders attempt to tackle systemic racism within the community college system.

“This is a very important week for us. This is a week of action. This is a critical part of our language particularly when we are talking about higher education, about undocumented students, and about diversity, equity and inclusion,” Eloy Ortiz Oakley, California Community Colleges Chancellor said. “Action is a keyword that we have to place a focus on and to hold us accountable to.”

For the California community colleges there couldn’t be a starker motivator to address their students and offer them support given the considerable number of undocumented students in the Los Angeles district alone.

“We have the largest number of undocumented students of any higher education system in America. It is our responsibility to speak the loudest for our students,” Chancellor Ortiz Oakley said. “I'm very proud of the work that's happening here this week. It’s continuing to lead the way toward a better life for all of us by us creating a better opportunity for them, all of our lives are better.”

Supporting and providing resources for this community represents challenges specially when the federal government pushes back against the effort, but leaders like

California Governor Gavin Newsome and Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley are strong and outspoken allies of these students.

“Our board of governors has not only agreed that undocumented students should be a priority, but that they are very passionate about it. The last two governors that I have worked for, Governor Brown and Governor Newsom, have also been very supportive of our undocumented students as we recognize they are important for our future,” Ortiz Oakley said.

Undocumented students still suffer the stigma of not having the proper paperwork to be full-fledged citizens. But having allies in the higher education field becomes a ray of hope as they navigate their college education.

“We don't get to decide who comes to us for support, who comes to us for opportunity, and we are talking about opportunity for everyone regardless of what background they come from,” Chancellor Ortiz Oakley said. “And this week in particular, we are talking about undocumented students.”

Chancellor Ortiz Oakley stressed the importance of bringing down the stigmas and the judgment passed on these students who simply want to belong without fear or shame.

“These students make-up a large portion of our communities. Regardless of how they got here, regardless of your beliefs or positions on immigration policy, they are here, they are with us, they are part of our communities. They and their families are tremendous assets to our communities,” Ortiz Oakley said.

Investing in these students’ higher education is a win for their communities as many of these students will remain where they grew up and become part of California’s workforce, according to Ortiz Oakley.

“Our work is to take these assets, take these amazingly talented, committed & passionate individuals and give them opportunity. Opportunity to not only support themselves and their families, but opportunity for them to support our communities, our state, our country. To make us all better,” Chancellor Ortiz Oakley said.

In an effort to allocate CARE Act funds to all students in the state, Chancellor Ortiz Oakley sued Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education who wouldn’t allow the California Community Colleges to assist undocumented students with federal funds. Chancellor Ortiz Oakley won in court.

“It is not a vision for those of us who have opportunity, it is a vision of success for every student because every one of our students matters to our future. I’m very proud of the way our system has responded and very proud of the way in the face of this opposition from Washington D.C., we continue to protect and value our undocumented students. But they need more than protection. They need clear opportunity.”

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Modern languages professor Fernando Oleas explained that these funds could only be used for faculty to be able to work better remotely.

Oleas said that there are tools that he uses in his classroom that help him teach remotely.

Brian Walsh also wanted to talk about the obligations of Pierce’s administration in regard to Proposition 20.

Walsh said according to the faculty guild Article 9 B1-4, the district is obligated to provide faculty with a chair, plexiglas, desk, computer and internet connection.

“These are things that are not up for discussion in shared governance,” Walsh said. “This is not a democratic issue, this is just a legal issue in terms of the contract, and we have Article 28 to address that.”

He also explained that LACCD hasn’t found a proper way to take in these requests and reimbursements from the college.

“We do have to find resources to really make us all successful,” Walsh said. “Faculty of course, but everybody needs to have the tools at their now-home office to successfully serve students and to carry out the college’s mission.” arivas.roundupnews@gmail.com