CHINA’S SILENT GENOCIDE

URUMQI

KASHGAR

MONGOLIA

TURPAN

CHINA

BEIJING

SHANGHAI

EAST CHINA SEA JAPAN

INDIA

200 miles

HONG KONG

SOUTH CHINA SEA PACIFIC OCEAN

THE SUN STAFF

Local refugees recount horrors of Xinjiang Province atrocities Uyhgurs Battle Extermination in China

BY ISRAEL DE JESSUS NIEVES Photo Co-Editor

China’s Uyghur minority is being systematically erased.

A trio of local refugees refuse to

comply.

Lost in the nightmarish news cycles of global pandemic, insurrection at the capitol and economic malady, the human rights tragedy of the 21st century has gone barely noticed.

Mustafa, Nurxat and Ali escaped the dystopian horrors of China’s Xinjiang Province for a new life in the American borderlands. Freedom comes with a cost, including gnawing worry about those left behind.

“It’s very hard to be Uyghur,” said Nurxat, with unintended understatement.

Mustafa, Nurxat and Ali (all pseudonyms) expressed happiness to be free from Chinese oppression in San Diego County, but great sadness at the systematic efforts by the Xi Jinping regime in China to obliterate the unique Muslim Uyghur culture and force an entire race to intermarry, assimilate or die.

Xinjiang Province is on the northwestern edge of China, far from the population and power centers, but not far enough. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has never been fond of the Muslim Uyghur minority, which comes from a different gene pool than the dominant Han Chinese race. It is also more religious than the largely secular dominant culture, though without any history of conflict or antagonism.

XINJIANG UNDER ASSAULT

In July 2009, the CCP ramped up its assault on the Uyghurs, horrifying human rights activists around the globe. Planet Earth’s political class, however, has mostly looked the other way. Money talks, critics complain, and China is an economic Goliath with trade entanglements on every continent. Even countries concerned about the plight of the Uyghurs seem afraid to rile the Chinese government.

Ali, like many Uyghurs, insists that his grievances are not against the Chinese people, but focused on the communist government of China. Like many Uyghurs, Ali said he has family in “re-education centers” that he called poorly-disguised concentration camps. International human rights organizations, including the United Nations Rights Council, estimate that between 1-3 million of the estimated 20 million remaining Uyghurs are confined to the camps or forced labor.

He fears for his family, he said, and longs to speak out on their behalf.

He dares not.

Uyghurs, he said, are conditioned to be cautious, even across the ocean from the CCP.

Ali has found unexpected moments of grace in America, he said, from unexpected sources. “My first history class in an American high school my teacher asked me where I was from and I said China. He looked at me and said ‘no you’re not,’” Ali recalled. “I said ‘I’m from China’ and he said ‘no you’re not.’ And then I understood what he was actually saying. I should stand up for who I am. It gave me goosebumps, bro. He was my favorite after that and we talked about a lot of things. He was an amazing person who changed my life.”

Ali said other Uyghurs live their lives like the early-high school version of himself. They

COURTESY TODENHOFF

are often conditioned through terror and intimidation to “become Chinese.”

“I’m not dissing any Asian-looking person, bro, but I don’t look like Chinese,” he said. “I’m not Chinese, I’m a different identity. I’m from a different culture.”

NO DISSENT TOLERATED

In China, Ali said, the CCP has total control of the state, education, and all news and entertainment media. Criticism of the government or President-for-Life Xi Jinping is not tolerated. Dissenters often disappear.

Scrutiny is even worse for the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, which may be the world’s most closely surveilled region. Cameras are ubiquitous and guard posts are found every few hundred meters. Ali described an Orwellian dystopia, a description shared by American, British and French news networks which have broadcast video of the Xinjiang network of spy cameras. Uyghurs are restricted from speaking their language or congregating. Dissenters are captured and sent to labor camps euphemistically called “economic opportunity centers.”

“Any sort of gathering with (10 people or more) is illegal,” he said. “Ten people are nothing in America. Like every birthday party has 10 people, right? (In Xinjiang, however,) 10 people (meet up) and they send swat teams, maybe 15 swat cars with four officers (in each car). Why?”

Public expressions of disagreement are met with overwhelming force, he said. “If even a small protest group of a few kids is marching down a lane of the roadway, a line of 16 or 17 heavy artillery military in tanks will shoot them all down,” he said. When Ali first came to America, he said, it seemed surreal. He experienced freedoms he did not have in Xinjiang. Even so, he worries that the CCP is watching. He is careful about what he says and does around Chinese or Mandarinspeaking people, even in San Diego County.

“They take your name, your language, your race away,” he said. “They take your family members. They take your men away, your women away. They take away your ability to have kids.”

China’s antipathy toward the historicallypeaceful Uyghurs is undeserved, Ali said. “Why to that extreme, bro? Why to that extent?” he said. “Are we some kind of a werewolf or something that they need to kill off? Are we gonna have super powers and explode all over them?”

UYGHER FACT

The Uygher people represent 1 of the 55 ethnic minorities living in China.

COURTESY COLEGOTA

BLOOD FOR OIL — Escapees from Xinjiang Province say China's Communist government is engaged in a comprehensive effort to erase the Muslim Uyghur minority through interbreeding, sterilization, imprisonment in forced labor camps and genocide.

EDUCATION AS “BRAINWASHING”

Chinese education system, while Nurxat was raised in a Uyghur education system. They both agreed the systems are nothing alike.

Mustafa said as a child he was “brainwashed” into rejecting his Uyghur identity and conforming to the orthodoxy of the CCP. Nurxat said differences were easy to see, including disparities in maintenance and upkeep of Chinese schools versus Uyghur schools.

Mustafa immigrated to America in 2015. A few years later he returned to visit China, he said, and saw a new world he did not know. His parents had tried with prescriptive subtlety to warn him during video conversations over “We Chat.” He said he missed obvious signs that the situation in Xinjiang was not safe. When Mustafa flew into Xinjiang, he said, he was detained at the airport and questioned for hours by Chinese officials. On the same day his family received a call from the police ordering Mustafa to the police station. Mustafa said he was questioned extensively about his life in America. He was compelled to surrender his passport to CCP officials. He stayed for two months, unable to leave until he and his family bribed Chinese officials to return his passport. He feared he would be sent to a concentration camp and “disappeared.”

“Thanks to Allah,” he said. “I was so lucky. I made it out.”

Nurxat described a similar grilling and harassment after he had traveled to Turkey. He was questioned as though he were a Muslim terrorist, he said, which was an unnerving experience.

FAMILY LEFT BEHIND

Mustafa and Nurxat both said they have family members in concentration camps, some they know are alive and some they have lost contact with. Both said they feared a similar fate if they remained in China.

Mustafa said he and Nurxat consider themselves extremely fortunate and thrilled to be in the United States. American freedom has allowed him the opportunity to finally feel human, Mustafa said.

Nurxat agreed.

“I’m free now and I’m happy,” he said.

Ali confessed that he is often overcome with worry about his people in Xinjiang Province.

“For me, there is an overwhelming sadness and (feeling that) there’s no hope when it comes to my people if we are invisible,” he said.

“They behead people and put their heads on sticks for others to see,” he said. “They keep people in cages that are only three feet high so you can’t stand up. There is water dripping all the time so their skin is always wet. Cold water dripping on you constantly until your skin gets (diseased) and starts ripping off.”

Heightened global attention to the Uyghurs’ situation is encouraging, Ali said. It is, he said, a small, but hopeful move in the right direction.

“That’s something I’m super happy (about), that people actually know who we are,” he said.

Nurxat said he also fears for the Uyghurs living today in Xinjiang and other parts of China. A global Uyghur diaspora watches in sadness as a great culture is being crushed, he said.

“You can lose every single thing in your life (and survive),” he said. “You can lose your money, your family, your brothers, but you cannot lose your identity. If you lose your identity, you are nothing.”

Refugees:Tijuana river bank jammed with immigrants

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

frigid concrete, hungry and scared. They shiver through nights in the 30s, choke back nauseating wafts of nearby raw sewage fermenting in the sun and wolf down meager bits of food offered by visiting humanitarian groups.

Even so, they are hopeful, Eugenia said, because after two years of no action, the line has slowly started to move. The Trump Administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy has not been officially overturned on a large scale, but refugees are beginning to get long-awaited hearings.

Still, it is a glacial process. Patience and survival skills are required to make it through long stretches of anxiety and boredom punctuated by moments of panic. Many have given up and left, returning to dire circumstances and even death.

Gloria Delgado clings to hope in Tijuana after surviving hopelessness in Guadalajara. She is sheltering at nearby Casa de Luz and volunteers to serve breakfast along the canal every morning. She said the shelter has been a House of Light, giving her a purpose and sense of belonging.

Delgado fled Guadalajara five months ago after her husband died, she said.

“He left me a house, but his family turned against me,” she recounted with a trembling voice. “I lost everything. They threw me out at gunpoint like an animal from my own home.”

Ana Uribe is Delgado’s neighbor in the claustrophobic colonia of tents. She, her seven children and other family members wedge into one tent together like a package of chorizo franks. Relief agencies that bring food and supplies also bring chaos and sometimes unintended violence.

“When the (humanitarian) organizations come to the area to give out food, all order is lost,” she said. “People get out of control, they push and shove each other.”

Charitable distributions intended for the refugees inevitably attract other poor people from Tijuana, who aggressively insert themselves into the aid lines. Eugenia said there is rarely enough food for everyone.

One of those competing for food and supplies is Gustavo, a former carrocero (auto body mechanic) from Honduras. He made an epic 3,200mile trek from Central America through Mexico to land in Tijuana, mere meters away from el norte where Protection Protocols cases.

“Every day we wait is one more day we prolong their agony,” he said. “We must address this situation with the urgency it requires.”

Michelle Celleri, an attorney with the Human Rights Council of Alliance San Diego, said gaining an asylum hear is an arduous and confusing process for refugees who speak Spanish, Mixtec, Garifuna, Miskito, Sumo, Pech, Jicaque or other Indigenous languages. Logistics are complicated due to the “Remain in Mexico” rules that can make it difficult to locate migrants who have appointments to give them revised information or date changes. Hearings are frequently rescheduled without informing the refugees, she said, who are then scratched off the waiting list as no-shows.

“Border Customs personnel have to coordinate with the shelters in Mexico after asylum seekers are put into the system to figure out the date each person will go to the border,” she said.

Celleri said asylum seekers can fall through the cracks through no fault of their own and never get a hearing. COVID-19 protocols amplify the difficulty, she said, requiring testing and other medical considerations before refugees can cross the border. Refugees are turned away if they or their children have chickenpox, measles or other childhood diseases which are rampant in Tijuana’s shelters and tent city. Those fortunate to be allowed to cross must self-quarantine for two weeks.

Until his appointed time with la migra, Gustavo continues to stroll the colorful squatter’s village on the colorless concrete of the Tijuana River, waving his azure Biden flag as if hoping to be spotted from the air and rescued by archangeles or the United States Marines. He may not be far off. Department of Homeland Security officials report that the influx of refugees along the Mexican border has become unmanageable and may require flying asylum seekers to border processing stations along the Canadian border.

Rumors blow through the camp like the cool spring breeze off the Pacific, some based in fact, others tales of fantasy. While the Americans in Washington D.C. and San Diego devise their plans, another day rolls by in the camp wedged between the river and the wall. Eugenia herds her seven niños like unruly puppies careening in every direction. Gloria prepares the next day’s desayuno, while Ana brushes out her familia’s tent with a disintegrating Tom Petty t-shirt.

Hope survives, but the waiting is the hardest part.

ARANZA GUTIERREZ / STAFF

his dreams of peace and freedom reside. He escaped the rampant organized crime of Honduras where armed gangs extort “protection” money from farmers and small businesses.

Gustavo waved a sky blue Joe Biden campaign flag much as Mexicans fly banners of la Virgen de Guadalupe, a standard of hope and deliverance during times of conflict.

“We want to get away from the criminal gangs like ‘Los Mara’ because we want to work with honesty and integrity,” he said. “The gangs don’t let us do our work. They demand a war tax. If you refuse to pay their tax, they kill you.”

Murder is practically a cottage industry in Honduras, he said, and good people are victimized by gang members and local police, who line their pockets with bribes to look the other way or to handle the murders themselves. Tijuana is also a terribly dangerous place for Central American refugees, he said.

“Staying in Tijuana is like being in Honduras because there is a great deal of violence here as well,” he said. “Migrants are not safe in Tijuana. We are not treated fairly or with compassion. There is racism towards Hondurenas here in Tijuana.”

Gente Unida volunteer Adolfo Mercado said Gustavo is right. Poor Central Americans are too often treated with disdain by Mexicans and rejected by U.S. officials. Mercado is working at the Pro Amore Deo shelter in Tijuana, as well as shelters and

ARANZA GUTIERREZ / STAFF

SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR AWAY — Refugees huddled in Tijuana’s tent settlement are within sight of their goal—the U.S.A.—but stalled by Trumpera immigration policies. Rows of tents (top) line the north edge of the Tijuana River canal. Gustavo, a Honduran refugee (above, said he is hopeful the Biden Administration will give him a hearing.

aid stations in San Diego. Asylum seekers have suffered greatly under the “Remain in Mexico” policy, he said. Gente Unida, an American human rights organization founded by Enrique Morones, has been advocating for migrants since the rise of the restrictive immigration policy Operation Gatekeeper in 1994. Mercado said the situation along la linea remains desperate.

“As a human and as a patriot it breaks my heart to see how ugly and how nasty we can treat our neighbors,” he said. “These are people who live next door to us. We need to respect and honor them.”

Mercado said while Trump was denying that coronavirus was a problem in the United States, he concurrently used it as an excuse to slow walk or freeze Migration

Sanchez: New college president encouraged by a Chicano legend

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

from Southwestern College in 1989, a young man from a working class family with nine children. His mother was a librarian at Logan Elementary School, he said, and his father was a construction worker with a sixth grade education, “a man of honor” who cared deeply about his family.

“I always like to give honor to our ancestors and the sacrifices of the people who paved the way for the next generation to have access to education (and) opportunities,” he said. “For gente, that didn’t always exist.”

Sanchez said he understands the struggles of SC students because he struggled, too. Time management was a challenge for a young man taking 14 units, working at the Boys and Girls Club, and helping at home.

“What I had to deal with in terms of time management is nothing compared to what many of our students have to deal with today,” he said. “(Some are) raising children, working full-time, managing a lot of responsibilities.”

Two professors who were essential role models to young Sanchez were Phil Saenz and Alejandro Orozco. They were always there when he needed help, he said, and also invited him to Friday afternoon basketball games.

“What it really meant to me was that faculty took the time to do something meaningful with students outside of the classroom,” he said. “That was so powerful for me (even) 30 years later. I’ll never forget that experience.”

In 1993 Sanchez earned his AA degree from SC in general studies and transferred to UC Santa Barbara. Like many young Latinos struggled being away from home, he said. He returned to San Diego and completed a sociology degree at Point Loma Nazarene University. Next he earned Master’s and Doctorate degrees from Fresno State University. He said it was enlightening to study in the Central Valley because it gave him a perspective on education for underserved communities.

“The (Central Valley has) history that is so important,” he said. “The work that was done with farmworkers and farm workers rights by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and many of the pioneers who fought for social justice and human justice.”

After completing his Master’s, Sanchez moved to Salinas to work at Hartnell College. Living and working in the lettuce growing hub taught him about the living conditions of farmworkers, he said.

“Some Hartnell College students actually worked in the fields in the morning, took classes later in the afternoon, and studied at night,” he said. “To see that level of commitment from the students and their families (gave me) a humbling perspective of the sacrifices people have to make to accomplish their goals.”

Sanchez said he is humbled to work at his alma mater and is committed to see the college thrive.

“Anything is possible if you work hard and believe in yourself,” he said. “Don't ever give up on your dreams.”

Holtville: Human rights advocates blame outdated immigration laws

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

of a tractor trailer and an SUV packed with 25 people was very emotional. Morones said migrants are fleeing hunger, conflict, violence, economic issues and structural violence in the government or society.

“They are not here because they want to be, but because they have to be to survive,” he said. “Had these people been Canadian or white, there would be a completely different reaction, but since they are people of color, the reaction is ‘why was the smuggler driving so fast?’ instead of ‘why is this happening?’ We need to rise up and say ‘no more deaths.’ This has got to stop.”

Morones said he found it suspicious the Border Patrol had video footage of both vehicles driving through a breach in the border wall, but did not pursue them. He said it is highly unusual that one of the vehicles simply caught on fire. He said he thinks there was pursuit.

“We have heard countless times where the first thing the Border Patrol says is ‘we weren’t chasing and we had nothing to do with it,’” said Morones. “Oh really? You had nothing to do with it, but one suddenly caught fire and the other got hit by a semi. Those things just happen like that? I don’t think so.”

Morones called for a thorough investigation.

“Justice is not blind when it (comes) to people of color, they get treated in a totally different manner,” he said. “We have seen this over and over again with Black Lives Matter, the attacks on Asians, Latinos and gays. They are treated as second-class people. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We need to raise our voices every single time.”

Martin Eder of Activist San Diego said it was important to recognize the debt Americans owe to immigrants due to the economic contributions they make as workers and entrepreneurs. He said the United States needs just immigration reform.

“(We) recognize the humanity of every human being and their right to seek a better future for themselves and their families,” he said.

Luis Vega of the Human Rights Coalition of Tucson, Arizona, said the crash near Holtville was not an isolated event. Mass casualty accidents occur along the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas with alarming frequency, he said.

“We must not tolerate one more death,” he said. “This is a sad situation where families are divided and the human rights of immigrants are not respected.”

Vega called for elected officials to pass immigration reform.

Morones agreed. He said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pledged an immigration reform bill in their first 100 days in office. He said Biden made a commitment to stop the border wall funding, to reunite families and to allow asylum seekers to wait in the United States, which he has done.

“These are very important issues and I know he wants to do it, but we have to be vigilant and we have to let him know we are watching,” said Morones.

Undocumented immigrants and essential workers must not continue to live in fear and hide in the shadows, Morones said. Holtville has a special place in his heart, he said, and he regularly leads visits to the pauper’s graveyard filled with the remains of unidentified migrants. Immigrants do not necessarily want to settle in the United States, he said, but they seek somewhere safe. There are 250 million undocumented people in the world, he said, 240 million of which are seeking refuge in countries other than the United States.

Gloria Saucedo of Coalición Quiero Mi Green Card said most immigrants are essential workers that pay taxes and labor in perilous conditions, including critical work throughout the coronavirus pandemic crisis harvesting crops, preparing food, working grocery stores and many other critical tasks.

“It is very important that our immigrant community of essential workers obtain their permanent residency,” she said. “They can then purchase vehicles and car insurance, and no longer have to travel in unsafe conditions.”

Franciscan Friar Adolfo Mercado said every human being is God’s child, regardless of their passport, birth place, faith or marital status.

Morones agreed.

“Society is judged by how we treat our children and we have to demonstrate love.”

The mission of the Southwestern College Sun is to serve its campuses and their communities by providing information, insights and stimulating discussions of news, activities and topics relevant to our readers. The staff strives to produce a newspaper that is timely, accurate, fair, interesting, visual and accessible to readers. Though The Sun is a student publication, staff members ascribe to the ethical and moral guidelines of professional journalists.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

Julia Woock

Senior Editor

Matthew Brooks

Senior Staff Writer

Andrew Penalosa

News Editor

Bianca Huntley Ortega

Campus Editor

Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo

Viewpoints Editor

Anissa Durham

Arts Editor

Aranza Gutierrez Cortes

Sports Editor

Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo

Photo Editors

Israel de Jessus Nieves Matthew Gomez

ASSISTANT EDITORS

Itati Faddis Kaitlyn Greer Maria Herrera-Ibarra Paulina Nunez Edgar Ortega Kinya Savedra

STAFF WRITERS

Alexia Cano Jennielyn Cato Janae Earnes Yahir Ibarra Victoria Rietz Naylhea Serrano

STAFF ARTISTS

Baby Bonane Ji Ho Kim

Assistant Adviser Kenneth Pagano

Adviser

Dr. Max Branscomb

AWARDS/HONORS

National College Newspaper Hall of Fame

Inducted 2018

Student Press Law Center

National College Press Freedom Award 2011, 2018

National Newspaper Association

National College Newspaper of the Year 2004-2020

Associated Collegiate Press

Pacemaker Awards 2003-06, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012-2017, 2019, 2020 General Excellence 2001-20 Best of Show 2003-21

Columbia University Scholastic Press Association

Gold Medal for Journalism Excellence 2001-20

College Media Association

National College Newspaper of the Year, 2020

California College Media Association

Outstanding Community College Newspaper

San Diego County Multicultural Heritage Award

California Newspaper Publishers Association

California College Newspaper of the Year 2013, 2016, 2020 Student Newspaper General Excellence 2002-20

Society of Professional Journalists

National Mark of Excellence 2001-20 First Amendment Award 2002, 2005

San Diego Press Club

Excellence in Journalism 1999-2020 Directors Award for Defense of Free Speech 2012

Journalism Association of Community Colleges

Pacesetter Award 2001-18 Newspaper General Excellence 2000-2021

American Scholastic Press Association

National Community College Newspaper of the Year, 2020

XIOMARA VILLARREAL-GERARDO / STAFF

Sanchez feels like breath of fresh air following Southwestern Inquisition

America is under new management.

So is Southwestern College.

President Dr. Kindred Murillo retired after three years. Hardworking and sensitive, Murillo seemed ready to pass the baton. The Editorial Board thanks her for always meeting with our reporters, taking our emails and calls, and finding time in her busy schedule for a standing appointment with the Editor-in-Chief. She seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time with students and she had a clear command of the workings of the California community college system.

Murillo and her team did some of their best work during the pandemic crisis of 2020. Last March 10, SC was the first California community college to announce it was closing in an effort to flatten the coronavirus curve. She and her management team were in a disorienting situation with no playbook. There were a few missteps, but a great deal of innovation and a wholesale effort to assist struggling students. Southwestern took its rightful place as a community hub in service of its citizens.

Murillo also gets points for her dedication to leading uncomfortable discussions about racial tension and student equity. She inherited an extremely difficult and volatile situation, and managed to keep the train on the tracks. The jury is still out as to the impact of these efforts and her mishandling of the spring 2019 ASO elections sent a confused message to students. There is a lingering feeling that she played favorites and scapegoated the wrong employees.

Communication was a priority for Murillo and her “Things to Know” emails were richly informative, often thought provoking and sometimes TMI. We appreciated the effort she made to write and compile these messages.

Her legacy in other areas is mixed.

Things we hope disappear with Murillo are the infamous Southwestern Inquisition and her opacity. Murillo seemed boastful about the number of investigations she launched — close to 100 — and the attorneys she hired to grill employees. There were, of course, some bad apples to be dealt with, but Murillo cast an overly-wide net that was often hurtful and damaging to completely innocent people. It is sad to think that she spent tens of millions of the taxpayers dollars on out-of-town lawyers while we face 10 percent cuts to the 2021-22 class schedule.

For all her talk of openness and transparency, Murillo was far too secretive and had streaks that were undemocratic. She sicced the college’s lawyers on The Sun to block the release of a 2013 investigation into former Police Chief Michael Cash who fired his gun on campus, narrowly missing three employees. Murillo beat us and the community on a technicality when we missed a remote court filing deadline during the March coronavirus chaos. Perhaps at a later date the new president will lift the veil of secrecy and release the report.

We welcome home Dr. Mark Sanchez, a local boy made good who seems like a breath of fresh ocean air. A Barrio Logan kid and one-time Southwestern student, Sanchez on first glance appears friendly, relaxed and in touch with the community.

A recent minor campus dustup provided insight into his leadership style. When a faculty member made an uncharitable comment about a colleague during a zoom meeting Sanchez was on, he showed wisdom and grace. Rather than summon an investigator and hold the Sword of Damocles over the head of the offender, he gathered the parties together for a good old-fashioned talk to clear the air. The matter was resolved quickly, professionally and with nary an attorney fee.

There are a few things we would like to ask Dr. Sanchez to consider. We need more responsive counselors (or perhaps more counselors). We need more mental health support for students and employees. We need Golden Four classes and sections required for transfer. We need an ASO that is more professional and plays by the rules. We need modern programs for Women’s Studies, Chicano Studies and LGBTQ Studies. We need a multicultural center.

We also need a way forward out of the COVID fog and uncertainty buffeting higher education.

These are substantial tasks and we wish Dr. Sanchez and his crew godspeed.

The Issue: Dr. Kindred Murillo deserves credit for addressing racial tension and for supporting students during the COVID-19 crisis.

Our position: Dr. Mark Sanchez, on first glance, brings a relaxed leadership style to a stressed and high-strung campus.