VIEWPOINTSONLINE.ORG
VOL. XCVII, NO. 11
APRIL 6, 2017
Viewpoints is an Associated Collegiate Press two-time national Pacemaker award-winning newspaper, serving as the voice of the students since 1922.
Coming out
Cesar Chavez Day celebration KIMBERLY MARTINEZ @RCCviewpoints
CHRIS EDSON | VIEWPOINTS
Brayan Cruz, an Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Coalition organizer, explains his own journey as an undocumented person at City Hall on March 29.
“Coming Out of the Shadows” van arrives in Riverside and welcomes undocumented people to share their story IMARI REDE @RCCviewpoints
The Inland Empire chapters of the Immigrant Youth Coalition, Black Lives Matters and the Palestinian Youth Movement hosted a “Coming Out of the Shadows” rally in front of Riverside City Hall on March 29. “Coming Out of the Shadows” is the IYC’s 12-day caravan focusing on immigrant justice and surrounding issues within communities of color. The caravan will run from San Diego, up to Sacramento. Riverside was the third of nine stops on the caravan. “As the IYC, we stand for abolition. Abolition of borders, detention centers and oppressive systems. Today we come together in solidarity. We are interconnected and we have community power,” said Brayan Cruz, an Inland Empire IYC organizer and University of California Riverside student. The rally invited people to come out as undocumented and encouraged them to share their stories of incarceration, deportation and the struggles that come along with those experiences.
CHRIS EDSON | VIEWPOINTS
Yocelin Saucedo speaks to the crowd about the controversial Measure Z recently passed March 29 at City Hall. Part of the rally’s goal was to highlight community issues at each stop of the caravan. Yocelin Saucedo, a member of BLM Inland Empire shared community concerns of Riverside’s recently passed Measure Z. “Measure Z is a 1 percent tax that is to fund community needs. Money will be going to fund the police, essentially
militarizing them, buying weapons, cars, and body cams that can be turned off. We don’t need that. As a community, we need after school programs and homeless shelters, we need support,” said Saucedo. “Black and brown students need support. We need to be proactive and not reactive by ending the school to prison pipeline,” said Darrin Johnson, a local substitute teacher. A large focus of the rally was centered on ending incarceration of brown, black, queer and transgender people. John Perez shared the story of their detention as a genderqueer, black and undocumented Colombian. “Living with those intersections was scary, how could I be queer there?” said Perez. As the rally ended, the attendees and caravan participants closed with chants and words of solidarity. “Being undocumented is very scary and sometimes lonely. Navigating spaces like college and other institutions magnifies that feeling because these places were not built for people like us. I need to change that and that why we’re here. It’s beautiful to know I am not alone in this fight,” said Aurora Gonzalez, a Riverside City College student.
For Juliana Garcia, a Riverside City College student, the Cesar Chavez Day celebration hit home. “My great grandpa stood by Cesar’s side when they were walking. It’s important to be grateful of where our produce comes from,” Garcia said. RCC’s Diversity Committee and La Casa kicked off the three day event March 28-30 in honor of Cesar Chavez. The event started with the showing of the movie, “Cesar Chavez,” in the Digital Library. “This is something we should all learn,” Cecilia Alvarado, dean of student services, said. “It’s important to recognize people who make a difference. It’s a person, a hero we have to remember, like Martin Luther King Jr., what he did for his people. Same thing with Chavez. It’s something our new generation needs to remember. We have somebody who went out and did something for our community, a social justice hero.” The film portrays Chavez’s struggle as a field worker who fought for the rights of other field workers and eventually became a leader. Known for being a labor leader, Chavez has become a civil rights leader today. Benjamin Vargas, education advisor of La Casa, commented on plans for the next Cesar Chavez Day. “We plan on making the event bigger next year,” Vargas said. On March 30 the “From Fields to Faculty” discussion took place. The event included RCC faculty members Clarence Romero, associate professor of psychology and Ernesto Reyes, associate professor of mathematics, who spoke on their time as field workers. Jose Diaz, director of Upward Bound, helped facilitate the discussion. “It was great to hear their testimonials, their life stories, their background of how they made it. They are great role models for our students, for our people to say, ‘This is where I came from and look where I am today. Teaching you, giving you an education, helping you, motivating you,’” Diaz said.
Film showing
25th anniversary
Center of Social Justices and Civil Liberties among the groups to help sponsor ‘Undocumented’ film.
Riverside airshow ignites the skies in celebration of their annual show.
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