Inaugural Changemaker Fellowship Launches
by Jessica Scadron
Southern California College Access Network (SoCal CAN), a founding college access and success organization of uCANRise, kicked off their inaugural Changemakers fellowship with a two-day training in Los Angeles last month. Thirty students representing 15 Southern California schools including Cal State Long Beach, LA City College, LA Trade Tech, UC San Diego and others, accepted into the program, attended an intensive two-day advocacy and skills-building training led by seasoned student advocates and experts from academia, community organizations, and college and success organizations.
Students who applied to the program did so to learn how to be advocates and leaders for change on their campuses and in their communities. While not all of the student fellows experience injustices and inequities on their campuses, they want to support their peers who do.
During the sessions, fellows studied the history and importance of activism in California. They looked at educational equity issues like food insecurity, homelessness and college affordability to understand steep challenges many underrepresented students face while trying to get an education. They learned how California’s higher education system is structured - who the key decision makers are and how to lobby them for new and improved legislation to reduce college costs and provide a basic needs fund for students who need it. They learned advocacy skills and strategies like how to lobby school administrators for change.
Early on day one of the training, nothing was more evident than the passion students showed for educational equity when they created and shared their visions for what they hoped to achieve as a result of the training. Aside from being a personal and inspiring activity where fellows practiced their public speaking skills and shared their dreams and aspirations, many stressed the importance of family, and as first generation students (91% of SoCal CAN students are first generation) breaking down barriers for their families to access equal education. Many talked about immigration and supporting immigrant communities to be part of our society without facing discrimination and prejudice. Others wanted to take their skills into their communities to fight the negative political climate and messages people spread about different populations. Some talked about how they want to empower women and advocate for more female leaders throughout society.
Fellows were treated to extraordinary sessions by some of society’s most effective and prominent advocacy leaders. Alberto Retana is the President and CEO of Community Coalition, a South Los Angeles-based organization that empowers residents to transform their communities, improve education, and reimagine public safety. Under his leadership, Community Coalition created the People First Platform, a comprehensive policy agenda informed by over 4,200 adults and youth, to equitably move resources to the highest need communities, envision a different criminal justice system, and transform the built environment in South Los Angeles. During the training, Alberto taught students the power and importance of community organizing when pushing for change. Students learned how to create community goals and action plans, and effective methods of community organization such as mobilization, grassroot movements, and direct action. The fellows will take this new knowledge back to their campuses to engage more students in advocating for college affordability, supporting underrepresented students, LGBTQ, or other issues they face at school.
Sasha Perez of Campaign for College Opportunity, an organization fighting to make public policy changes that will help more California students complete college, walked fellows through the full ecosystem of higher education in California - how it’s structured, how it works, key decision-makers, avenues for student representation, and how fellows can influence the decision-making process. Empowered with the knowledge to navigate the system, students will be equipped to push for a seat at the table, get involved in student government, meet with the Vice President of Student Affairs or the Dean of Students, and be the voice for students who want to eliminate discriminating practices like forcing students into remedial classes.
Understanding race on campus is vital to be an effective advocate. Liane Hypolite, a USC PhD student who studies race in the education system, shared the history of higher education as an establishment for upper-class white males. While times have changed, we have much further to go with the continued racial tensions and negativity many minorities still encounter on campus. As Dr. Hypolite shared at the training, “You have a purpose and responsibility above yourself.” With the insights Dr. Hypolite shared, fellows will be prepared to take on incidences that arise on campus like the white student who attended a fraternity party in black face earlier this year.
Equally important to the training was putting seasoned student advocates at the front of the room. Fellows participated in breakout sessions led by these advocates representing SoCal CAN, Cal State Student Association and others. Sessions included helping students create short videos explaining their visions for higher education in California, and mock lobbying school administrators on housing, mental health, undocumented students, Latinos students, and sexual assault on campus.
SoCal CAN created the 12-month Changemakers fellowship to transform Southern California’s colleges and universities by elevating student voices. With the belief that students are the most powerful agents of change, the fellowship will empower students to transform inequities on their campuses and in their communities when they return.
The year-long program will take students through a dynamic curriculum to understand issues impacting today’s diverse student population. At the same time, students will create advocacy strategies to create solutions to real-world student problems, such as racism and remedial classification. The program will help students continue to gain self-confidence and become the leaders they aspire to be.
At the end of the training, fellows will take the plans they created during the fellowship back to their campuses to implement the solutions and pass on the knowledge they learned during the year so they and their peers can pursue educational equity for all students.