![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2019\/05\/Photo-Apr-13-6-57-01-PM-300x200.jpg\")
The L.A.-based artist Man One stands in front of the mural he painted at Palomar College in 2019.<\/p><\/div>\n
The Office of Student Success & Equity has also pioneered a variety of programs and partnerships, including the ongoing Student Equity Film Series and collaborations with San Diego State University\u2019s Equity Lab and other regional institutions.<\/p>\n
It has led student educational excursions to the Museum of Tolerance and Homeboy Industries, both in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
And it negotiated two \u201csignificant art installations,\u201d including the equity mural \u201cFuturo\u201d by Man One at the Student Union, as well as the Kumeyaay bird singer statues that are planned for installation in front of the Library\/Learning Resource Center (LRC). The sculptures were brought to Palomar through a partnership with Valley View Casino, and were created by Johnny Bear Contreras, a nationally recognized local artist who learned bronze working at Palomar College.<\/p>\n
Bringing National Thought Leaders to North County<\/h2>\n
Besides its often behind-the-scenes efforts, the Office of Student Success & Equity is widely known in the community for the Student Equity Speaker Series, which has brought a number of high-profile, nationally known leaders to North County.<\/p>\n
In March 2018, the lawyer and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson spoke to an audience of more than 1,000 people at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.<\/p>\n
The author of \u201cJust Mercy\u201d and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, Stevenson spoke about \u201chow we can support those among us who are lost in systems of oppression,\u201d Diaz recalled.<\/p>\n
Before his visit, she said, the college bought 1,500 copies of \u201cJust Mercy\u201d and gave them to faculty members who committed to reading the book with their students in preparation for hearing him speak. The event was free and open to the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents feel connected when they meet these impressive figures,\u201d said Diaz. \u201cI still get notes from students who have graduated and moved on: \u2018Bryan Stevenson really impacted me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Student Equity Speaker Series has also hosted Alex Montoya, a local motivational speaker who worked for the Padres, and Dolores Huerta, who co-founded United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.<\/p>\n
![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2018\/11\/DSC_2285-300x200.jpg\")
Robert Reich speaks at the California Center for the Arts in November 2018.<\/p><\/div>\n
In November 2018, following the wildly successful Stevenson visit, the UC Berkeley professor and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich spoke to some 1,200 people at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.<\/p>\n
\u201cInspiration is what changes lives,\u201d said Diaz, adding that it is especially important for those who feel disenfranchised or otherwise shut out of the higher education system.<\/p>\n
In particular, she said, the Stevenson engagement \u201cleft a lasting impression. In that one event, as a community college, we impacted the entire region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Transitions and Correctional Education<\/h2>\n
During the same semester as Bryan Stevenson\u2019s visit, Spring 2018, the first Palomar College professor walked into the Vista Detention Facility to teach a sociology class for inmates there.<\/p>\n
It was an early step for the now-thriving Transitions Program at Palomar, which provides instruction for incarcerated people at the Vista jail, as well as support on campus for formerly incarcerated students.<\/p>\n
Nora Kenney-Whitley, the program\u2019s coordinator, said that Correctional Education represents one of the most important frontiers in the fight against racism and inequality.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Vista, there are, at any time, 15 to 20 students taking credit-bearing, transferable courses, and working on their degrees while they\u2019re incarcerated,\u201d said Kenney-Whitley. \u201cWhen you look at that population, you can see that it reflects the disproportionate number of black and brown people who are caught up in the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2018\/11\/Transitions-1-of-1-300x200.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
The Vista Detention Facility.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s widely known that people from underserved communities\u2014people of color, and indigenous folks\u2014are arrested and sentenced at greater rates than their white counterparts,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
As an example, Kenney-Whitley cited the case of a student who received two life sentences for stealing a T-shirt from a local department store under the former Three Strikes law. When \u201cThree Strikes\u201d was overturned and he was released, the man went straight to college and is now a student at UC San Diego, and a partner to Palomar\u2019s Transitions team.<\/p>\n
The bottom line, she said, is that because of the racial disparities in arresting and sentencing, Transitions\u2019 work is antiracist work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much crossover between mass incarceration and racism,\u201d said Kenney-Whitley. \u201cMass incarceration is a racist system, so interrupting that system is key to social equity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Promoting STEM for Underserved Populations<\/h2>\n
Decades after the first academic moves toward racial equity at Palomar College, various leaders are still carrying the torch, opening doors for minoritized students in their disciplines.<\/p>\n
At the forefront of this movement is Dr. Mireya Gutierrez-Aguero, the Supervisor at Palomar\u2019s STEM Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cI genuinely believe\u2014and I think people are recognizing more and more\u2014that in every race and ethnicity, we have geniuses,\u201d said Dr. Gutierrez-Aguero. \u201cWe have geniuses who may not realize how talented they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she sees the disparity in terms of \u201cuntapped potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, as a country, who was STEM for? Basically, white men with money. That left out a lot of people,\u201d she said. \u201cAs we look to become creative and innovative, we truly need to work collaboratively in regard to including as many races and ethnicities as possible. We learn so much more from each other, rather than just giving opportunities to a few select people.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2018\/02\/Mireya-Gutierrez-Aguero-1-of-2-300x200.jpg\")
Dr. Mireya Gutierrez-Aguero at the Palomar College STEM Center, February 2018.<\/p><\/div>\n
Dr. Gutierrez-Aguero, who came to the college in June 2011, said that the STEM Center has been a hub of collaboration, serving some 1,900 students every year: \u201cIt was critical to us to make sure that, in our STEM Center, we created a space and a place of belonging for all students, regardless of their race, their gender, their socioeconomic status. The center is that place for students who dream of earning degrees in STEM.\u201d<\/p>\n
People of Color, she said, frequently encounter racism that takes the form of being encouraged to pursue other, less ambitious fields\u2014encountering teachers and others who don\u2019t believe in them.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the STEM Center, we send the message that this is for you,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you put in the effort, regardless of your race or ethnicity, this is something you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
STEM is especially important in reversing racial disparities because of the income potential it represents: \u201cThis is where the opportunities are, in terms of income,\u201d said Dr. Gutierrez-Aguero. \u201cWe know higher education provides that social mobility\u2014it is the great equalizer, so it\u2019s important for us to promote STEM. It\u2019s only fair to our entire community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople of color, and women, have been kept out of these disciplines. We are missing out on some of the most resilient people\u2014individuals who know how to persevere and figure things out,\u201d she added. \u201cBut these disciplines are for everyone. Anybody can succeed, given the right support system.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also said the college is working to streamline STEM Pathways by collaborating with four-year universities and other institutions \u201cto ensure students have access to opportunities to successfully transfer to their university of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Widespread Support for Antiracist Work<\/h2>\n
From student protests in the 1960s to bringing ESL and other services to local communities to making recent institutional changes in support of underserved students, the history of antiracism at Palomar set the stage for the widespread activity that would begin in 2020.<\/p>\n
The next story in this series will highlight the ongoing antiracist work that took on new urgency at Palomar in response to the national unrest prompted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
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This is part three of a series of stories examining the history of antiracism at Palomar College. Subsequent stories will appear on Palomar News, and in the index below, as they are published.<\/em><\/p>\n 1. Introduction and Story Index<\/a><\/p>\n 2. The Early History of Antiracism at Palomar College<\/a><\/p>\n 3. Opening the Campus Doors to Marginalized People<\/a><\/p>\n 4. A Deepening Commitment to Antiracism (current page)<\/p>\nSERIES INDEX<\/h3>\n