Isn't education for all what is important, regardless of ethnicity?

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Students speak out on lack of Latino professors
By Lakiesha McGhee - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, May 5, 2007
Eric Alfaro realized about a year ago that something was bothering him about Woodland Community College.

Alfaro said he was among the few Latino students on path to transfer to a four-year university, while others were taking longer to graduate or dropping out of school.

As president of the student group Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, or MEChA, Alfaro encouraged others to seek answers.

What they discovered prompted a student protest and demand that the college hire more Latino instructors.

Latinos represent 44 percent of students at Woodland Community College, but the campus has never had a full-time Latino instructor during its 30-year history, according to the college's records.

Currently, there are 104 faculty members, which includes two Latino counselors and six part-time Latino instructors.

"We're not saying the professors we have are bad," Alfaro said. "But when you have Chicano professors, they know something that an Anglo professor might not."

College President Angela Fairchilds said the lack of Latino professors is not because of discrimination in hiring, but a lack of Latino applicants.

She supports students who want mentors who look like them and who better understand their situations.

"We share their concern about the lack of diversity among full-time faculty on campus, but we are constrained by law in how we can respond," Fairchilds said.

Job recruitment efforts are being improved to attract various ethnic groups and the college will "let the chips fall where they may," Fairchilds said.

Discussions about Latinos at California community colleges are occurring among educators statewide. They recognize a disturbing trend: the number of Latino college students is increasing as the population of Latinos in the state grows, but Latinos have the lowest rate of transfers to four-year schools among all ethnic groups.

Community colleges in California serve more students than any other sector in higher education. The colleges are often regarded as a first step toward a four-year degree and more earning power for low-income students and those learning English.

Rosa Perez, chancellor of San Jose Evergreen Community College District and a founder of the Latina Leadership Network of the California Community Colleges, points to national studies that suggest mentorships and faculty advisers are important factors in the success of Latino and African American students.

Failure may be linked to the elimination of affirmative action programs that provided mentorship and development programs, she said.

"When we went race blind, without a doubt, we started to see a decline in the number of Latino and African American graduate students and a lack of enforcement in hiring," Perez said.

She describes a cycle that involves fewer development programs for minorities on college campuses, a drop in Latinos graduating with master's degrees and fewer Latinos seeking or qualified for teaching positions.

"We can't turn things around on affirmative action, but we need to talk about what will lead to the success of these kids and base it on sound research," Perez said.

Perez will be among community college presidents, chancellors and trustees attending a conference today in San Francisco to identify more ways to entice Latinos into universities and into teaching jobs. A similar conference will take place later this month at the University of California, Los Angeles.

MEChA students at Woodland Community College fear their concerns will be dropped when their leaders transfer to other schools in the fall.

"This fight isn't just about the college," said Alfaro, 19. "We're doing this for the community. Many of us have lived here all our lives."

Student Irvis Orozco, 21, said the reason he became involved with MEChA was to encourage others. With the help of a mentor, Orozco was been accepted to transfer to the University of California, Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA and UC San Diego.

"In high school I was never encouraged to go to college. It seemed so unreachable to me," he said.

Woodland Community College is a small campus of about 2,600 students that serves parts of Yolo County and all of Colusa County. The college's enrollment is projected to increase 25 percent to 30 percent over the next four years.

Plans are under way to make the school an accredited institution, which will increase its state funding from $1 million to $3 million, said Art Pimentel, college spokesman.

The additional funding will allow the college to expand staff and programs. The school offers a Mexican American history course, and an expanded La Raza studies program is expected to help attract more Latino instructors.

Pimentel said accusations by students of discriminatory hiring are invalid because more than half of the classified staff, himself included, are Latino and so were previous high-level administrators.

"We're putting measures in places to promote the college as an employment destination," Pimentel said. "It all takes time, and we can't make these changes tomorrow."

Such efforts include:

• Distributing employment brochures to master's degree programs in the region and throughout the state. The brochures are designed to appeal to minorities.

• Developing an ethnic studies program that will include expanded La Raza studies. An ethnic studies position is expected to open in 2009.

• Developing a multicultural center in the college's new learning resource center.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/168458.html