College Ten's Social Justice Issues Workshop Fundraiser 'March 4Ward for Educational Equality'

During Winter Quarter, the students of CLTE85: Social Justice Issues Workshop, a peer-to-peer led course at College Ten, explored the multi-faceted aspects of educational inequality. Student facilitators designed lesson plans that provided hands-on activities to address topics such as access to funding, the achievement gap, school to prison pipeline and the need for youth empowerment. 

         For their final project, the students of this course worked together to organize a fundraiser that would benefit a local non-profit organization in Santa Cruz. The non-profit organization chosen was Barrios Unidos, which among their services provides at-risk youth with alternatives to violence through educational support and after-school programs. 

The way in which students fundraised for this organization was by creating a large scale event called March 4Ward for Educational Equality. Students invited Dr. Darrick Smith, a professor at the University of San Francisco and a youth-advocate to provide the keynote address for the event. Each of the four class sections set up a booth with games and crafts for participants to learn more about how educational inequality is a result of systematic inequalities. These interactive booths creatively sparked conversations about topics like the achievement gap and the school-to-prison pipeline. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about how Barrios Unidos' youth empowerment and violence prevention programs benefit students in Santa Cruz County. In addition to the keynote address, this event included performances by singer Gina Rene and student spoken word artists CJ Ocampo and Fortino Vasquez Hernandez Jr. The students of CLTE85 ended the quarter with the feeling of success and an ignited passion for social change!