Unspoken Intersections of Immigration

The Chancellor's Undergraduate Intern for the CoCurricular Programs Office in College Ten is responsible for leading a project every quarter that revolves around the college’s theme of Social Justice and Community. For Winter quarter, the CUIP, along with eight student peers, were responsible for organizing a College Ten class called CLTE-85: Social Justice Issues Workshop. The CUIP was responsible for constructing the curriculum for this class which included topics such as socialization, intersectionality, toxic masculinity, anti-blackness, queer issues, and undocumented issues. Additionally, the CUIP was responsible for inviting experienced faculty to discuss these topics with the student enrolled in CLTE-85. Meanwhile, eight student peers hired by the CoCo were responsible for facilitating weekly discussions around these topics in one of the four sections offered.

As part of CLTE-85: Social Justice Issues Workshop, the CUIP managed a large scale event hosted in the College Ten Multipurpose Room which was organized by the teachers and students of each section. This year, the CUIP, alongside the student facilitators, decided to make this large scale event a fundraiser for Black Alliance for Just Immigration - Oakland. For this event, each class was responsible for doing research and presenting on two multiplarginalized experiences within the undocumented community. The topics that were chosen by the students and teachers of each class were the following: UndocuBlack, Undocumented and Disabled, Undocumented Queer & Trans, Healthcare access of Undocumented People, Unaccompanied Minors, Undocumented Central Americans, Undocu-Indigenous, Undocu-Muslim, and Undocumented Asian Pacific Islander. Throughout the event, people were able to see displays and engage in activities made for these topics. Furthermore, to participate in our fundraiser, people were able to buy food at the event and participate in a raffle. This year, we were honored to have two amazing keynote speakers at our event. Our first speaker was, Valentin Lopez, the Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal League who spoke about indigeneity, migration, and the role of students in our fight for liberation. Our second speaker was Alan Pelaez Lopez, who spoke about their intersectional experience as Black, Queer, (Un)documented, and Indigenous and the failures of a single-dimensional immigrant rights movement. By the end of our fundraising event, we were able to fundraise $675 for BAJI-Oakland.

Events like these are an integral part of the community in College Ten. Throughout the quarter, students were able to experience organizing a large scale event by being part of committees such as publicity, tabling, fundraising, work sessions, or working on research. Students were also able to explore social justice topics and their nuance in order to start thinking critically about the society we live in. Opportunities like our CLTE-85: Social Justice Issues Workshop will hopefully be a catalyst for an interest in becoming involved in College ten and/or continuing becoming involved in organizing events like these in our overall campus community.