Reflections on Cabrillo in a Post Prop 30 Landscape

By Adrianna Mee

The Cabrillo College Public Forum on Wednesday, May 15th was a huge success in many aspects - including as a social agenda and an educational agenda. Students, faculty, and community members all gathered together in one room to discuss the most critical piece to any society: education. Although we all may not have always agreed on approaches to the problems facing our campus (Student Success/MOOCS), we set our agendas aside to reach a common solution for the sake of Cabrillo and all of its people.

In times of uncertainty, passion springs from the most important of places. The student body and forum population was hungry, and panelists were eager to feed. Once a core language was found within the challenges facing our community college, forum members dispersed into small groups in order to brainstorm with each other about what a quality education should look like, what the processes are to reach that goal, and what services need to be available in order to make it a reality. This, by far, was the most inspirational event of the evening. There were people - who weren't forced or coerced - sprawled on the floor with large pieces of butcher paper writing in massive, readable letters how they viewed what is happening on campus and beyond. These people, who normally wouldn't meet in this environment, were mapping out a solution. This is grassroots at its VERY ESSENCE - in its purest form.

After the small breakout groups, we formed one large circle representing every diverse aspect of Cabrillo. Unanimously, we agreed to stay later than intended because discussion was so overwhelmingly welcomed. It's incredibly difficult to describe in detail the chain of these events  because this raw power isn't something that can be translated through text. The room was pulsing with student energy. This forum taught me such a valuable lesson. The reality that we live in is harsh, cruel, and unapologetic—sometimes it can feel like everyone is against you, but this just isn't the case. PEOPLE WANT ACTION—PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIAL CHANGE. We all want to be a part of something bigger and better so that we can leave the world a brighter place than we found it.

This will not be the last event that the CCFT Student Affiliate Chapter puts on, far from it. The passing of Prop 30 taught us that there is hope. A few passionate, hard working people can change the social and educational agendas. We must ride that momentum like a beautiful cresting wave, and when it finally peaks and crashes, we will have succeeded. Education reform is a long process that won't ever end, but as long as the student body is hungry, anything is possible.