CSU visits Vallejo congregation as part of minority recruitment
Times-Herald 2/19/07
The recruitment effort, dubbed "Super Sunday," sent administrators of the California State University to 18 predominantly black churches in Northern California - including Revival Center Ministries in Vallejo - in an effort to boost enrollment, especially among African-Americans.
Stressing the importance of education for all ages, Deborah Alexander, communications lecturer at CSU East Bay, addressed the local congregation before she and three colleagues held an open forum for the church's young members.
"I am not going to stand here and tell you your kids should go to college, because you know that, and you should go too," she said. College isn't only for the young, she noted, adding that one of her students is 80 years old.
"We all share a dream that more of our young people will get a chance to go to college," said CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, who spoke at Oakland's Acts Full Gospel of God and Christ Church. "We want all our children to get this chance."
About 6 percent of CSU's 400,000-plus students are black, compared to a state population that is about 7 percent black.
Reed said he's proud of CSU's diversity, "but I know that we all have more to do."
"Super Sunday," in its second year, drew a number of campus presidents as participants as well as Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, a member of CSU's Board of Trustees. He spoke at a church in Hayward.
In Vallejo, Alexander and other CSU representatives said churches are the perfect venue for driving home the importance of higher education to the entire family.
"We want to help the families understand how important education is, and hopefully that will trickle down to the kids," said Paul Wright, an assistant professor at CSU East Bay.
Local students asked a variety of questions about such subjects as the amount of tuition, types of programs offered and the possibility of going abroad to study.
For many high school students, entering college can be a confusing process, particularly when students are the first in their families to attend college, said Dean Peter Wilson of CSU East Bay. "Budget cuts K through 12 have just cut the hell out of high school counselors," he added, which can make it difficult to learn the nuts and bolts of college admissions.
Bryan Simmons, 16, a 10th-grader at Jesse Bethel High school in Vallejo, said the most difficult part about getting into college was "just knowing what to do, because I really don't even know where to start."
Simmons is considering CSU Northridge and would like to someday work as a stockbroker, he said.
CSU staff and church education liaisons have met monthly to develop ways to further reach out to the African-American community, including financial aid workshops and expanded distribution of college materials to students in grades six through 12 and their parents, according to a CSU statement.
One reason for low African-American enrollment is "historical racism," said Wright, who received a master's degree in social work at San Jose State.
"Financially, the family is unable to send their child to college," he said, adding that many minority families must deal with pressing economic realities while wealthier families can devote more time to planning their child's education.
At the end of the Vallejo forum, attendees picked up fliers and admissions materials. Among the displays were posters featuring many prominent African-American CSU alumni, including Willie Brown, the first African-American mayor of San Francisco, Valerie Morris, a correspondent for CNN business news, and actor Danny Glover.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.