CSU campuses plan own version of 'Super Sunday'

East Bay Business Times 2/13/07

Two weeks after the Super Bowl -- that festival of football and hype that's played on what's often called "Super Sunday" -- officials of Cal State East Bay and other CSU campuses plan their own very different version on Sunday, Feb. 18.

Their second annual "CSU Super Sunday" is an outreach to the African American community as part of an effort to increase the enrollment of black students at Cal State East Bay's campuses in Hayward, Concord and downtown Oakland, and at the other 22 locations of The California State University.

CSU officials say black students are underrepresented at their campuses, as well as at other universities around the state.

Led by Charles Reed, chancellor of The California State University, and Mo Qayoumi, Cal State East Bay president, officials will fan out to churches throughout the Bay Area to speak about the issue. They will appear during regular religious services in hopes of reaching not only prospective students, but their parents, relatives and other adults in the lives of youngsters who might influence educational choices. Those in grades six through 12 are of particular interest to CSU officials, who hope they can inspire middle and high school students to include college in their future plans.

Another speaker will be John Garamendi, California's Lieutenant Governor and a member of the CSU board of trustees.

On Feb. 18, seventeen churches in Hayward, Oakland, Richmond, Vallejo, San Francisco and San Jose will participate. One such session already occurred Feb. 11 at a church in Pittsburg, and another will be held Feb. 25 at a church in Richmond.

Churches have long been a center of religious, social and community activity in many black communities nationwide.

"Cal State East Bay and the other CSU campuses are deeply committed to reaching out to underserved students to ensure that they and their families know about financial assistance and how to become eligible for college," said Qayoumi in a statement. "Our recent rise in admission applications is a good sign that outreach makes a difference. That encourages us to keep getting out this message and develop new ways to reach out to the African American and other underserved communities."

Cal State East Bay officials say they feel last year's first "Super Sunday" outreach helped bring about a 12 percent increase in applications from black students for the fall 2007 quarter.