Second-year student Zora Williams is using her voice to bring more mental health and nutrition programming to San Diego Mesa College. Williams was elected president of the college’s Associated Students (AS) for the 2024-2025 academic year and serves as the college’s student representative on the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees.
Sometimes, you hear a story that makes you want to know more. Kevin Gonzalez has such a story. The last time this story was updated, San Diego Mesa College student Kevin Gonzalez was a 15 year-old heading off to Massachusetts to complete his high school education. In the ensuing years, he has travelled to the other side of the world, built houses, but remained in close contact with his Mesa College professors and connections he made while on campus.
The San Diego Community College District has appointed four new student trustees for the upcoming academic year. Dalia Ramirez (San Diego City College), Zora Williams (San Diego Mesa College), Hailey Hua (San Diego Miramar College), and Haydee Zuniga (San Diego College of Continuing Education), will be sworn in during the June 20 SDCCD Board of Trustees meeting.
March 7, 2019
San Diego Mesa College President Dr. Pamela Luster will visit Sacramento today to discuss the importance of addressing community college students’ basic needs such as food and housing insecurities and homelessness. The data presented by Dr. Luster is from The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice #RealCollege Survey for California Community Colleges. Dr. Luster co-chairs the Affordability Food and Housing Access Task Force that has made multiple recommendations towards addressing student needs.
Across California, concerns about college costs and affordability are widespread. Most research identifies community college students as a population particularly impacted by unaffordable college costs. Unfortunately, 7 in 10 students have experienced food insecurity, housing insecurity or homelessness in the previous year. Therefore, college leaders came together to collaborate around best practices, remove policy barriers, and to establish effective partnerships.
“In the fall of 2017, 44% of Mesa College students experience food insecurity, 46% experience housing insecurity, and 15% report as homeless,” stated Dr. Luster. “In the fall of 2018, those numbers increased to 47% being food insecure, 62% are housing insecure, and 18% reporting as homeless. Clearly, there is a need to address the basic needs of our students.”
San Diego Mesa College, via Student Success and Equity, offers multiple on-campus services to address student needs including a food and clothing pantry called The Stand, which opened in February of 2017. The Stand offers free shelf stable food as well as professional clothing. In conjunction with Feeding San Diego, Mesa College also offers a monthly Farmers Market where students can get free fresh food. In addition to services for students, Mesa College provides multiple professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to engage them in ways to support students’ basic needs.
Dr. Luster is a founding member and co-chair of the Affordability Food and Housing Access Task Force, along with Dr. Keith Curry, President of Compton College. The #RealCollege Survey highlights the need for financial aid reform at the community college level, one of the recommendations put forward by the Community College League of California’s Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce. The Taskforce is supporting Senate Bill 291 introduced by state Sen. Connie M. Levya (D-Chino), a bill sponsored by the California Community College Board of Governors and co-sponsored by the Community College League of California. SB 291 would establish a California Community College Student Financial Aid program that would base aid on the total cost of attendance, including housing, transportation and textbooks.
Because of this work, San Diego Mesa College plans to expand its commitment to be “the leading college of equity and excellence” by opening a Resource and Advocacy Center on campus that will co-locate campus and community resources to assist students in meeting their basic needs. The center will provide support for students so they can connect with local, county and state resources, including access to emergency funding.
In a joint statement by Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce chairs Pamela Luster, President of San Diego Mesa College and Keith Curry, President of Compton College said, “We are proud to collaborate with college leaders statewide who are proactively engaged in discussions and interventions to alleviate the basic needs insecurities that affect our students. Our work is far from over, but as a coalition, we know we can find real solutions.”
During the briefing, the Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce will also announce the launch of the #RealCollegeCalifornia network. The inaugural #RealCollegeCalifornia will serve as a coalition of colleges that share best practices focused on meeting students’ basic needs, which will receive strategic planning support from the Hope Center.
Learn more about the work of the Community College League of California Affordability, Food & Housing Taskforce at www.ccleague.org/affordability-taskforce. To read the full report visit: https://hope4college.com/reports/
Tags: The Stand, #RealCollegeCalifornia, President Pam, homelessness
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
On Thursday, May 4, 2023, at the Shining Light on Generosity event, San Diego Mesa College debuted the naming of The Stand: The Pamela T. Luster Resource Center, in honor of former President Dr. Pamela T. Luster. Additionally, the event served as an intimate gathering that honored and recognized multiple donors who helped the Mesa College Resiliency Fund become a reality.
Monterrey, CA - Today, the Association of California Community College Administrators [ACCCA], announced that Dr. Pamela Luster, President of San Diego Mesa College, was awarded the 2022 Harry Buttimer Distinguished Administrator Award. Dr. Luster was recognized based on her outstanding career and significant contributions to the mission of the California Community Colleges.
San Diego Mesa College has been named a 2021 Equity Champion of Higher Education by The Campaign for College Opportunity for awarding Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) to Black and Latinx students. Colleges are recognized due to their actions to intentionally ensure that Black and Latinx students who have a transfer goal earn an ADT. This is determined via the percentage point gap (PPG), which identifies campuses, such as Mesa College, that are excelling in awarding ADTs to Latinx and Black students, relative to their campus wide ADT conferral rates. Across all California Community Colleges, Mesa is recognized as having a high proportion of degree or transfer seeking Black and Latinx students who received an ADT in the 2019-2020 academic year. This is achievement is indicative of the equity work in which Mesa College engages daily.
