Chinn poses with a copy of ‘The Gray Bird Sings’ behind her work desk | Submitted by Betty Chinn
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Most people in Humboldt know of local philanthropist Betty Chinn, who has spent the last four decades working tirelessly to help serve our homeless community, and many might even be familiar with her harrowing life story, which has been written about by many local and national news sites.
Now a more detailed account of the life and work of Chinn is available for those who would like to learn more about our local hero, in a new book written by Karen M. Price, The Gray Bird Sings: The Extraordinary Life of Betty Kwan Chinn, which was just released earlier this week.
“It goes much deeper,” Chinn told the Outpost of the book during a phone interview on Friday afternoon. “There’s much [more] information about what happened to me.”
The author, Price, and Chinn have had a relationship for many years, which Price said was sparked by her husband, a retired Presbyterian minister, who did a lot of work to support Chinn’s efforts to help the homeless. Price, a retired psychologist, had heard many of Chinn’s stories throughout the years and said she began writing them down about 15 years ago, thinking that she would someday publish them in a book.
Price retired in 2018, and when COVID hit she felt that she finally had the time to write the full book, and about two years ago she started working closely with Chinn to complete the biography. Price understands that Chinn is a well-covered local figure and that some of the information in the book will not be new to many readers.
“Some of it will be stories they’ve already heard, and some of the stories they will never have heard, because some of them [Betty] hasn’t publicly told,” Price told the Outpost in a phone interview. “But it’s also placing it in her family context and historical context in China with probably a little more thoroughgoing way than has been able to be done before. And then tying it in with her sense of mission and purpose and where that was born. It was born in her suffering.”
The book details Chinn’s early life in China’s Guangdong province during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, and her spending years living on the streets after she was expelled from her home, her mother was jailed and her siblings were sent to labor camps.
The title, The Gray Bird Sings alludes to a pivotal memory of Chinn’s, a story that she has mentioned in past interviews, when she had a moment of hope while living in a childhood nightmare. The Red Guard had bound Chinn’s hands and feet and tied her to a tree near a garbage dump. Suffering physical torture and humiliation, Chinn was ready to accept death, until a little gray bird landed on her.
An excerpt from the book’s introduction:
The bird stayed quietly on her shoulder, and somehow from tiny creature to tortured girl, eye to eye, a connection was made… As tiny as the gray bird was, the child was surprised to find that she could see it flying into the horizon for quite some time. The little girl sat up. In an entirely unusual occurrence, the guards had failed to come. If that gray bird could fly away, maybe she too could find a way to fly out of her situation. Maybe there was hope.
She chose to live another day.
Price said that she chose this story for the book’s title because it captures “fundamental events that happened to her during her years of torture, that gave her the hope to survive,” adding that she hopes the book “will inspire other people that have coped in the midst of great hardship.”
Of course, the book does not only cover the hardships of Chinn’s past, but also follows her journey through moving to the United States, marriage, two children, her work with the homeless, opening the Betty Kwan Chinn Day Center and the international recognition she’s received.
Chinn does not really love accepting recognition and always wants to bring the focus back to her work and the people she helps. So it is not surprising that she told the Outpost, “This isn’t really about me. [It’s] about encouragement for other people who suffer.”
But she did add that telling her stories for this book has helped her work through some still-emerging memories and take more time to work through the trauma she experienced. “I’m more and more coming out to myself,” she said. “I never see the puzzle of my life. I’m still searching for my life.”
The Gray Bird Sings, published by The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt, can be downloaded for free through Cal Poly Humboldt, and the paperback is available for purchase on Amazon. Price and Chinn are taking no profits from the book and 100 percent of the sales go to funding the Betty Kwan Chinn Homeless Foundation.
“I would like to say, and I will say this to anyone who asks, that writing this book was the greatest privilege of my life,” Price said. “I’m so grateful that she was willing to share her story with me.”
There were approximately 50 community members at Dell’Arte’s town hall event at Mad River Brewery on Thursday evening. Photos by Isabella Vanderheiden.
Dell’Arte’s Leadership Council – Julie Douglas, Alyssa Hughlett and Tony Fuemmeler – hosted a community town hall at the Mad River Brewery in Blue Lake on Thursday evening to discuss recent layoffs within the organization and fundraising efforts to save the struggling theater company and school.
“It was like a perfect storm of things that happened right before and right after COVID,” Douglas, Dell’Arte’s Head of Arts Engagement, said during Thursday’s town hall. “A lot of arts funding went away and dried up for us and for many theaters in California and across the country. … We had to sunset our [Master of Fine Arts program] and fewer students coming through. We’ve had less audience attendance as well, due to people changing their habits post-COVID.”
All of these factors put the theater company and school “in a really precarious situation,” Douglas said.
Dell’Arte’s Board of Directors subsequently launched a crowdfunding campaign to save the famed theater, with hopes of raising $125,000 by the end of the year. As of this writing, Dell’Arte has raised $52,655.
Hughlett, Dell’Arte’s Board President and Producing Artistic Facilitator, said the fundraiser provides an opportunity to secure the theater company’s future on the local and international stage.
“What’s been built over the last 50 years is incredible,” she said. “It would be a shame to just turn our backs on something that took as long as it did to be built the way it was. … It’s essential for us to keep to keep Dell’Arte going.”
Staff recently received word that the theater had received $33,000 in grant funding for general operations over the next two years from the state of California. “We didn’t get the amount that we were really hoping for, but there are a lot of theatres and arts organizations in need right now,” Hughlett said. “The amount that we did get really is great. It’s not nothing.”
Dell’Arte’s leadership has a few other, smaller fundraising strategies in the works as well. They’re hosting a silent auction and performance at their main building in downtown Blue Lake on Dec. 17, and they’re planning a cabaret sometime in the near future, but haven’t landed on a date as of yet.
Next summer, assuming the fundraising efforts go according to plan, Dell’Arte is planning a big 50th-anniversary festival, Hughlett said. “We’ve got conversations already happening with alumni from near and far coming and doing productions and performances here.”
In addition to fundraising, Dell’Arte is also looking to sell a 1.33-acre property that hosts the Mad River Brewery and Tap Room and several other small units. The property, acquired by the theater in 2018, is listed for $1.55 million.
Hughlett
“There were a lot of different plans for it and those [plans] very quickly changed during the pandemic,” Hughlett said. “We’ve had this property up for listing since January. We had an offer on it that ended up falling through in June. … This emergency fundraiser is meant to give us a moment to navigate through until we can get this property sold, which is going to provide a really good infusion of cash to reinvest in our growth going forward.”
Staff have also been working with the Humboldt County Office of Education to provide or enhance existing theater arts programs at local schools, said Fuemmeler, Dell’Arte’s interim Head of Training Programs and Core Mask Faculty.
“We want to be one of the arts providers that are funded by Proposition 28, which allocate[s] specific funding for teaching arts in the schools,” he said. “We want to be one of those groups that does that – not only to serve the youth but to have strategic funding coming in so we can build a stronger and stronger foundation moving forward.”
Douglas added that they’d like to bring theater arts programs to incarcerated youth as well.
Hughlett emphasized that Dell’Arte is “an evolving organization” at its core and will continue to evolve. “We’ve heard people ask, you know, ‘Are you going to reinvent Dell’Arte? What are you going to do with it?’ and it’s really important to us that we keep building off of the legacy that was built by our founders [Carlo Mazzone-Clementi and Jane Hill], as well as Michael [Fields],” she said. “That’s something Jane always said about Dell’Arte, that’s it’s always evolving no matter what.”
Turning to questions from the audience, one attendee asked if the Dec. 31 target date was a hard deadline imposed by an external entity or if there was a little bit of wiggle room.
“No, thankfully not,” Hughlett said. “It’s essential that we get [to our fundraising goal]. We’re working with lenders and, you know, we’re really pushing this real estate [sale] while also scaling back and restructuring. We’re managing, but we’re in a place where it really matters to raise that money by Dec. 31. It makes things a lot more difficult otherwise.”
Fuemmeler had a slightly different take, adding that Dell’Arte was “fac[ing] a cliff” and had shifted into “life support mode” with the recent layoffs and fundraising campaign to buy more time for the struggling theater. “We’re currently working on a week-by-week analysis.”
Another audience member cautioned against selling the Mad River Brewery property. “I know you’re hungry today, but if you can manage it, do keep that property.” Hughlett and Fuemmeler agreed but said the theater must strike a balance with its funding sources to maintain its non-profit status.
“There’s something called unrelated business income for nonprofits, and there is a threshold of what is allowed based on the percentage of [our] other revenue,” Hughlett explained. “We’re having a tough time because we’re sunsetting programs and we’re rebuilding, so revenue on our mission-related programs is low, but our revenue from this property – which is wonderful – is actually putting us in danger of losing our non-profit status. So, I’m not sure we could weather that for another year or so.”
Another audience member asked if Dell’Arte could partner with national and international schools for a sort of study abroad program. Fuemmeler said staff has been working on a “study away” kind of program for the past year, but said it’s become more difficult since Dell’Arte ended its one-of-a-kind Master of Fine Arts program in 2021.
“We aren’t running our program right now, so we can’t significantly partner with another university until we are able to build that accreditation back because they won’t have any interest or the capacity to partner unless that technicality is in place,” he said, adding that Dell’Arte hopes to reinstate its MFA program eventually.
Other audience members suggested marketing the Carlo Theater as a venue for musicians and other acts traveling through the area or just promoting it as a local event space. Folks also suggested Dell’Arte work with the Logger Bar to host more block party-type events in town.
As the conversation wrapped up, a few folks took the time to praise Dell’Arte’s contributions to the community. One audience member expressed his appreciation for the community classes, specifically the Alexander Technique class. “It is a wonderful course,” he said. “It can change your whole sense of being.”
“I would not be here today if it wasn’t for Dell’Arte,” another person said from the back of the audience. “I moved here in 1998 and the thing that drew me here was Dell’Arte, and it was a big part of my life for many, many, many years. I love you guys and I really, really I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you [for] staying on and making it happen.”
More information on Dell’Arte’s fundraising campaign can be found here.
Dell’Arte’s Leadership Council: Tony Fuemmeler, Alyssa Hughlett and Julie Douglas
Hector Corral-Esparza, Elizabeth Quenell, Johnnie Leavens | HCDTF
Humboldt County Drug Task Force release:
On November 3rd, 2023, Humboldt County Drug Task Force Agents, and Officers with the Fortuna Police Department (FoPD) served a search warrant at a residence located in the 2100 block of Rohnerville Road, Fortuna, and on the persons of Johnnie LEAVENS (52 years old from Fortuna) and Elizabeth QUENELL (43 years old from Fortuna). After a weeklong investigation, the HCDTF believed LEAVENS and QUENELL were trafficking fentanyl throughout Humboldt County.
HCDTF Agents and FoPD Officers responded to the residence on Rohnerville Road and detained LEAVENS, QUENELL, and Hector CORRAL-ESPARZA (34 years old from Sinaloa, Mexico) without incident.
After the suspects were detained, Agents searched their vehicle and located approximately a half pound of fentanyl. Agents searched the residence and located three digital scales with fentanyl residue on them.
CORRAL-ESPARZA, LEAVENS, and QUENELL were transported to the Humboldt County Jail where they were booked for the following charge:
11351 HS Possession of narcotics for the purpose of sales
Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes are encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976.
California State Parks and the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria (Bear River) formalized their relationship earlier this week to cooperate on the protection, preservation, and interpretation of parks that lie within Bear River’s ancestral homelands in the North Coast Redwoods District of State Parks.
Bear River Chairwoman Josefina Frank and State Parks Director Armando Quintero executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during a formal signing on Monday, October 30, in Loleta, California. “With the signing of this MOU we will continue to cooperate with one another, collaborate with one another, and care for the land together as we should,” said Chairwoman Frank of the MOU.
This MOU will facilitate collaboration between Bear River and State Parks to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into the protection of cultural and natural resources, collaborate on park interpretation and art projects, and partner together on cultural resource monitoring and protection. This includes promoting the healthy growth of California native plants while allowing for Bear River Tribal Members to gather plants for traditional uses in their ancestral homelands. The MOU also includes the incorporation of cultural burns into natural resources and plant habitation management in the parks.
“We will work together to bring deep time cultural knowledge forward as we work to create a healthier future for the lands and cultures of this state,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero.
With this latest MOU, State Parks has signed MOUs with six California Native American tribes and is in MOU discussions with eight additional tribes.
On November 2, 2023, at 4:03 P.M., officers from the Eureka Police Department
responded to the parking lot of the Bayshore Mall to investigate a reported robbery.
Upon arrival, officers discovered that a thirty-six (36) year-old male and his eight (8)
year-old daughter were the victims of a robbery while entering their vehicle in the mall’s
parking lot after shopping inside. The victims were passing through Eureka while visiting
California from Central America.
It appears three suspects followed the father and daughter into the parking lot from a
store where they had made several purchases. The father handed a bag to his daughter
as he loaded their purchases into their vehicle. A black male suspect then ripped the bag
from the eight-year-old’s grasp and fled to a waiting vehicle, occupied by two black
female accomplices. The vehicle then fled the parking lot, nearly striking the juvenile in
the process. The family’s loss includes a brown leather bag containing passports and
travel documents, as well as cash money.
The male suspect is described as a black male adult, approximately 6’0,” tall and weighing 200
pounds, with black dreadlocks. The male was wearing a black shirt and dark colored jeans.
Both females were described as black females in their twenties, one was wearing a black
“Raiders” sweatshirt and black jeans, the second was wearing a white and black plaid shirt and
black leggings. All three fled in a black Jaguar SUV. Please see the attached photos captured
from security cameras at the mall.
If you recognize any of these suspects, or have any information about this incident, please
contact Detective Sergeant Cory Crnich at (707) 441-4318 or ccrnich@eurekaca.gov. If you
see them please call 911.
The Northern California Condor Restoration Program (NCCRP), a partnership between the Yurok
Tribe and Redwood National and State Parks, is preparing to release three more prey-go-neesh
(California condors) into Yurok ancestral territory in the very near future.
All three birds are healthy and behaving in a way that indicates they are ready for the wild. The
condors are set to all be released together as early as late next week. The timing of the release is
contingent upon multiple factors, the biggest being weather. There must be at least a few sunny days
in a row to give the birds good visibility and flight conditions when they depart the condor release
and management facility. Additionally, previously released prey-go-neesh must be present at the
management facility before the release procedure is initiated. The presence of additional prey-go-
neesh will ensure the new birds are as calm as possible during their first steps into the natural world.
An announcement will be made when the release date is finalized. The release can be viewed live at this link.
“We couldn’t be more excited to release three more condors,” said Yurok Wildlife Department
Director Tiana Williams-Claussen. “I would like to thank the Los Angeles Zoo as well as all of our
partners, funders, and donors for supporting the reintroduction of prey-go-neesh. Soon, 11 prey-go-neesh will soar over our ancestral homeland.”
On October 9th, the NCCRP received the three young condors from the Los Angeles Zoo. The
newcomers are two females and one male, including 1140, wing tag B0 (female); 1148, wing tag
B1(male); and 1151, wing tag B2 (female). Hatched and reared at the Los Angeles Zoo, the three
prey-go-neesh are approximately a year and a half old. While in the care of the zoo, the birds were
vaccinated for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). They will be the first condors vaccinated
for HPAI to be released into the wild.Condors are extremely social creatures. Upon release, NCCRP biologists expect the eight free-flying
birds to assist the new group in getting acclimated to a new environment. As the new condors have
waited in the release and management facility, acclimating to their new home, they have been
regularly visited by free-flying birds, laying the groundwork for their integration into the population.
Last year, the NCCRP released the first eight condors to fly over far Northern California in more
than a century. Overall, the birds are faring very well in their new environment. NCCRP biologists
and technicians regularly observe the birds exhibiting positive behaviors, such as feeding, soaring,
and resting in safe roosts. They have explored much of Yurok ancestral territory in Humboldt and
Del Norte Counties, including trips as far south as Hyampom and as far north as the Notchko area
on the Yurok Reservation. To date, their furthest trip from the NCCRP’s condor release and
management facility was 52 miles.
While the NCCRP’s condor biologists are satisfied with the condors’ progress toward becoming self-
sufficient, there has been one major setback.
B0 and B2 staring at human with camera.
Last month, Yurok condor A6 (Me-new-kwek’, “I am bashful or shy”), along with several other
condors in the new population, consumed part of a poacher-killed elk within Bald Hills in Redwood
National Park and the carrion was most likely tainted with lead. Five out of eight birds were found
to have the toxin in their blood. The NCCRP believes the lead came from the illegally killed elk
because of the timing, on-the-ground observations, and other strong evidence.
Of the five birds, Me-new-kwek’, wing tag A6, was the only one whose lead level came back higher
than the identified treatment threshold, warranting immediate medical intervention for lead
poisoning, the leading cause of death among condors. Thankfully, NCCRP and Sequoia Park Zoo
staff were able to successfully treat Me-new-kwek’. He is doing well and currently serving as a
mentor for the newly arrived birds. It is planned for him to be re-released with the new cohort when
they are released.
Yurok Connection to the Condor
The restoration of this sacred species is an expression of the Yurok Tribe’s cultural imperative to
maintain balance in the world. It is also part of a larger effort to rewild the temperate rainforest
ecosystem in Yurok ancestral territory on the far Northern California coast. In addition to the
reintroduction of the critically endangered condor, the Tribe is currently restoring fish and wildlife
habitat on significant segments of the Klamath River, Trinity River and Prairie Creek as well as other
Klamath tributaries. The Tribe is also closely involved in the ongoing removal of the four Klamath
dams, which represents the largest salmon habitat restoration project in US history. The removal of
the dams will also benefit many other fish and wildlife species, including condors.
The Yurok Tribe initiated the condor reintroduction project in 2008, with funding support from the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Redwood National Park, as well as
the Administration for Native Americans, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Global Conservation
Fund, the National Park Foundation, and many more corporate, agency, and private supporters and
citizens. The Yurok Wildlife Department completed an immense amount of work to prepare for the
reintroduction of this imperiled species.
Maya Murchison at Eastlake High School in Chula Vista on Oct. 23, 2023. Murchison, a high school senior, says the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action has affected her college application process. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters
For students of color, the Supreme Court’s recent ban on affirmative action has left them frustrated but undaunted as they plow through college application season. Some California private colleges, meanwhile, are increasing their outreach efforts to attract more students and send a signal that the end of race-based admissions doesn’t change their belief in the importance of diversity.
“I want to go to a college where I feel comfortable and supported and confident. So yes, the ruling has definitely affected what schools I’m looking at,” said Maya Murchison, a senior at Eastlake High School in Chula Vista. “I want to know what colleges are doing to guarantee diversity.”
The court’s 6-3 ruling in June prohibits all colleges in the country from using race as a consideration in admissions. California’s public universities have not used affirmative action for almost 30 years, but some of the state’s selective private colleges, and many out-of-state public universities, have relied on affirmative action to attract students of color and create a more diverse student body.
Collectively, the state’s private nonprofit colleges enroll around 180,000 undergraduates who are drawn to the smaller class sizes and leafy campus idyll.
Immediately after the court decision, an association representing more than 80 California nonprofit private colleges wrote that it feared that the end of race-based admissions will mean less diversity on campuses: “Our member colleges and universities across California are deeply concerned that the decision will have a chilling effect on applications and enrollment among historically underserved community groups — Black, Latino, and Native American students, low-income and first-generation students,” wrote Kristen F. Soares, president of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
Four months later, that fear is still there, Soares said in a phone interview.
Those worries are fueled by the struggles that the University of California experienced when state voters approved a ballot initiative in 1996 that barred public institutions from considering race as a factor in admissions, contracting and hiring. Diversity at the UC collapsed in the first few years after the ban and the university has written that its formidable spending on outreach programs — half a billion dollars since the late 1990s — and race-neutral changes to its admissions processes weren’t as effective as affirmative action.
Private colleges will see next spring and fall how the Supreme Court’s decision affected their admissions and enrollment patterns.
Response of some California private colleges
Still, the court ruling has prompted some of California’s more selective private schools to appeal to students through campus visits and stronger relationships with high school counselors.
Pomona College, a highly selective liberal arts college in Los Angeles County, has increased the number of nearby high schools it hosts for half-day visits to its campus from 17 to 25, upping the number of students from around 650 to 900. Pomona covers the transportation and food costs. The college and its sister campuses of the Claremont Colleges are also inviting counselors from more than 460 high schools in the region, including about half that predominantly serve low-income students. It’s the largest such event the consortium has put together — and Pomona is hosting it.
“The reality is that we know in our backyard that we probably could have been doing more and we needed to do this work and felt like now was a good time to make that turn,” said Adam Sapp, director of admissions at Pomona, in a phone interview. About a quarter of the college’s 1,700 students are from California.
But while the campus won’t use race as a factor in admissions anymore, its longstanding practice of holistic review allows for applicants to explain how their identities played a role in their academics and social experiences relevant to college admissions. The court ruling said students can still discuss their racial and ethnic backgrounds in admissions applications.
“We see the benefits of diversity as critical to the success of Pomona,” Sapp added, later noting that “none of that has changed because of the Supreme Court.”
The amount low-income students have to pay after financial aid across California’s private colleges ranges from almost nothing to $30,000 a year or more, according to federal data on average total costs that CalMatters reviewed.
University of Southern California, among the state’s most selective private colleges, is pursuing a recruitment strategy that’s worked for them so far, said Timothy Brunold, dean of admission. The approach didn’t focus on the racial makeup of high schools. “Our practice has not focused on particular schools because of their racial/ethnic makeup,” he wrote in an email. “Instead, we’ve tended to be mindful of schools based on other factors, such as the socio-economic makeup of their student body, their geographic location, and past history with USC.” The university used affirmative action as one of many factors in admissions prior to the court ruling.
On-campus diversity efforts matter
The biggest impact of the Supreme Court ruling might not be related to admissions, some experts said, but whether colleges will continue to support diversity on campus. That means bolstering student groups, programs and events focused on race and ethnicity, providing ample financial aid, and creating an overall welcoming atmosphere.
That will be crucial to attract students of color going forward, said Angie Barfield, executive director of Black Students of California United, which promotes civic engagement, academic achievement and leadership among Black students in California. Her organization is doubling down on its college recruitment efforts by raising money to host students on college tours, arranging for Black college alumni to meet with students, encouraging colleges to interview promising students, and providing extra guidance to students with their applications.
“We tell students, you might not think you belong there, but you do,” Barfield said. “There’s a lot of fear of the unknown, a lot of imposter syndrome. So we work hard to expose our students to college life via their culture and show them they can succeed anywhere.”
“I want to go to a college where I feel comfortable and supported and confident. So yes, the ruling has definitely affected what schools I’m looking at.” — Maya Murchison, senior at Eastlake High School in Chula Vista
Lisa Andrews-Swartzlander, a longtime school counselor and college mentor in Los Angeles County, said imposter syndrome is common among students of color but it’s not insurmountable. She advises her students to be proud of their accomplishments and forge ahead regardless of a Supreme Court ruling that “sends a message that your history doesn’t matter, your culture doesn’t matter.”
“I am not deterring any of my students from attending their desired universities,” she said. “In fact, I’m encouraging them to embrace rigorous coursework and intentionally apply to universities that have eradicated affirmative action. Their presence needs to be visible no matter what.”
Cultural groups, such as historically Black or Latino fraternities and sororities, are amping up their outreach efforts and can play a key role in helping students of color feel comfortable on campus, she said.
“The message is, we want you here, you will be safe, you will thrive,” Andrews said.
Colleges have been reaching students for years
For some colleges, the ruling will have minimal impact because they’ve already been working for decades to diversify their campuses, said Shirley Collado, president of College Track, a nonprofit that helps students of color get into and graduate from college. Affirmative action, she said, was only one tool among many that colleges used to attract and retain students of color. Other important factors include affordability, school information materials in multiple languages, and an overall welcoming, appreciative — and not patronizing — attitude toward students of color.
That’s true for the University of San Francisco. The selective private college didn’t factor a student’s race or ethnicity in its admissions decisions prior to the Supreme Court ruling, said its head of admissions in an interview, but still topped a national ranking for campus diversity. Much of that is aided by California’s rich panoply of cultures: Roughly two-thirds of the school’s incoming students are California residents. Once students are admitted, they’re encouraged to apply for a competitive program for Black scholars and one for first-generation students.
“I think that’s what helps students decide, ‘Yes, I want to come to USF,’” said Sherie Gilmore-Cleveland, an associate provost who directs admissions at the university. The emphasis isn’t just on recruitment but also on persuading students to attend once they’re admitted.
Hosting high school students on campus matters. So does visiting the students. “I think whenever students have an opportunity to hear directly from the college and when colleges are actually coming to students’ high schools, I know it’s an old school way of recruitment, but it helps students feel seen,” Gilmore-Cleveland said. The campus has extensive visiting hours, too, but doesn’t pay for prospective students’ travel, she said.
Some colleges partner with specific high schools or nonprofits to put students on a college-bound path beginning in ninth grade, Collado said. College Track recently announced such a partnership with 14 colleges nationwide, including UC Merced and American University. The agreement includes admission, financial aid and ongoing support once students are enrolled. USC runs a similar program for low-income students from Los Angeles.
The state’s private college association is also ramping up relations with community colleges. In September it hosted a conference with community college and high school counselors on financial aid and admissions policies that several private colleges offer. Soares said it was the first such event in at least 15 years.
Students aren’t deterred
“On a symbolic level, the Supreme Court decision is tragic. It speaks volumes about where we are as a country,” Collado said. “But for most of us, we get up the next day and the work continues. It’s a disruption but it does not shift how important this issue is. It won’t stop us from doing what’s right for kids in this country.”
Kimberly Sockwell, a senior at Orange Vista High in Riverside County, said campus diversity is important to her, but it’s not the only factor she’s considering as she looks at colleges. How safe it is for women and how accessible for disabled people also are priorities, she said.
“I want to be with people who look like me, but not just that. I want to be exposed to different kinds of people and viewpoints,” said Sockwell, who identifies as African American and Salvadoran. “I’m looking for a place where I can grow into an adult and become someone I’ll be proud of, and my family will be proud of.”
Bethzy Mejia, a senior at Robert Kennedy School for the Visual Arts and Humanities in Los Angeles, said she’s unfazed by the Supreme Court ruling. She’s confident that her accomplishments — a 4.0 grade point average, internships, student government, marathon runner — will earn her a spot at the country’s most elite colleges.
“On a symbolic level, the Supreme Court decision is tragic. It speaks volumes about where we are as a country. But for most of us, we get up the next day and the work continues.” — Shirley Collado, president of College Track
As for her application essay, she does plan to write about being the child of immigrants from Guatemala — not to alert colleges to her ethnicity, but because she considers it a central part of her identity.
“The essay question is, what makes you unique. Well, my race makes me unique,” Mejia said. “But I’m not going to focus on that 100%. I’m going to write about my achievements and my mentality.”
Murchison, the Eastlake High student who serves as president of the Black Students of California United, also said she’ll be writing about race in her application essay. Her topic is “Black girl magic,” a theme she probably would not have chosen prior to the Supreme Court decision.
“I want to make my identity clear,” she said. “But it’s frustrating, because it’s an extra step I shouldn’t have to take. What if I wanted to write about something else?”
Crafting an essay that addresses race with the exact right tone, choosing colleges with a commitment to diversity but also strong programs in the subjects that interest her, like business and marketing — it’s often overwhelming, she said.
“At times I just want to give up,” Murchison said. “But then I remember my goals and just keep pushing forward.”
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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
