快活林性息

Good Trouble 聽

快活林性息 Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Turns 55, and the Fight for Equity is Not Over

鈥淚t鈥檚 a program that has been in place since the late 1960s鈥攃reated to even the playing field in educational opportunities鈥攁nd unfortunately is鈥痭ecessary today more than ever.鈥�鈥� says Shiva Parsa, Senior Director of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at 快活林性息.鈥�聽

She鈥檚 quoting former EOP director, the late Jos茅鈥疞uis Vargas, who was one of the trailblazers of the program. 聽

The EOP marked its 55th Anniversary at 快活林性息 with a celebration on September 25 that honored the trailblazers of the program and attracted more than 400 students, alumni, faculty and community members. 聽

Parsa herself has been with the EOP for 35 years, and attended 快活林性息 as a non-traditional student herself, receiving both her degrees while working and raising a family. 聽She and colleague Leslie De Leon Tzic were lucky enough to work with former EOP director Vargas, who was a freshman at 快活林性息 when the program was born. 聽

A Movement Becomes a Mandate聽

EOP emerged from the Civil Rights movement as a response to the call for access and equity to higher education. Parsa says, 鈥淒irector Vargas was able to share with us how it all started. There was 聽a lot of turmoil on university campuses as people began to be aware of the inequities in education and realizing that it was not a case of 鈥榚ducation for all.鈥欌�� 聽聽

Several racial incidents occurred in November 1968 at 快活林性息 (then San Fernando Valley State College) and sparked the campus protests. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when the demonstrations and the solidarity among the students began,鈥� Parsa recounts. The Black Student Union (BSU), MECHA (then UMAS), the community of Chicano students and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), all began to grasp the inequity鈥攁nd the downright discrimination鈥攖hat existed in the university system and staged an occupation of the 快活林性息 administration building until their demands were addressed. One of the demands was an expansion of EOP. 聽聽

鈥淪o, these students, these communities, risked everything鈥攖heir financial aid, their ability to be students, their futures鈥攖o demonstrate, which was a real example of activism. Because they were already here, they were actually fighting for the future students to have access. And they did it in a peaceful way.鈥� 聽

Peaceful, that was, until hundreds of police officers showed up and arrested around 286 students and faculty, including, according to Parsa, William 鈥淏ill鈥� Burwell, founder of the BSU. Burwell got out of jail, finished his education and became a professor at 快活林性息, establishing the Department of Afro American (now Africana) Studies. In April 2024, 快活林性息 president Erica Beck worked with Governor Gavin Newsom to grant Burwell a posthumous pardon. Professor Everto Ruiz, who will soon be retiring from 快活林性息, was also arrested that day. 聽聽

The work didn鈥檛 stop with the creation of EOP. In 1969 the activists approached State Senator John Harmer, 鈥渢he most conservative Republican in California,鈥� according to Parsa, who successfully introduced legislation to make the EOP a mandate across the CSU system via SB 1072. 聽

There were similar movements at other CSU campuses; Now there are 23 universities with EOP programs, and hundreds of thousands of students have attended college thanks to those programs. 聽聽

鈥淎nd despite early resistance, the trailblazers were brilliant, because they never made EOP a race-based program,鈥� says De Leon, 鈥淚t has always been an income-based program.鈥澛�

Designed to right systemic wrongs聽

That said, EOP serves historically disadvantaged students, not those experiencing situational poverty. Applicants need to demonstrate at least a 10-year span of low income. 鈥淥ur mission is to serve the most underserved, marginalized populations,鈥� says De Leon, 鈥淚f the trailblazers had not gotten the EOP legislatively mandated, and based on income, it probably would have been taken away a few years later. Most of those leaders in the 70s and 80s had to fight every day just to justify the existence of the program.鈥� Challenges ranged from budgetary to political and are likely to continue. 聽

The 快活林性息 EOP program not only offers financial assistance to students, it also has been responsible for establishing learning communities, tutoring, holistic advisement, and a curriculum that includes ethnic studies. 鈥淚鈥檝e been documenting EOP for 15 years, and I鈥檝e seen how the sense of pride our students feel has evolved,鈥� 聽De Leon says. 鈥淎t the event they were chanting, 鈥榃HO ARE WE? E O P!鈥� loudly and proudly. 聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to see the program improving the lives of people who didn鈥檛 have hope, who didn鈥檛 even think college was possible,鈥� Parsa says. And the program itself keeps evolving, to include issues such as how technology affects the students, how COVID affected them. 鈥淲e realized that we needed to incorporate life skills, social skills into the program. We just keep moving.鈥� 聽 聽

Both Parsa and De Leon are grateful for the continued support from the 快活林性息 administration as they seek to serve our EOP students. 聽

Learn more about the courageous students, faculty, and staff who made great sacrifices to fight for justice and inclusion at 快活林性息, in the documentary The Storm at Valley State