Thursday, 5/15/97 Exceeding expectations UCLA-sponsored program
aims to motivate high school students to pursue academia
By Michelle S. Navarro Daily Bruin Contributor When he was asked
to draw his community, Augustin Welch drew what he called some of
the "positive and negative things" that he sees daily. "I drew
Crenshaw High School, because that’s where I went and I also drew
the continuation school. There’s Payless Shoes, a reggae club,
Subway Sandwiches, McDonald’s, and some kids playing double-dutch
and football. Also, there’s someone writing graffiti," Welch said,
a student at Youth Opportunities Unlimited High School. "It’s what
I see." Welch was one of 130 students from inner city high schools
who visited UCLA Wednesday as part of the College Incentive/Retail
Management Program sponsored by UCLA and the city of Los Angeles.
The year-long program strives to provide high school juniors and
seniors with academic and job-related skills and to increase the
motivation to pursue education upon graduating from high school.
"All of them have internships or jobs and all are college-bound,"
said Pamela Schachter, a member of UCLA’s Community Based Learning
Program. "The main goal of this visit is to give them the
opportunity to meet UCLA students from similar backgrounds and see
the possibilities that are out there for them." Increasing
motivation is no easy task, but the students themselves had several
suggestions, many surprisingly targeted at teachers. "Enthusiastic
teachers," Welch explained, "you need motivated teachers to get
motivated students." "Teachers don’t motivate you, they don’t
encourage you. Some of us have good grades and are capable of going
straight to a university. But, instead they [teachers] tell you to
first go to a community college and then transfer," said Rosalva
Contreras, a senior at Belmont High School. Many students agreed
that the expectations teachers and others have of their achievement
is low. Some attributed this problem to the media’s portrayal of
inner city youth and the neighborhood’s they live in. "The media
only looks at the bad things, so that’s all they have in mind. But,
in reality that’s not the truth," said Reyes Contreras, a senior
from Belmont High. Katynja McCory, a first-year political science
student and discussion facilitator, agreed. "The media expects
nothing but the worst from them – gang-bangers and teen mothers.
What I expect and everyone else (expects), is for them to become
the best members of their community – the lawyers and doctors."
McCory felt the media had a big influence on how inner city
students saw themselves and explained that that was one of the
reasons why such workshops are held, to "unbrainwash" them. "The
education system is lacking – (teachers) don’t inform them of their
own history and the important role they play in history, that they
do have an important role in society," McCory said. Besides touring
the campus, the student visit entailed a couple of workshops that
discussed the importance of being a "holistic student" and issues
regarding gender roles and relationships. "A holistic student is
someone who takes all into account – the social, the academic and
the spiritual, and doesn’t just see education as a single
endeavor," said Vivianna Trujillo, one of the student discussion
facilitators. "Being a holistic student is important because it
helps them deal with other people in society and it improves the
environment as well as the community." The gender roles and
relationships workshop focused on the roles of men and women in
society as well as topics like pregnancy, diseases and violence
between genders. "We want to give them a sense of their womanhood
or manhood and how they relate to community, how they can serve as
role models and give back to the community," said Brian Navarro, a
second-year American literature and culture student. Workshop
leaders stressed the importance of community development and
involvement as a means of reaching goals. Replacing Bill Clinton is
Jose Villar’s long-term goal. "I’m going to be president," said the
Roosevelt High School student. "A lot of people that reach their
goals move away and forget where they came from. When I’m
president, I won’t forget – I’m going to help out everyone."
Attending college is a goal the majority of the students shared,
and several among them felt the visit to UCLA was helpful in
attaining it. "It helps us to know more about the colleges and
about the requirements we needed to get in," said Valentin Canales,
a Belmont High junior. "For many young people, they have no vision
of what a college looks like or mental image of themselves in one –
that’s why these field trips are so important," said Mary Keipp,
Community Based Learning Program manager. "After things like
Proposition 187, any hopes of going to college have dimmed. One of
the things that needs to be done is to just raise the expectations
of themselves. If the schools aren’t doing it, then we should."
SHAWN LAKSMI/Daily Bruin Highschool students from left to right:
Vanessa Mireles, Mari Ballesteros, and Monica Orellana have lunch
at the College Incentive Retail Management Program. CHARLES
KUO/Daily Bruin Shaniele Denton, a Dorsey High Senior, pays close
attention in a workshop entitled "The Holistic Student." SHAWN
LAKSMI/Daily Bruin UCLA student and group leader Bertha Benavides
and David Medina from Belmont Highschool exchange ideas at the
College Incentive/Retail Management Program.