Support Programs

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Support Programs

The current thrust by Chicanos for educational opportunities has created a situation where higher education is now becoming accessible to Chicanos. Historically, public education was limited exclusively to the ruling powers of society. This situation was especially evident in institutions of higher learning. Hence, the accessibility of higher education has always been regarded as a strategic source of power. The power of a monarchy or aristocracy was always synonymous with a monopoly of learning institutions. Education for the other strata of society is a recent Twentieth Century phenomenon. However, a monopoly in higher education still exists. Traditionally, the goals of higher education have been directed to meet the demands of the ruling strata of society by training the specialized manpower required for the operation of their demands. The equivalent practice today is found in training students in higher education to serve corporate industry and public agencies: the two major economic entities of society. The socialization and indoctrination of these "students" to conform to this function and accept this limited range of alternatives is a corollary role of higher education today. Once properly trained, these students serve as agents of the controlling powers and in turn serve to perpetuate this process. Hence the defense scientists, college faculties, journalists, etc., have supplanted the scribes and priests of ancient civilizations. This is essentially the function of institutions of higher learning today. Therefore all attempts to project Chicanos into the mainstream of higher education as it exists today are equivalent co enslaving La Raza to the controlling powers of this society.

Goals of Support Programs

As a significantly larger number of Chicanos enter colleges and universities support programs are a crucial factor in determining whether the accessibility of higher education will mean a consolidating of educational gains by the Chicano movement. The focus of support programs must not be to facilitate Chicanos to adjust to college life, i.e., the survival syndrome, Rather than accommodate Chicanos to these institutions, support programs should facilitate the development of educational processes to meet the unique interests of Chicano hence develop alternative goals to those prescribed by society. This role encompasses efforts to establish a stable academic, political and financial base for Chicano students and rules out those therapeutic programs conceived as remedial or compensatory which are directed to alter the student to conform to a prescribed norm of academic and social behavior. Support programs must be developed as an extension of the Chicano struggle for liberation and as such must create relevant educational experiences for Chicanos.

Support programs should be developed to encompass and achieve these goals. This focus of Chicano support grams require the development of new structure and processes which are not currently found in traditional structures in higher education. Hence the task is really one of creating new structures and modes in higher education and in making a significant contribution to the revitalization of colleges and universities. Conventional methods of support programs are simply not acceptable and all attempts by college and university administrators to impose their models of support programs must be resisted. It cannot be over-emphasized that the focus of Chicano efforts on campus must provide "new" meaning and value to higher learning. Chicano programs must not employ existing goals and structures of higher education as a frame of reference. To succumb to traditional structures and approaches is to legitimize their role in indoctrinating Chicanos to become part of gabacho society.

It is the responsibility of Chicano student organizations and the Junta Directiva to insure that support programs

maintain a strong relevance to the specific needs of Chicanos. They must clearly establish the role of Chicanos in developing and directing these efforts. It is imperative that Chicano student organizations at all times have a vehicle which will continually act as an on-going collective control to maintain evaluating mechanism over their support programs. This mechanism will ensure program vitality and help avoid administrative stagnation. The responsibility will not rest on one individual; all administrators have the responsibility of carrying out the policy decision which the Chicano student organizations have developed. By the same token, this exemplifies the great responsibility such organizations have and should help renew a genuine commitment to a greater CAUSA. Hence the mutual accountability of student organizations and staff in these programs is clear: it is their responsibility to protect the program from influences which will co-opt the focus of the program.

Orientation Program

In the past, higher education has failed to encourage Chicanos; it manifests itself as a hostile environment. Today, an attempt is being made through programs such as Upward Bound, High Equivalency Programs, High Potential and Educational Opportunities Programs, to bring more Chicano students to the college campus. It is imperative that these programs understand and deal with the needs and deficiencies with which the student enters the academic scene. Support programs must be developed to provide services and personnel to aid the student in order to assure his retention and successful experience in college. It should be recognized that most of the students come from an inferior or inadequate secondary educational system, thus the college should provide an orientation program whose objective would be to give the student a transitional stage from which he can move into regular college programs.

A. The Orientation Program must deal with the following needs:

1. Cultural-Identity: For the Chicano student, college is a different world with its own language, its own standards, its own expectations and pressures. The casualty rate is high. The demands for adjustments and conformity are heavy. Activities to strengthen his cultural identity must be an integral component of every orientation program.

2. Academic: Experience has shown that many of the students suffer a deficiency in reading skills, oral expression, and note taking, study skills, etc. which are vital to academic success in college. This deficiency is due to an inferior education received in elementary and secondary schools and must be acknowledged by a college orientation.

3. Achievement: Some students reflect a need for a redirection of personal goals. Some students need strong

reinforcement and encouragement even though they may be capable of performing well in the academic world. Twelve years of negative self-image imposed by the school system must be alleviated.

B. Support programs must recognize the above facts and devise orientation programs which will alleviate the educational and psychological barriers that Chicano students encounter when they enter the college environment. Orientation programs of any kind cannot resolve the educational damage that such students have suffered over the years in a matter of weeks or months. However, this is a positive step in the direction of changing negative attitudes towards higher education found within the student.

C. The Orientation Program must be conducted on campus. All the participants must be given credit for work accomplished. Financial supports must be made available since the students would not have other sources of income while participating in this orientation.

Orientation to the Campus: Arrangements to thoroughly familiarize the student with all of the college facilities (health service, housing, food, recreational facilities,- etc.) and procedures such as college regulation, adding and dropping of classes, filling out forms, reading the catalogue and registration should be explained. It is in this manner that the Chicano student is better prepared to cope with college life.

D. The Orientation Program should be divided into four major categories:

1. Academic Program: Courses in cultural-psychology and English specifically tailored to teach academic skills. This can be accomplished through group discussions, laboratory sessions conducted by teacher aids and Chicano student advisors. Individual and group sessions can also deal with reading techniques, notetaking methods, preparing for exams, library use and exploring all the resources on campus such as learning labs, reading clinics, etc.

Ideas for course content description are as follows:

a. Cultural Identity: This course can be designed to give the prospective student a sense of confidence in expressing his ideas. At the same time, a sense of "camaraderia" should be developed. This would develop greater self-insight which would help him confront the barriers of college life. The course can also give a historical social and economic perspective of the Mexican America: in relationship to his place in today's society. It can deal with barrio life, barrio language and dialect and other current issues relevant to Chicanos.

b. Written Expression: This course can help with basic grammar and the mechanics of writing papers. In

essence, this course can help the Chicano student express, to himself and to others, his feelings in written form. Accordingly, Chicano materials that are relevant to the student are vital to this course. This class can also help in determining the extent of tutorial help which a student might need when he begins the regular academic course of study.

c. English as a second language: The student who usually speaks Spanish at home is nonetheless expected to

speak English fluently. For these students a class concentrating on this area can build the student's confidence and enable him to acquire a better command of both languages.

d. Oral Expression: Group discussion can encourage many Chicanos to express themselves in any manner which they feel most comfortable.

2. Guest Lecturers: They can provide the students with various points of view on subject which can make the

academic world less institutionalized and more alive and meaningful. Known Chicano leaders should be invited to talk to the students on their roles in the community, and other topics related to community affairs.

College Resources And Supportive Services To insure smooth and innovative implementation of support programs, the institutions must have such structures built into its programs so that they are relevant for Chicanos. The kind of supportive services available to the students must be coordinated and administered by dynamic Chicano staffs. Methods of approach concerning the survival of the Chicano student must not remain static. Self-evaluating mechanisms must be implemented in coordination with the Chicano student organizations. The following is a description of support services which must be made available to participants in support programs. It will not be an all inclusive list, but it will include the most important areas. Counseling: Student advisors who maintain a personal relationship with the Chicano participants in support programs should be assigned the specific duty of analyzing a student's problem area and designating where the student can find help. For instance, if a student has a legal or draft problem, the counselors would then assign him to a lawyer or draft counselors on staff. This procedure is efficient and personal if one or two main counselors maintain close working relationships with the Chicano students and the staff of the support programs. The counselors should also be available when training-programs for tutors or recruiters are developed. For instance, the newly acquired recruiters need to know the criteria for a student's performance during an interview. What should they look for? What kind of communication, verbal and non verbal, existed during the interview? The recruiters interview EOP applicants should undergo an intensive training program handled by the EOP staff and the Counseling staff. This short intensive series aid the Chicano recruiters by helping them to identify high potential students. Counselors can also implement classes designed to specifically keep a close communication with the Chicano student advisors. Each student advisor who could advise up to seven students would benefit by discussing his problems and apprehensions.

Tutor and Counseling: Tutorial problems can be developed to best suit each student. This means that tutoring should be made available on a one-to-one ratio for the student who needs intensive, in-depth tutorial assistance. Another form of tutorial help is the one offered through a tutorial pool. This is to have tutors who specialize in various subjects available to the student throughout the week. There can be supplemental services for the students. For example, a typing pool can provide typists to type term papers, book reports, and other assigned papers for the students in order to allow them more time to devote to their studies. The qualifications which should be considered in selecting tutors are the following:

a. Ability to establish rapport with Chicano students

b. Expertise in the field in which he chooses to tutor

Legal services. Each college or university receives the services of a part or full time lawyer. His main job is to

counsel all students on campus who encounter legal difficulty. Chicano students must receive a special counselor. They can reveal many of the barrio problems of the police records, parole, marriage difficulties, etc., to the counselor. As enrollment of Chicanos increases, the school must hire a Chicano lawyer or be able to use the services of Chicano law students. Report and understanding would more readily develop aiding the student in solving his problem. In addition the lawyer can interpret and define contracts dealing with such things as housing, loans, etc. This must be done before any Chicano student signs any contract. Student Counseling Service: Academic and psychological counseling are the two major areas of student advisement. The job encompasses many roles. This due to the fact that since the programs are new, the problems confronting the students are recognized only to a certain degree. In other words, there are still many unknown obstacles facing the students which the staff are unaware of. To safeguard against the students facing these unknown obstacles by themselves, someone must clearly identify himself with the students. Military Counseling Service: Draft problems. Another problem or need of the Chicano College student that needs careful consideration and immediate action involves the Selective Service System. This situation is important because it greatly affects Chicano college students. Under the 1967 Selective Service Act, the undergraduates were "to be placed in the draft pool with the age group facing maximum exposure to the draft at the time of 1) graduation 2) withdrawal or expulsion from school or 3) the 24th birthday, whichever came first." At first glance this law appears to be clear-cut, but upon careful examination, it is not. This same law provides for the induction of nineteen year olds first and guarantees local board autonomy. The latter really means that even though is a uniform code, each local board can apply it in the manner it sees fit. In application, the draft boards still go by the four-year rule. That is fine for regular admittance, however, a Chicano student's general progress is about one to two years slower than the average. In order for the Chicano to catch up to the "typical" Anglo freshman he has to spend the first two semesters taking classes that will help him understand the college system. This takes care of one year of his four for demerits. By the time he reaches his fourth year, he has used up his demerits and he is subject to be drafted. What is needed is a uniform code that will protect or guarantee the Chicano student who is admitted to college under special federally funded programs the maximum protection from being discriminated against under the existing Selective Service Act because he will be in school two or three semesters longer than an Anglo.

Chicano Veterans: Chicano ex-GI Bill. This is important to the Chicano veteran since it enables him to stay in college. Any additional money could be arranged for by the support programs in conjunction with the Job Placement Centers.

Health Facilities: All of the various health services available on campus should be explained and made available to Chicano student participants in support programs. The Health Center can be utilized especially by the student who lives away from home, since the free services of doctor visitations, prescriptions, x-rays, and medical treatment are offered. In addition, special insurance policies can be offered to Chicano students who have "familia" obligations. Special policies should be offered by the schools so that the whole family can be treated at the center. Many of the Chicano families, realizing that special service can be offered to students, would find it more acceptable for their sons or daughters to attend college.

Services: To avoid negative experiences and frustration in their first year in college, the student advisor should try to develop a relationship and should encourage a situation in which the student learns from the student advisor and the student advisor also learns from the students in the program. To enumerate the duties and responsibilities of the student advisor would be impossible but in general, they can be classified into three main areas. The three major areas in which the student advisors are responsible when working with their students are: 1) administrative role; 2) academic role; and 3) student advisor-student relationship.

In summary the student advisor must always be aware of his relationship with his student in the sense that it doesn't develop into a paternalistic relationship that the students are respected as individuals and that they are no different, except that they may have come from a different educational environment’. Thus, the respect and trust that exists in the relationship is one of the most important aspects of the program. The family's preoccupation with meeting the basic needs for survival has not allowed them the time nor the money to seek preventive, and curative health services. As a result, the student., though he may receive financial assistance, upon being accepted, does not always have sufficient funds for the medical attention he may need. His needs range from paying for a health examination to getting needed prescription glasses, dental scare, etc. It must be emphasized that medical costs needed to prepare the student physically for college have been overlooked. Administrators have assumed that the Chicano has a private doctor and the funds to take care of his medical expenses, as well as the other added expenses in preparing for school. If the student needs treatment for something other than a common virus or chest infection, the health center usually recommends that the student see his private doctor or a specialist. Once the student has enrolled, he will need a medical plan that will provide him with more than the minimal services of the college health center. The Housing Office must actively help the students to locate living accommodations and arrange housing for each student. This aspect of the support programs is very important because it relieves the student of the arduous task of finding appropriate housing. Chicano students will need other Chicano students around them to maintain a comradeship. The Housing Office must make sure that housing contracts do not mislead or discriminate against Chicanos. Where college dormitories are the only form of housing available the fees should be evaluated to fit the students’ needs adequately. For example, the cost of college housing to date is approximately $1200 a year. The student who has received the maximum amount of financial assistance has a limited amount remaining to pay for books, clothes and other incidentals.

Transportation facilities: A major problem confronting the incoming Chicano student 1s transportation. If he is going to a commuter school, he will need to have either a car or an efficient bus system. Each college and university has to realize that money will have to be made available for the transportation of these students. One proposal is to get money to provide a work-study program for Chicano college students to drive in car pools. A student would get paid to drive his car 15 to 20 hours a week in picking up and returning home other Chicano students. It is also possible for the college to subsidize an effective bus system. RTD or other bus lines can lease out two or three bus routes to the college. This would enable students without a car to receive adequate transportation service.

Job opportunities relevant to the development of the Chicano community should be an integral part of Job Placement Centers. Community job opportunities and related areas of community development should be expanded so that the Chicano student population receives experience in various fields before graduation.

Career Counseling: Concurrent with the functions of the Job Placement Center are the functions of the Career Center. It offers help to students to determine future vocational or career objectives. The employment of Chicano counselors and trained personnel is necessary to identify the aspirations of high potential students. The development of his barrio and the people therein may be his primary concern. Therefore, all job and career opportunities cannot be looked upon from the traditional "middle-class" perspective. The jobs will be means by which a people, not an individual can develop and prosper.

Library Facilities: Incoming Chicano students should be given individual orientation sessions to specifically help the student when they must write term papers or book reports. Chicano upper division students can be employed on work-study to assist incoming Chicanos in this area. Social needs of the Chicano student: The college as a whole has various organizations and functions that are supposed to help socialize freshman students to college life. This social life has largely failed to interest the Chicano students, mainly because they have not had representation of Chicanos. This area of responsibility must be assumed by those Chicano organizations that are formed to help their hermanos on campus. M.E.Ch.A. for instance, wishes to bring together all Chicanos through political action. But the political action on the campus is supplemented by social events such as parties and fiestas. Comradeship can be found if these organizations offer a wide variety of activities. Incoming Chicano students are found to be at different political levels. At the primary level of awareness, education and socialization should go together to develop the interest of the student in his people and in himself.

Financial assistance: It is necessary to have a financial director that will work directly under the support programs. This director can have personal interviews with the students and keep a record of the student's money allocations. The financial director should have rapport with the students, so that personal financial information will not be pried out, but given without any constraint.

SUGGESTIONS: The Joint Committee on Higher Education Preliminary Outline 1967 has shown that students who are eligible for higher education do not enter a college or university because of insufficient financial support. The areas of financial assistance include the expenses of the school's tuition, fees, and general costs of room, board, clothing, laundry, and transportation. In addition, family obligations, due to marriage or immediate family needs, must be considered especially among the Chicanos. There is evidence that the Chicano student maintains family ties and continues to help financially his family