During the 2005 commencement ceremony at Santa Mon...

2008-10-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

During the 2005 commencement ceremony at Santa Monica College, the year I transferred to CSUN, the governor, who attended SMC in the early 70’s, appeared as the keynote speaker. I remember thinking about that speech during our trip to Sacramento, on September 17th.

I’ve never been a big fan of the governor, but I couldn’t help but to think of his words, and in a strange way it gave me lots of hope. Part of me wanted to believe that he actually gave a crap about education and about California’s future, but I was just giving him way too much credit.

These are some of the words he said during his speech at SMC on June 14, 2005:

“Now, the important thing is here, the message is, be strong. Go after your goal. Now, it’s going to be a big struggle. It’s going to be a lot of work. And make sure that you understand one thing; that you are the only obstacle. There is no other obstacle for you than you yourself, your own mind, because America and California is already the land of opportunity. It’s already the state with the greatest opportunity. You’re already here in the greatest state in the greatest country in the world.

So the only obstacle that you have is your own mind. Never fear competition. Always go all out, and always overcome your fears, because that’s what courage is all about. Courage is not the lack of fear, but courage is to mow through the fear and to go after your goals and do what you want to do.”

How ironic, don’t you think? The governor saying, “you are the only obstacle”. Yesterday, during the last hour of the night, with hundreds maybe thousands of students waiting to hear news on the CA Dream Act (SB1301), many glued to the TV for any news, searching the internet, waiting for a call, a text message, an e-mail, a facebook message, a myspace post….waiting for a miracle….the governor became THAT obstacle:

During that same trip to Sacramento, and on our way back to LA, we saw a movie which I’m sure most of you have heard of, “WALKOUT!”. After the movie, many of us shared our thoughts and feelings. Susan, a UCLA IDEAS member, pointed out that in one of the scenes one of the characters asked, “What have you accomplished with all of this (walkout)? Nothing, nothing has changed”, and another character, a young student, said: “We have changed”.

Susan was right to point that out, we all have changed, we all have grown, and the fact that we are sharing our thoughts, our feelings, and opening a dialogue is a proof of that. If I recall correctly, this didn’t happen last year when the governor vetoed the CA Dream Act. And it’s absolutely beautiful to see that this time we are all willing to share, to speak out and to continue the fight, because this is far from over. If the governor was able to hear us chanting in front of the state capitol, then he knows that WE’LL BE BACK!

Despite the irony that his 2005 commencement speech turned out to be, I leave you all with a message from the governor himself, hoping that he lives up to his words someday, and knowing that we will:

“…keep up the good work. Work, work, work. Study, study, study. Win, win, win, and give back to the community.

Its a shame that as Californians we have someone s...

2008-10-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

Its a shame that as Californians we have someone so ill qualified for this position- Governor of the state. Its time to hold this Governor and our elected officials accountable.

However, the will and the power of the students will outsmart and outlast him. Because...

"There ain't no power like the power of the students cause the power of the students don't stop!"

Comments on Underground Undergrads: The Journey: The youth development of Arnold Schwarzenegger , o...

During the 2005 commencement ceremony at Santa Mon...

Its a shame that as Californians we have someone s...