President Besikof Meets With API Community Leaders
On September 22, 2021, President Besikof conducted a virtual meeting with Asian Pacific Islander (API) community leaders from the East Bay. The meeting was a forum to provide leaders in the API community to speak directly to the President about ways Laney College can be an effective partner and better serve the community.
The goal of the meeting was to identify ways that Laney College can be more responsive to API community needs, including career services and job training programs to help students establish careers that will contribute to the East Bay economy.
Attending the meeting were leaders from the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Lao Family Community Development, East Bay Asian Youth Center, and the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation. President Besikof invited attendees to establish and ongoing dialogue with the college, and announced future opportunities for more in-depth discussions.
Mam Group Performs at Warriors Kick-off Game
On Oct. 6, Laney's Mam group performed at the first Warriors game of the season. Henry Sales and Tessa Scott have been holding Mam workshops at Laney College sponsored by the Latinx Cultural Center for almost two years, offering a Certificate of Achievement in Mam Language and Culture as well as 3 courses (for Beginners, Intermediates and Advanced students).
They will also be performing at the Chase Center, November 11th and December 6th!
Laney Chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign Hosts Fall Teach-In
On Oct. 6, the Laney Chapter of the Poor People's Campaign hosted a virtual teach in centered around the "new normal." The MCs were Reverend Monica Cross and Leona Zarrabi (Laney student and member of Laney PPC) who explained what the Poor People’s Campaign (Poor People's Campaign – A National Call for Moral Revival ) is.
The ASLC VP, Jasai Martinez, welcomed the audience, stating that the ASLC (who co-sponsored the Teach-in) stands firm in demanding government action for a sustainable future for the people and planet, the sub theme of today’s teach-in. At least 79 people attended the zoom event.The teach-in included speakers who are active in movements to increase affordable housing, to prevent evictions, to protect the environment and all life from pollution and climate injustice, to reimagine campus safety and to promote true democracy for all.
Former Laney student, Isha Clarke, who is now in her first year at Howard University and is co- founder of Youth vs. Apocalypse, a diverse youth-driven climate justice group, spoke about the connections among climate justice, housing justice, police violence, systemic racism and capitalism, a society buildup by exploiting people and the planet. The second presentation was given by the Black Organizing Project, who discussed the work they did to remove the Oakland Police Dept. out of Oakland Public Schools. Students were encouraged to get involved in student government, local government, and the Laney Poor People’s Campaign. Click here to view the recording on Peralta TV.
This article is taken from the President’s Report, written by Dr. Rudy Besikof, Laney College President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, October 10, 2021. A PDF version is available here.