Elev8 Students Reflect on New Mexico Convening

In December 2010, Elev8 held a national meeting in LasCruces, New Mexico. Site directors, school staff, parents and students all attended-including two students from Elev8 Oakland, Charles "CJ" Brown and Jorge "Tito" Pineda-Campa.

CJ and Tito came to the convening to meet other Elev8 students and share their experiences, including giving a presentation on the History of Gangs class both attend as part of Elev8.

The History of Gangs class examines the economic and social conditions that often lead young people to join gangs. Students in the class also think about how they can advocate for public policy changes that will positively impact their communities so that students have opportunities to succeed in school and life. In their presentation, Tito and CJ talked about what the class had taught them about gang violence, and answered audience questions about their experience. As CJ said, "I felt scared at first, but I was okay as soon as everything started.  I didn't miss a line."

The students also spent a day at school in Gadsden, New Mexico. Tito visited Gadsden High School and CJ went to Gadsden Middle School. They found some similarities with their own schools--as CJ pointed out, "the teachers are nice, the students are well behaved, and we both have security officers." There were also some differences in New Mexico that Tito shared, "I saw how Latino families live and how the houses were in bad condition, and how people were scared of immigration.  Some people would not come outside of their homes because they were afraid of immigration." Elev8 strongly supports fair immigration policies like The DREAM Act, which would offer a pathway to citizenship for undocumented students who meet certain requirements, like military service or receive a college degree.

Tito and CJ enjoyed their trip to New Mexico, and came away with an understanding of the need for programs like Elev8. Tito pointed out "I see Elev8 fitting into both communities because they both have needs... we both have gangs and poverty." Overall, both Tito and CJ thought the trip was a positive experience; as CJ shared, "I made a lot of new friends. I would like to go back one day to New Mexico."