San Diego representatives celebrate federal money to support marginalized college students

Last week, President Biden urged Democrats in Congress to remind voters of their accomplishments. On Monday, three Democrats from San Diego visited Mesa College to do just that.

Rep. Sarah Jacobs (D-CA 51) joined Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA 50) and Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA 52) in the $3.4 million celebration for the San Diego Community College District.

The money was approved by Congress in December as part of a consolidated fiscal year appropriation bill.

$1.2 million was allocated to better serve the county’s LGBTQ community. A portion of the money will be used to hire a regional coordinator for the PRIDE centers already on the City and Mesa College campuses, as well as those planned for Miramar College and the District Continuing Education Office.

The funding was opposed by several conservative Republican representatives, who called it part of a “revival culture”.

At a press conference on the Mesa College campus on Monday, Jacobs said: “Let me be clear. If it’s ‘woken up’ to make sure that young people in our community have a space where they can be themselves and for me to stand up for people who are often overlooked and marginalized, I think I’ve woken up.”

Another $1 million will go toward expanding services for students who recently graduated from foster care. Peters said that includes 1,500 former foster children across the county. He also said that almost half of them are unemployed and need guidance.

“This project will help students who deserve extra support achieve personal and professional success as they enter a new world of challenges and opportunities,” Peters said.

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Anais Mendoza is a DACA student at Mesa College. She works at the DACA campus office, San Diego, California on March 6, 2023.

Another $1.2 million will go to support DACA County “dreamers” like Anahis Mendoza, who is studying to be an interior designer at Mesa College. Along with her classes, she also advises other students on campus who were born in another country and brought to the US by their parents without documentation.

There are an estimated 1,200 unregistered students in the district’s four main locations.

“Dreamers and undocumented students, like everyone else, deserve a fair chance of succeeding in the American Dream, and a high-quality education is the best equalizer,” Vargas said.

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