“She was the only student in the class without a laptop, which could seriously affect one’s academic performance because everything we submit is online,” Marino recalled. “To witness that and seeing the student crying with tears of joy really just showed me that we’re not just students to our professors, but family.”
The episode illustrates the support that SDCCD colleges offer their Black and African American students, and why San Diego City, Mesa and Continuing Education colleges are primed to earn a designation as a Black Serving Institution — while the fourth, San Diego Miramar College, will seek the designation at a later date based on Black student enrollment efforts.
Under Senate Bill 1348, authored by state Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in fall 2024, colleges or universities that excel in assisting Black students and that have at least 10% or 1,500 students who are Black or African American can be eligible for a BSI designation that can help secure various state and federal grants. To qualify, colleges must have a Black student success program, provide academic and basic needs support to assist Black and African American students, track the impact the support is having on Black student outcomes, and commit to serving Black and African American students in their mission.
Currently, Assembly Bill 335 (Gipson), which would follow through on the promise established by SB 1348 by setting aside $75 million for grant programs that would benefit California Black-Serving Institutions, is awaiting review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
It’s all part of a comprehensive effort at boosting Black student success. Nearly two-thirds of Black and African American students who attend a higher education institution in California begin their postsecondary journey at a community college, but 63% of Black community college students don’t earn a degree, certificate, or transfer to a four-year institution within six years.
More than 5,000 San Diego Community College District students are Black or African American, and City and Mesa colleges, as well as College of Continuing Education, already meet benchmarks set forth in SB 1348. Presidents at all three colleges say they will seek BSI designation. For its part, Miramar College proudly serves hundreds of Black students each year, and college leaders are hopeful it can also secure BSI designation in the future as enrollment grows.
Students need no convincing that support is available to help them succeed. Navy veteran George Buchanan said he felt the love the moment he stepped on the Mesa College campus when he was dropping off his then-wife to register and was approached by a counselor who wondered why he didn’t do the same. “He said, ‘You’re at the right campus, you’re at the right school, watch this campus work.’ And the campus worked. I got two ‘As’ in my first semester and said, ‘Oh, honey, I’m home!’ ”
Buchanan praised the care permeating the Mesa College campus, especially during a trying time shortly after the pandemic when the end of his marriage was followed by the death of his mother.
“I was at a very low point,” said the single father. “But there’s a lot of people paying attention to you. I’m literally sitting in class with tears falling down my face, and, all of a sudden, I had people reaching out to help me. I was seen.”
Chenelson Estiverne, a Haitian immigrant and College of Continuing Education student, lauded his college for the supportive environment that permeates his City Heights campus.
He said: “I tell my friends in the Haitian community, ‘Hear me out, this school is for us.’ ”
Among services supporting Black student success at City College are the Umoja community, which assists Black students who desire to transfer to four-year colleges and universities; Hermanos Unidos Brothers United (HUBU); and a chapter of A2MEND, an acronym for the African American Male Education Network and Development. Mesa College has adopted The Harambee Protocol, which includes an A2MEND chapter, a Black Student Union, Umoja, the Black Faculty Counselor Collaborative, a Black Studies Department, and more, as a collective of programs to support the success of Black students. College of Continuing Education has a thriving Black Student Success Program and an A2MEND student charter, and it recently made history by partnering with Sacramento State University’s groundbreaking Black Honors College, providing a pathway for SDCCE graduates to transfer to one of the nation’s leading universities for Black students.
Said Marino, a Navy veteran who has her sights on transferring to a University of California campus or historically Black college or university for a bachelor’s in business and then to Harvard for a master’s in screenwriting: “It’s extremely important for me to achieve academic excellence because of my desire to contribute something positive and uplifting to society.”