On September 12, 2018, the Office of Student Equity and Support Programs hosted the Beyond the Margins Equity Forum (BTMEF), Stay Woke: A Discussion About Student Success at Skyline College. This event brought together a cross-section of 65 students, staff, faculty and administrators to have a collective conversation about issues salient to the campus community.
Using key findings from the Student Voice Survey, the forum focused on economic marginalization and its impact on a student’s educational experience, and how institutional policies, practices and procedures can be responsive to student needs.
The program opened with welcoming remarks from Dean Lasana Hotep followed by a presentation from faculty facilitator, Jesse Raskin who provided information to help frame the discussion about Student Success. He stated, “Ensuring success in higher education among historically marginalized students is our institutional responsibility.”
The program also featured a panel including Rika Fabian (Professor of Sociology), Ivan Silva (Promise Scholar Counselor) and Danielle Powell (Professor of Communication Studies). Rika Fabian presented Student Voice Survey Data on students experiencing housing insecurity, food insecurity and the inability to afford required textbooks, resulting in taking fewer classes, not register for a required course on their SEP and/or perform poorly in a class. Ivan Silva provided the audience with a working definition of marginalization and how the condition of being marginalized by an educational institution affects students academically, socially and psychologically. Danielle Powell discussed her work with the Women’s Mentoring and Leadership Academy and the strategies she has used to ensure students receive the support they need in order to be successful.
Article by Katrina Pantig | Photo by Zaw Min Khant
