Muralist and artist PAUL BOTELLO will be part of a class, Rural and Social Movements, this next Wednesday, April 27^th at 3:15 PM at Pitzer College Broad Hall 210 where he will make a slide show historical presentation pertinent to our Mexican-origin immigrant/working class communities and discuss the development of murals and art that he has been part of in East Los Angeles and the region.  As part of the class, he will take students on a tour of the murals that he worked on (with students) at the Pitzer College campus.

Paul Botello was born and raised in East Los Angeles. He earned a BA and an MFA from Cal State University, Los Angeles. He teaches art in the LAUSD school system and has taught, in the past, at the Claremont Colleges. In 1994 he traveled to Berlin, Germany where he collaborated on a giant mural titled “Global Chessboard.” Other recently completed murals include “Citizens of the World” at Esperanza School, and “In Unison” at the Maravilla Housing Facility. He also completed a large-scale mural on the Metro Gold Line construction fence that was located at First Street and Soto. Portions of the mural can now be found at the Pueblo del Sol Community Center in East Los Angeles. He has painted a number of murals in the Inland Empire region where he has collaborated with Pitzer students including five murals on the Pitzer campus and two murals (of collaboration with Pitzer students and day laborers): a mural at the Pomona Day Labor Center and one at Vina Danks school in Ontario. Botello lives and works in East Los Angeles, and exhibits his work in Los Angeles and abroad.

Jose Zapata Calderon

The Supreme Court Upholds One Person, One Vote:

An important decision today in the Supreme Court that helps to stultify the efforts to stop the growing political power of our communities..  The Latino and Latina Roundable held a well-attended forum in Pomona a few months ago and brought attention to the significance of this case, Evenwel vs. Abbott, and how we had to be vigilant of its intent at changing how electoral districts are drawn across the country (revamping who comprises electoral districts) and reshaping who is ultimately represented by elected officials.  The challengers in the Texas case, represented by the conservative legal group Project on Fair Representation, argued that the practice of drawing Congressional districts should no longer use total population from census figures as a marker for creating electoral districts – but that it should exclude those ineligible to vote , such as undocumented immigrants, felons, and young people below the voting age.

If the Supreme Court would have decided otherwise, it would have meant that, in areas where there are a large number of noncitizens – those districts would have had diluted representation – because the districts would have been drawn just on the basis of the numbers of voters and not based on the total population.  This is a big victory against the conservative right-wing forces  who are seeking to suppress the growing political power potential of our Latino and Latina communities – our immigrant communities — and the potential of the political strength of the diverse people of color, women, LGBTQ, labor, faith-based, and community-based coalitions – that have manifested themselves more than ever in recent years.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-court-voting-districts-20160404-story.html

Jose Zapata Calderon

Join the Pitzer College Student Senate in welcoming Former California State Assembly Speaker Hon. Fabian Nuñez back to his alma mater! Fabian graduated from Pitzer College in 1997 and went on to become an influential Latino leader in California. Fabian will be speaking about his experiences in politics and will be answering questions from members of the audience during a Q&A session.

Fabian Núñez was recognized as the “Public Official of the Year” by Governing Magazine in 2004 and authored Assembly Bill 32, a landmark climate change legislation that has become a blueprint for other states and the U.S. Congress in addressing environmental challenges. He currently serves on the U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directors and previously served on the University of California Board of Regents. To learn more about Fabian Nuñez, visit his profile at www.mercuryllc.com.

This special event is part of “Student Voice Week” and the “Mindful of the Future” Speaker Series sponsored by the Student Senate. The event is open to the public and will be held in the Founder’s Room in McConnell Center on Monday, February 1st at 4:15pm. See the Facebook event for more details.

A.  Immigration Forums & Assistance Committee of the PUSD -“Know Your Rights” forums on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 at 5:00 PM and Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at 8:00 AM – Village Academy Conference Center (1460 W Holt Blvd. Pomona, CA 91766 – Entrance 1)

B.  Latino/a Summit on Elections – 1/28, 2016, 7- 9 PM, Hutton Center, 660 Colton Avenue, Colton

C.  Fabian Nunez – 4:15 PM, Feb. 1, Pitzer Founder’s Room McConnell Center

D.  Comm. Dev. Comm. At PUSD – 2/3 7 PM – Parent’s Room 

E.  Pilgrimage Mtg. at Garey – 3:30 on 2/5 F.  URBAN 2/20, 10 A. M. – UCLA Labor Center

F.  Latino and Latina Roundtable Retreat – 9 – 3; Pitzer College Broad Center Room 208 (1050 N. Mills Ave., in Claremont

George Ciccarriello Maher, Drexel University, author of We Created Chavez:  A People‘s History of the Venezuelan Revolution

Miguel Tinker Salas, Latin American Studies, History, and Chicano/a Latino/a Studies at Pomona College, author of Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know and The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela

Todd Griffin, organizer with Black Lives Matter (Los Angeles) and participant in 2014 Black and Brown solidarity delegation to Venezuela

Jeanette Charles, popular educator and graduate student at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela with the Catedra Libre Africa

This week, the Venezuelan people presented over 5 million signatures to the US government protesting against President Obama’s executive order that declares Venezuela a “threat to national security.” According to the latest hinter laces Poll, 92% of all Venezuelans reject any form of US intervention and are organizing courageously to defend their sovereignty.

Over the last 15 years, Venezuelans have secured free education from preschool to undergraduate studies, free healthcare, and support for popular culture and media . Venezuela was declared free of illiteracy in 2005. The government has built more than 675,000 homes since 2010 and plans to build 400,000 more in 2015. In Venezuela , undocumented immigrants are guaranteed the same rights as citizens. Many Latin American countries are softening geopolitical borders.

Venezuela is also working to create a society free of discrimination with laws such as the Law on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence and the Law Against Racial Discrimination marking an anti–racist and anti–patriarchal shift in the country after 500 years of colonial repression and intervention.

FMI: chiapassuooortcommittee@gmail.com

 Sponsors: Scripps Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Intercollegiate  Department  of  Africana  Studies,  Scripps  Feminist,  Gender,  and  Sexuality  Studies, Intercollegiate  Feminist  Center for  Teaching,  Research and  Engagement

–Socorro Chavez