When artist and organizer José Quetzal Flores told Cal State Los Angeles graduates that they should thank their parents and grandparents who crossed the border so they could have a better life, Laura Hernández was so moved that she was about to cry.
“I owe all the work achieved to my parents who came from Mexico . My father Francisco Hernández works in a winery; and my mother, María cleaning a hospital ”, says Laura, who this week obtained her university degree in theater.
She together with more than 6, 500 Cal State University Los Angeles students returned this week to their alma mater for their graduation ceremony held at the Reeder Field baseball stadium. But this time masks were added to the traditional graduation attire to protect against the covid pandemic – 19.
Laura says her graduation ceremony was planned to be held in May, but was delayed until this week. “At first it was disappointing. I felt as if our achievements were worthless.”
But when graduation finally took place, says it was a strange feeling because covid – 19 is still present.
However, the vaccine gave him confidence. “My family and I have already been vaccinated, and that made us feel safer. During the ceremony, there was a bit of social distance, although some later took off their masks. ”
The graduations at Cal State LA were very emotional, after students were forced to end their classes virtually due to the pandemic. They had not been on campus for more than a year; and in the two graduation days students of the generation 2020 Y 2021 of the schools of Ethnic Studies, Social and Natural Sciences, and Business and Economies.
The President of Cal State LA, William A. Covino dedicated a special message to the graduates:
“You did not give up on your dream of obtaining a college degree. You continued to study, learn, serve others, take care of your family and strive to reach your goal, despite all the challenges caused by the pandemic.
“Even though the world around you seemed to be falling apart, you worked and prepared to build a better world. This approach is what it means to be a golden eagle. ”
The golden eagle is the symbol of the strength and spirit of Cal State LA . That’s why he told graduates, they are equipped to serve and uplift communities.
“Taking care of each other is your super power. Compassion in the face of suffering is your superpower. The knowledge and ability to make a difference is your superpower. ”
And when he said: “Marvel has the Avengers, but we have you, the Golden Eagles. You are the superheroes our world needs, ”a cascade of applause fell.
Delayed graduation
Marlene Vázquez finished her studies in public health in December, but her ceremony was held only on Tuesday 27 July, after your last year of college, she took all her classes online because of the pandemic.
“It was a bit difficult because you get distracted online more easily; and by not going to university, you cannot take advantage of the facilities such as the library where I was going to study. ”
And she says she couldn’t believe when she heard her name during the graduation ceremony while her family was screaming with excitement. “Of 5 siblings that we are, I am the third who goes to university.”
Marlene was born in the country, but her parents are from Jalisco, Mexico. “For me it was very important that my family was there because I thought that due to the pandemic, my ceremony was going to be virtual. I felt very happy and everything was with social distance. ”
The covid protocols – 19 launched by Cal State LA for graduations included: getting a self-examination about covid symptoms before going to campus; Do not go if they have tested positive for the virus in the past 10 days, or if they have been in contact with an infected person in the last 14 days, or who have been asked to quarantine by their doctor.
They made them see that it is important that they understand the risk of attending a massive event where the vaccination status of others who attend may be unknown.
All attendees were required to wear appropriate face masks that cover the nose and mouth at all Cal State LA facilities, except when consuming food or beverages.
Graduates were able to remove their masks to take their graduation photo at stage.
Asked to immediately notify Cal State LA if they tested positive for covid – 19 in the following 48 hours after attending the event.
National recognition
Laura, a Boyle Heights resident, who graduated from Cal State LA with a bachelor’s degree in theater, says that in a couple of years she wants to pursue a master’s degree in environmental science to apply this knowledge to scenic design.
“Contrary to what many think, there are many opportunities to I work in art. In the entertainment industry there is a lot of waste of electricity and other materials, and part of my work, already with the master’s degree, will be to take advantage of the material wasted in the design of theatrical sets. ”
And he talks that maybe that vocation comes from his father who before emigrating to Mexico was studying to be an architect. “To design buildings in architecture, you need to make plans and take measurements, and the same happens in theater design, you have to plan and measure.”
Laura worked in the Department of Theater and Dance, and was a production designer for the play War of the Worlds based on the novel by HG Wells, which was broadcast virtual during the pandemic.
Under his production, he designed decimated hospital corridors, bloody bodies, devastated streets. His stage design work earned him an honorable mention at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival at the participating 18, 000 students per year.
Honorary Doctorate
José Quetzal Flores, founder of the Grammy Award-winning band Quetzal, received an honorary doctorate from Cal State LA and delivered a speech to students at the graduation ceremony.
“I was notified of this recognition last year happened before the pandemic, but then the handover ceremony was postponed until this week. For me it represents an achievement for an entire community because I do not make music alone but together. ”
Quetzal, who was born in Salinas, California Growing up in the Los Angeles neighborhoods of El Sereno and Lincoln Heights, he dedicated his honorary doctorate to his parents and family.
“My parents were and are organizers; and I have dedicated myself to organizing for social justice and I have spent a lot of time in Mexico in different communities. ”
He affirms that he does not have a formal education and educated on the streets. “Society looks down on it, but it is not like that. I highly value the teaching I received from my mentors. I learned all that traditional music, from the teachings of ‘las doñas’ from Boyle Heights and from the intelligence of our communities and single moms who work and are true economists. ”
Quetzal congratulated the students for graduating despite police violence against Latino communities and politicians who did not protect us during the pandemic, and did not guarantee us basic things such as vaccines. “Despite all that, they were able to finish their studies.”
And he congratulated his parents who have emigrated from different places. “They did not get on a plane to come to this country. They got on ‘the beast’ – a deadly freight train in southern Mexico that Central American immigrants climb onto rooftops to cross the Southwest – they crossed painful borders so that their children would have the opportunities they would have wanted. ”
He also asked for an acknowledgment for the ancestors because despite the genocide and terror caused by the colonization they were able to carry and give us this inheritance.
And to the graduates of the art career, he told them that this industry is cruel and sometimes, it takes away your humanity, but there are good news, “we have the inheritance of the values of our dignity and how to care for others; and there is a way to enter and be artists, producers and guardians of culture. ”