The former North, West, and South Forums were officially renamed to the Tony Fitch, Dawn Mabalon, and Campesino forums, respectively on Nov. 2. The ceremony marks the end of a three-year long conversation between faculty and administration over how to properly represent the student body diversity on campus.
The renaming effort has been going on since the formation of the faculty equity task forces.
After the 2021 murder of George Floyd, faculty on campus began calling for more representation and visibility on campus.
This led to the creation of three faculty task forces, the Black Faculty Task Force, the Chicanx Latine Faculty Task Force, and the Faculty Caucus for Asian Pacific Equity, which were created to find a way to bring change on campus.
The day started off in the Campesino Forum, where Delta President/Superitendent Dr. Lisa Lawrenson presented her own connection to the campesinos.
“…I think of my family members who were farmworkers, my grandparents and my great grandparents, and that’ll just make me cry, just thinking about that.”
There was also a showing of Delta alumni Joe Poni’s short documentary Campesinos: America’s Unsung Heroes, which covered the plight of California farm workers during the pandemic.
The celebration of the Tony Fitch forum began with an introduction by Professor Lauryn Seales to the new forum.
There was a dedication and a moment of silence for Fitch held by Black Student Union president and vice president. There was also a moment of remembrance by former coworkers of Fitch, such as counselor Clarence Louie.
The Dawn Malabon Forum presentation was hosted by Adjunct Counselor Debra Louie and Professor of Political Science Cirian Villavicencio.
There was a showing of Malabon’s self-narrated short film, as well as several words said by Malabon’s friends and family. The ceremony ended with a dance held by the EPIC Club.
Professor Mario Moreno, a member of the Chicanx Latine Faculty task force said that one of the most difficult things to get through was getting the forums renamed through policy standards.
“When we were working with the Heritage Committee, there was nothing written about equity, nothing about representation, about visibility. What was written was significant financial contribution, which comes from privilege and power,” said Moreno, speaking about the Campesino Forum.
“Emotionally, I feel very proud that we have finally been able to bring this to fruition,” said Moreno. “Looking at what we had to go through, the policy that we worked within, going to all the meetings, going back and forth … to finally come to this place, I feel proud.”