Notes on Chicana/o Student Movement @ UCSB: The Tragic Death of Oscar “El Bandido” Gomez and In Defense of Noel “Nene” Huerta On November 16, 1994, Oscar “El Bandido” Gomez (UC Davis student) and Noel “Nene” Huerta (UCSB student) — homeboys from the Chicana/o student movement in Califas — attended a massive protest at UCSB called “Take Back Chicano Studies.” Among other issues, this included support for Dr. Rodolfo “Rudy” Acuña. As…

Rudy and Me: Ode to a Living Legend, Dr. Rodolfo F. Acuña I first met Dr. Rodolfo F. Acuña (“Rudy”) in Fall of 1986, as a UCLA undergraduate from East Los Angeles. It wasn’t in person. I met the famous author by reading his classic book, Occupied America: The Chicano’s…

I have been writing about having to reconstruct my life after being incapacitated by Parkinson’s and trying to reconstruct my life by requesting my Human Resources Files from my past employer, California State University, Northridge (CSUN). My files, articles and reputation are under siege. For at least a decade, I…

Everyone knows that we are in trouble. The university graduation statistics suggest that there will be a downturn in enrollment. Just as in previous cycles, silver bullets are being proposed. It is natural that we have different opinions. However, this is nothing new. When educators — or let’s say administrators…

An Open (Short) Letter to the Los Angeles Times Editor(s) on ‘Chicano’ and Identity by Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones (dated June 9, 2019) The reporter Dorany Pineda and the “‘Chicano’ and the fight for identity” column (06/03/19) signal its concern for a Chicano identity debate and its historical context while promoting…

Lessons for Success in Higher Education and Beyond As I reflect on my early undergraduate years at UCLA, where I entered as a first-generation math major from the notorious Ramona Gardens public housing project (or Big Hazard projects) in East Los Angeles, I’m still surprised (more like shocked!) that I…

Four Ways to Support Latinas/os during the Pandemic and Beyond The COVID-19 pandemic has not only devastated the U.S. economy, healthcare system and educational way of learning, it has also exposed or exasperated the racial and class inequalities in the formal economy (and informal economy). (The informal economy is also…

The White Nationalist Barbarians Storm the Gate(s) of the U.S. Capitol The white nationalist barbarians, aided and abetted by their Führer — President Donald J. Trump — stormed and entered the gate(s) at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The seditionists include those who brazenly entered the so-called…

In Memory of the Legendary Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones: Chicano Scholar, Educator, Activist, and Poet “Anti-Mexicanism is a form of nativism practiced by colonialists and their inheritors.” — Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones (2017) Tuesday, November 11, 2020 — marks one of the saddest days of my life. On this day, we —…