Volume 57, Issue 1, Oct. 31

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Editorial: College Promise cuts

Sports: Cross country sets goals for the season

Israel-Hamas: Q&A with professor James Nguyen

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Volume 57, Issue 1

DA Voices: ‘What is your favorite horror movie?’

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

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lavozdeanza.com

New health clinic on campus set to build in 2024 By Vincent Scrivens STAFF REPORTER

PHOTO BY LION PARK

Local Indigenous people say honoring Juan Bautista de Anza is traumatic for them.

Community petitions to change college name County, said de Anza commitSpeaker panel ted violence against the Tamien which he then documented covers namesake’s people, in his journals. “(de Anza wrote in his jourcolonial history

By Leila Salam MANAGING EDITOR

A group of faculty, students and community members petitioned De Anza College to change its name after discussing its namesake’s colonialist history on Oct. 17. The group, called the De Anza Name Exploration Committee, distributed the petition after a speaker panel event about Juan Bautista de Anza, a Spanish colonizer. Cynthia Kaufman, VIDA director and member of the committee, said learning about who de Anza was is a first step to showing the community why it might be time for a name change. “So often, things are named after people and nobody knows who that person is; you’re honoring them without even knowing that’s what you’re doing,” Kaufman said. Speaker Quirina Geary, chairwoman of the Tamien Nation, the tribe indigenous to Santa Clara

nal), ‘In some matter (Indigenous people) are very reliable, but in their words, I have observed they scarcely appear to be human beings’,” Geary said. “Glorifying someone (by naming a college after him) who saw homeland people as being inhuman is (traumatic for us) and it’s painful.” VIDA created the comittee after its global issues conference about restorative justice on March 6. When speaker Valentin Lopez, chairman of the Amah Mutsun Band, the indigenous nation spanning Monterey to Gilroy, talked about restorative justice regarding colonialism, he commented on the college’s name. “(Lopez) mentioned the name De Anza College and he paused and said, ‘You know, you all should think about your name,’” Kaufman said. “So a bunch of us who were at that talk met to (discuss) that request of his.” Former history professor David Howard Pitney said changing the college name would positively impact the school because people would get a more accurate educa-

tion about the history of this land. “One way it would be positive for De Anza to come to a reckoning about this is to learn historical truth with accuracy,” Pitney said. Though the petitioners have not suggested an alternate name yet, 40 people have signed so far. Kaufman said community outreach efforts are underway with the ultimate goal being to present the request to President Lloyd Holmes, the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Lee Lambert. Cabrillo Community College is going through a similar process of changing its name. Speaker John Govsky, Cabrillo professor of digital media, said the initiative stemmed from similar concerns about being named after colonizer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who also has a legacy of violence toward Indigenous people. Pitney said hearing Cabrillo’s experiences from Govsky provided some perspective on strategies that De Anza could use. “One of the things I picked up from (Govsky) was one of the most effective voices in having an impact on trustees was students,” Pitney said. “(Sending) letters to the editor and posting on social media, all those things need to get done.”

Santa Clara County plans to build a health care center on campus as soon as next year to provide affordable health care for the community and experience for medical students. Patrick Ahrens, FoothillDe Anza Board of Trustees President said, “This is the first known partnership in the state of California. There does not exist a county clinic on community college property; This has the potential to be a model for the rest of the state.” Ahrens said he conceived the project after reading an article in the Mountain View Voice about Santa Clara County’s struggles to find property for a new county health clinic.

Ahrens said, even though the county had the money set aside to build the clinic, “they were struggling to find commercial space to build it on and were lamenting about how expensive it (the area) was.” After learning of this difficulty, Ahrens contacted Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and suggested building the county clinic on De Anza College campus. On Nov. 7, 2022, De Anza President Lloyd Holmes officially proposed the idea in a Letter of Interest to the Board of Trustees. Simitian said Santa Clara County staff already conducted their own feasibility study previously, concluding that the project was “entirely possible to build.” See Page 2 for continuation.

PHOTO BY MERT ISIKDOGAN

Festival dancers performing for De Anza’s annual Diwali celebration in the Sunken Garden, Oct. 25.

Diwali festival

By Mert Isikdogan and Catherine Marchione STAFF REPORTERS

Faculty, students, administration, classified staff and community members celebrated the South Asian festival of lights, Diwali, in the Sunken Garden on Oct. 25. There were activities such as henna and candle-holder crafting. Some booths had sweet treats and

savory food. Music filled the air, accompanied by choreographed and impromptu dances. Diwali represents the spiritual victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil. The festival also commemorates different historical events and stories for people of different regions and languages. Diwali is celebrated with family and friends by lighting earthen lamps or diyas, prayers or puja, rangoli decorations, fireworks and sweets.


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