INTERN PROJECTS
INTERN PROJECTS
Each semester, Evolve interns complete a self directed research project guided by their own progressive values and advocacy interests. Check out their work below!
Latino Student Retention in Higher Education
How the UCs are failing their Latino Students
Jennifer Chacon-Duran
Despite there being a very high number of Latinx students in California public schools, they are underrepresented in elite public higher education institutions like the UCs. Despite not providing the infrastructure and resources Latinx advocate for and need, many UCs are seeking “Hispanic Serving Institution” status by reaching the 25% Latinx student population threshold. The UC cares more about looking the part than putting in the work and money into retaining Latinx students and supporting them through their academic journeys.
Check out Jennifer's one-pager here, and her presentation here!
Reproductive Justice for Undocumented Folks
Arin Haas
Arin’s project focused on how undocumented immigrant communities are directly impacted by the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2023. Undocumented people seeking abortions are trying to navigate a complex medical system that grows ever more confusing with state-specific technicalities like limits on gestational age and mandatory ultrasounds. Language is a large part of this. It is a challenging enough system for english-speakers to understand the medical and legal jargon around abortions, but it is almost incomprehensible for those with limited English proficiency. There are many other obstacles to accessing reproductive healthcare for undocumented folks, which often intersect with concerns about immigration status, imprisonment, finances, safety, and more. Arin wants everyone to know their rights, and focused aspects of her project on education and dispelling information about limitations on reproductive rights.
The Relationship Between Police and Capital
Attacking the Civil Rights of the Masses
Since their foundation, police have been a central instrument in the production and protection of capital for privileged groups. Nikki’s project focused on the ways in which the Police (the institution and those on the ground) materially violate the civil rights of the masses as a way to increase profit for corporations and those at the top. For example, in 1977, the police conducted a 3:00 AM eviction raid on those participating in the international hotel strike in San Francisco’s financial district. Over 400 riot police brutally cleared a 3000-person human barricade in order to physically remove tenants from the premises.
Check out Nikki’s one-pager here!
Let’s Talk Sex Education
Vivian Rodriguez
Public access to sex education is vital to teen and young adult safety and healthcare. Throughout the country, sex education mandates and curricula are based on local policies. Vivian researched and compared California’s public policies on sex education in schools to those in Texas. To enhance and vary the research, she also included an analysis from the Netherlands—a country with known pragmatic sex education system. As expected, the areas with earlier and medically-based sex education curricula have better results preventing not only teen pregnancy and abortions, but also childhood sexual abuse.
Check out Vivian’s one-pager here, and her presentation here!
Environmental Injustice in Schools and Communities of Color
Delany Moreno
Growing up in Los Angeles, Delany witnessed a myriad of environmental hazards in her own neighborhood and the neighborhoods of their peers. During high school years, a plane flew over Delany’s school (and many other neighborhoods) and dropped jet fuel — then faced no repercussions. Unsurprisingly, the historical impacts of redlining and racist zoning policies have paved the way for decades of pollution and targeted environmental hazard which predominantly impact low-income communities of color. These issues will not be addressed by passive statements of care. We must pursue a health-in-all policies approach, like that of Richmond, CA, which create ten step community based plans to actually address the environmental impacts of racism in formerly redlined communities.
Check out Delany’s one-pager here, and her presentation here!
Community Colleges
Bridging Educational Opportunities and Creating Paths to Success
Anna Chan
Community colleges are vital to creating a reality where all Californians have access to high quality higher education. Roughly 45% of community college students are first generation; underscoring their role as a mechanism to break the limits imposed on eduction access by generational wealth. They’re also crucial to empowering folks who may be regarded as “non-traditional” students, or those who are interested in technical and career training! Increasing our investment in California Community Colleges empowers our communities to access the higher education we all have a right to!
SROs in Public Schools
And the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Ximena Mandujano
Schools should be a safe, encouraging, and trusting environment for students to learn. Unfortunately, that isn’t the reality for many students attending California public schools. Many of our public schools now have “School Resource Officers” on campus who are deputized officers who have the ability to make arrests. While their stated mission is to make schools safer for students, they often to the opposite; schools with sworn in resource officers arrest students at significantly higher rates than those without. On top of that, there are stark disparities in these arrests by race and disability status. Black students, particularly those who are male and have a disability, are far more likely to be arrested than their peers. Schools should be a place to learn, not a place where the systemic racism in our society manifests in school resource officers who funnel students into the prison system.
Check out Ximena’s one-pager here, and her presentation here!