FULLERTON : Camp Encourages Latinos’ Education

Oscar Rodriguez has the same hopes and aspirations many 13-year-olds have--to one day go to college, get a meaningful job and live a happy life. But in Rodriguez’s case, the realities of the barrio can sometimes pose a formidable obstacle.

Not one to stand still and brood, Rodriguez and 46 other youngsters hope to chip away at that barrier with the help of Camp Escalera.

The five-day camp, which began Tuesday and ends today, was the brainchild of Stephanie Lopez, Ray Navarro and Sam Mendoza. The three first formulated the concept four years ago while they were attending Cal State Fullerton and have since developed it into a thriving program.

“At that time, the three of us felt that we had to give something back to the Latino community,” said Lopez, Camp Escalera’s director and a Ph.D. candidate in comparative culture. “We felt we needed to instill in our youth a sense of pride in our culture and what it stands for.”

Only 2 years old, Camp Escalera--which means ladder in Spanish and is used as a symbol of reaching up--is still in its infancy, but Lopez said she is pleased with the growing interest in the program. Since last year, attendance has grown from 22 students to 47.

The primary focus of the five-day program is to reach “borderline students,” Lopez said, those who want to continue with high school or college but are not sure they can handle it.

“We need to build a positive attitude with these kids,” she said. “We need to shift from the streets to the classrooms, where our bullets are the books we read and the victories that we gain are the graduations from high school, college and graduate school.”

Most of those attending the camp are between the ages of 13 and 17 and come from a variety of households in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

“We have all kinds of kids here,” said Lopez. “We have kids whose families barely have enough to eat. We have kids whose brothers and sisters are gangbangers. We have middle-class kids where both parents are hard-working people.”

But regardless of their backgrounds, she said, two common bonds link all the students: pride and a yearning for identity.

Rodriguez, who attends Toll Junior High School in Glendale, said he’s glad to be at the camp. “It makes me want to go to college,” he said. “They have taught me about being Chicano, and not to be ashamed of it.”

While at camp, students attend a string of workshops where they are asked open-ended questions intended to promote dialogue and debate. Speakers, many of whom are Latino, come from colleges and universities throughout the Southland as well as from city governments.

All camp participants, including volunteer team leaders and Lopez, stay in dorms on the campus of Pacific Christian College in Fullerton, which provides the rooms for free. Other contributions have come from One-Stop Immigration, which donated $6,000, Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine.

“Money is a constant struggle,” said Lopez. “The donations we got this year were merely pocket change. We need some major funding in order to keep this going. I hope we’ll be able to get some sponsorship from the private sector.”

For the students, the investment pays off, and many leave touting the benefits of the program.

Before the camp began, Yvonne Sanchez, 15, a 10th-grader at Buena Park High School, said she often found herself feeling low and discouraged.

“I didn’t think I could make it in school and college, because I’m a Chicana,” the soft-spoken Sanchez said. “But I feel confident now, and I want to show people that I can make it.”