Mission Is Bracing for the Scrutiny

With each passing day, administrators at Mission College might feel more and more stress.

That’s because in the next several months, officials are expected to decide whether to reinstate the school’s sports program on a limited basis.

And because community activist Duke Russell is likely to camp at their front door until they do.

Adriana Barrera, Mission’s president since July, said the school is considering a proposal to create men’s and women’s cross-country, baseball and softball teams.

“There’s still an internal review process that this proposal must go through,” Barrera said.

When first formulated several months ago, the plan called for Mission to kick-start its dormant athletic program with men’s and women’s soccer teams in the fall of 2001, and introduce baseball and softball teams the following spring.

But concerns about locating soccer practice and game facilities put the sport on the back-burner. A new proposal suggested forming cross-country teams instead.

Barrera is not sure when cross-country teams would be formed, but a timeline offered in October by Carlos Nava, dean of students, called for Mission to field baseball and softball teams in the spring of 2002.

That projection lifted the spirits of Russell and others who want to see athletics reinstated at Mission, which dropped its program in 1997 for financial reasons.

Russell, a retired electrician from Hollywood, has made Mission athletics a personal crusade.

He has spoken numerous times at L.A. Community College District board meetings, organized rallies and enlisted the help of high school coaches in the region to support his grass-roots movement.

Russell contends the absence of sports programs at Mission is keeping many youngsters in the region out of school. The premise is debatable, but not Russell’s passion and dedication on the issue.

His unrelenting campaign seemed to pay off when Mission announced it would reestablish soccer, baseball and softball, but school officials backpedaled soon after, pointing out that the well-intentioned initial plan was too ambitious.

Barrera said Mission has several other projects that need funding, including restoration of a performing arts program and many classes that were eliminated during cutbacks in 1997-98.

“It’s not only a matter of identifying the funds [for sports], but also of building a consensus among faculty and students that sports should be part of the Mission College experience.

“We are trying to bring back all programs gradually.”

Because money remains tight at Mission, Barrera said the school wants to take a prudent approach.

“When I came on board in July, I was reviewing all sorts of information,” Barrera said. “Among them were unfunded budget requests and among those were athletics.

“I said, ‘If we are going to bring back athletics, what’s the minimum [funds] that we need to do it well?’ . . . We are going to be taking small steps rather than big ones.”

Whether Mission follows through with its intention to have baseball and softball in 2002 should become clear in July, when the school’s fiscal year begins and money for those programs would be allocated.

You know Russell can hardly wait.