FA-PAC WINTER QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
The Faculty Association Political Action Committee (FA-PAC) [FA-PAC – FAFHDA] and the FA-PACInternship Program have a number of accomplishments to celebrate this quarter.
Patrick Ahrens Wins Primary Election!
Patrick Ahrens secured the largest number of votes in the March 5 Primary Election, gaining34.6%. Patrick’s campaign was the central focus of the FA-PAC and the Internship Program. Internsrecruited more than 85 volunteers, hosted 29 phone banking sessions, and walked over 60precincts. Their hard work and determination to see Patrick seated in the Assembly paid off andwill continue in spring and fall quarters leading up to the General Election in November. PatrickAhrens for State Assembly!
Pictured left: FA-PAC interns and volunteers at Patrick Ahrens campaign headquarters
Pictured right: FA-PAC intern coordinator Isabel, interns Shreya, Antonio, Leila, and Justin, andfaculty mentor Laura Chin at the election night celebration
Voter Registration Drive
We carried out a voter registration drive called Why Voting Matters with the support of De Anza Student Government (DASG), Associated Students of Foothill College(ASFC), and the Vasconcellos Institute for Democracy in Action (VIDA). Interns conducted classroompresentations and assisted in VIDA’s “Know Your Ballot” Event (2/12/24) and ASFC’s “PoliticalAwareness Day” (2/13/24).
Pictured left: Two of three “Why Voting Matters” Contest winners: Ingrit Zapata Cuenca and Victor Kim.
FACCC Advocacy and Policy Conference
We attended the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC) Advocacy and Policy Conference (2/25-2/26) inSacramento and participated in 13 legislative visits with our State Assembly and State Senate regional delegation. In association with the DeAnza Public Policy School, DASG, and ASFC, we advocated for increased funding for California Community Colleges and student housing,along with a number of bills, including
AB 2033 (Reyes),
AB 2200 (Kalra),
AB 2277 (Wallis),
AB 2370 (Cervantes),
AB 2707 (Fong), and
SB252 (Gonzalez, Stern, Weiner).
Pictured right: FA-PAC Interns Molara Mabogunje, Isabel Caballero-Teixeira, and Leila Salam at the Foothill Political Awareness Day Event(2/13/24).
March in March
Interns attended the StudentSenate for CaliforniaCommunity College(SSCCC) “March in March”(3/7/24) in Sacramento.They marched to the statecapitol building in support ofaffordable and accessiblehigher education, studentand employee housing, and environmental justice. At the post-march rally,intern Leila Salam spoke about the importance of community colleges and their role in fi ghting the climate crisis. Interns also took part inanother round of legislative visits in association with their SSCCC peers.
Pictured Above: FA-PAC interns and other De Anza students participating in the March in March
Measure G Taskforce
The fight for De Anza Arts continues! Despite recent unnerving changes to Measure G funding allocation for De Anza, FA-PAC interns andthe intern coordinator are focused on pressuring the Board of Trustees to ensure prioritization of the Arts. On Monday (3/4/24) they mobilizedstudents, faculty, and staff to advocate for the Arts at the Board of Trustees meeting. The fi ght continues! Folks who want to get involved,please contact the Intern Coordinator, Isabel Caballero-Teixeira at
isabelcaballerot96@gmail.com.
Affordable Housing Taskforce
Student interns and faculty mentors continue to advance the work of the Affordable Housing Taskforce. In February Volz Consultantsconducted a survey establishing the viability of student housing on the Foothill campus and student and employee housing near De Anza.PAC activists attended the March 4 Board meeting to encourage members to move on the recommendations. Meanwhile, the HousingTaskforce is completing site portfolios to gauge student and employee interest in possible sites.
Budget Request Working Group
The FA-PAC Internship Program secured $12,639 for 2024-2025 from DASG (Fund 46), an increase over last year’s budget allocation. Thebudget proposal included an intern pay increase to be implemented next year. Moreover, this working group garnered an additional $4,288 inDASG special allocation monies for winter and spring 2024, which enabled us to dedicate even more intern time and energy to the Ahren’scampaign!
Thanks All Around!
The FA-PAC Internship Program is a student-faculty collaborative enterprise. Thanks to DASG and ASFC for their support, which coversintern pay. Thanks, too, to PAC supporters whose voluntary contributions provide Faculty Mentor stipends and Intern Coordinator pay. Ifyou’d like to become a new contributor or increase your support, please do so here:
FA-PAC Voluntary Payroll Deduction Form.
Finally, a very special thanks to the entire FA-PAC Internship team who did a fabulous job this quarter!
De Anza Interns: Rami Abukhater, Audrey Kim, Antonio Facio, Justin Fry, Shreya Rallabandi, and Leila Salam
Foothill Interns: Raiyah Hussain and Molara Mabogunje
Intern Coordinator: Isabel Caballero Teixeira
Faculty mentors: [De Anza] Laura Chin, Danny Solomon, and Bob Stockwell
[Foothill] Eric Reed and Daphne Small
If you’re interested in getting involved with the PAC or the FA-PAC Internship Program, please contact
Bob Stockwell.
Pictured: FA-PAC Interns, Faculty Mentors, and the Intern Coordinator celebrating at an end-of-quarter potluck at Shoup Park (3/15/24)
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