Emerging BCC Latino leaders share thoughts on debut development program

Four years is a long time in community college terms but it was so worth it to keep on working at bringing this program to Bergen Community College. I got to know so much about the college and campus organizing just by recruiting advisors, speakers and participants to the College Leadership Development Program. 2014 CLDP @ Bergen Cohort members are enjoying participation tremendously, and the speakers we’ve brought in are enjoying us!

Thanks to USHLI for dreaming up a really good program and providing us with guidance to get it off the ground, to our speakers, donors and advisors, to BCC for hosting our evening workshops and to Kimi Wei of The Wei for so much help.
~ Jorge Ivan Gomez Wei read more

CLDP @ BERGEN students thank our sponsors!

CLDP@Bergen logoWe’re fundraising to cover the cost of food served at the five College Leadership Develop Program (CLDP) workshops we just completed … and hopefully, we’ll receive a few thousand more dollars to get to the USHLI National Conference in Chicago. Participants in the inaugural CLDP at Bergen Community College are invited as USHLI’s guests!

The CLDP @ BERGEN students and The Wei Team which organized the CLDP @ BERGEN workshop series thank our awesome sponsors for helping us enjoy great food during our sessions. We also thank our advisors Gene Calderón and Johanna Heule and the beautiful speakers who brought words of enlightenment, hope and knowledge to this project and all of its participants. read more

CLDP program motivates & inspires Bergen Community College Latino students

BCC students Jorge Ivan Gomez Wei and Ari Lopez Wei brought an exciting college completion and student engagement initiative to Bergen Community College this winter of 2014, one which promises to boost Latino student success. The Wei Development Team supports the program with pro-bono technical assistance and BCC provides the venue for most workshops. College staff members Gene Calderón and Johanna Heule serve as advisors and the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) is the program’s conceptual creator. read more

Racist Romney & GOP move to block the Latino & Black vote

If you think the Romney/GOP election tactics seem like a racist ploy to intentionally block Latino and Black people from voting, you’re not crazy. Spend 4 minute watching this video from Van Jones’ Rebuild the American Dream team to see the dots neatly connected. It proves that this sad fact is true. God help America.

Fight by helping everyone you know that plans to vote for a fair America and President Obama to get their identification documents ready so they can’t be turned away at the polls. Inform yourself about your rights as a voter. Write to your elected officials and urge them to fight for American justice, fairness and the upholding of the one person, one vote system. Ask them to work hard to get big money out of general elections once and for all. And vote! Remember, New Jersey and some other states allow early voting and vote by mail. read more