It's been more than a year since UC Merced joined the 1300 Campaign partnership, continuing its efforts to help students of color attend and succeed at four-year universities. Now it's time for a review and a look ahead.
UC Merced collaborated with Stanislaus State University, expanding the 1300 Campaign's initiative to send an additional 1,300 young men of color into the UC and California State University systems by 2026. The initiative allowed a cohort of students to spend one week during the summer experiencing college life at UC Merced or Stanislaus State.
On Nov. 13, campaign partners will meet at UC Merced to hear a comprehensive overview of the campaign's progress, review data trends of young men of color within the northern Central Valley, resolution milestones, and discuss goals and plans for the coming year.
The 1300 Campaign's approach is accomplished through resolutions with K-12 school districts. Those resolutions are made up of a nine-point policy plan which includes engaging students in A-G requirements, ethnic studies, place-based mentorship, increased number of counselors, development of an organizational racial equity assessment tool, dual priority enrollment, mandatory implicit bias training, moratorium on willful defiance suspensions and culturally responsive pedagogy.
"The 1300 Campaign is a play on the 13th Amendment. Notably, the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution bans slavery except in cases of incarceration, which created the foundation for the school-to-prison pipeline that exists today," the organization's website reads. "As a result of institutionalized racism, oppression and racial inequities that stemmed from the adoption of the 13th Amendment, young men of color face historically perpetuated mass incarceration pipelines, poor health outcomes, miseducation and limited opportunities. Consequently, boys and men of color are underrepresented in post-secondary education and overrepresented in the criminal justice system."
The summit will take place from 9-10:30 a.m. at the UC Merced Conference Center and include remarks from Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and a look back on the 1300 Campaign Summer Youth Leadership Academy held at UC Merced and Yosemite National Park over the summer.
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