On Sept. 15th, anti-woke stickers were found on Latin American history books in the Cañada Library, illegally defacing school property.
The same day marked the start of Latinx Heritage Month (LHM) celebrations at Cañada College, put on by the newly opened Cultural Center.
The team has worked tirelessly since July to plan a month-long celebration of Latinx culture.
But this year’s opening festivities were tinged with something other than ethnic pride: apprehension.
Two days before, librarians searched for books for the Hispanic Heritage Month Display and were confronted by “anti-woke” stickers defacing the covers of Latin American history and culture textbooks.
Diana Tedone-Goldstone, a full-time librarian at Cañada, revealed how they responded to this incident.
“We reached out to Michiko, the director of equity,” said Tedone-Goldstone. “We also filed a CARES report, which goes to the Vice President of Student Services and Public Safety.”
It is difficult to deny that the sticker’s placement was intentional and racially charged, as “No Woke Zone” and “The Woke Movement is Demonic” covered the Latin history and culture books that defined America’s racism.
Dr. Michiko Kealoha, director of equity at Cañada College, had her own input to the situation.
“Are we highly conscious that the stickers got placed on Latinx books that were going to get highlighted? Yes,” said Dr. Kealoha. “Do we also, in our letter, really lean in on the history of woke and how it has roots in the Black liberation? Yes.”
Dr. Kealoha and the equity and anti-racism council sent a campus-wide email four days after the stickers were reported, addressing the defacement of school property and their continued commitment to fighting against racism and ideological extremism.
The Office of Equity defined the word ‘woke’ as being “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).” However mainstream culture has morphed this term into a criticism of the far-left that some feel have taken “woke” to irrational extremes.
Currently, Public Safety is investigating who is responsible for the anonymous stickers that are continually being found in the men’s bathrooms and the library copier in addition to the Latinx books.
Public Safety understands that Cañada’s campus and library, like most community colleges, are open access, meaning anyone outside could be responsible for the stickers.
Looking ahead, the Office of Equity put out an approved message maintaining that Cañada honors diversity of thought, free speech, encourages that rather than posting illegally, all students “engage in dialogue and learn with each other.”
Alexis Arevalo, a member of the DREAMers Task Force, expressed that while disappointed by the sticker’s messaging, he believes it is an isolated, unfortunate event.
“Cañada is really inclusive and supportive of people in all communities and cultures,” Arevalo said.
As a community, Cañada has been making a lot of progress in celebrating Latinx voices, especially with the new Cultural Center. As the month goes on, he and the other members of the DREAMers Task Force hope the LHM events are not tarnished with pity by this incident, but rather center around the celebration of culture.
