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From the Globe Education Desk 

   Harvard is offering free tuition for students whose family income is below $40,000, according to a spokesperson for the Ivy League university. The outreach  project is an effort to enroll more diverse students other than those from upper-income families. “Harvard University has announced that from low income families will pay no tuition” said  a statement from the president’s office.In making the announcement , Harvard President Lawerence H. Summers said,”When only 10 percent of the  students in elite higher education come from families  in the lower half of the  income distribution, weare not doing enough . We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution. For more information visit Harvard’s financial aid website at:http://adm-is-fas.harvard.edu/FAO/index.htm or call the school’s financial aid office at (617)495-1581

By Marlene Elizabeth Aguirre 

Thick and curly tendrils am I.  Unruly and untamed.  I go every which way, in every direction, she says I am endlessly frustrating.  But I can’t help it.  It is my nature.  With fewer products I frizz up like an African lion’s mane.

Regal and poofy I see myself, but she sees me as crazy and uncontrollable.  I do not wish to be controlled however. I wish to be free flowing and soft.  That which I am, in my natural state.  But she doesn’t approve.

On windy days, it’s always a struggle.  She pushes and holds me down or hides me under hoodies.  I want to blow in the wind like the luscious green leaves on the trees.  But I am somehow tamed in knotty mess she thinks to be “better” for whom?  Not me.  I wish to be free.

When it’s sunny out I soak up all the suns steamy hot rays.  I bounce in glorious ways; every step she takes springs me to life.  And the compliments and envious glares flood from every person around us, I feel happy down to the root, I wish to be free, and when it’s sunny, she lets me.

On the other hand humid rainy days are a heartless battlefield of vicious combs and fingers that rake through me mercilessly.  She mumbles under her breath every possible insult, upset and frustrated she gets as I absorb the water in the environment and expand.  She wants me to calm down and behave.  I do not wish to do so though, I just wish to be free.

When he’s around her, I get a lot of attention.  She toys with my ends and flips me from side to side, incessantly.  I can hear her giggle and I laugh on the inside too, he makes her happy.  And I like him.  He agrees with me, he likes my regal lion’s mane and the way I am naturally.  He tells her to let me be free.  I of course, agree.

There are sometimes, when she feels shameful and sad, she feels isolated but I never abandon her.  Despite the innumerable amounts of product and sprays she has evened me out with, despite the unceasing demeaning insults and putdowns, I am here, and she is my friend.  And on those cold lonely days, I help her hide her insecurities behind a curtain of thick curly hair.  On these days, I am her friend, I am happy to the root, I am free.

It seems unbelievable that such a thing could happen

When will this pain end, when?

To us you were the dew,

To us you were a star,

A simple and radiant smile,

A bright ray of sunshine,

To us you were so much

That it is so hard to account for it all

It is so hard to think you are gone,

There was just so much,

So much for you to live,

For you to experience,

For you to gain,

“Why you?”, we ask

We all knew you or had seen you

And remember your bright smile

Your cheerful character

Your laugh

Your way of presenting yourself

Why must you leave us?

Why leave us to this eternal suffering?

To this unbelievable pain,

To this unbelievable confusion,

Why?

You will eternally be in our memory,

Forever and ever

Your life will not be forgotten,

And in every thought, you will  be there.

R.I.P Marlene Aguirre

This poem is dedicated to a beautiful young girl that was bright and intelligent. We, the Richmond High student body, will never forget such a star person.  This poem is dedicated to Marlene Aguirre:

M= magnificently

A= amazing

R=real

L= loyal

E= embraced

N= naturally

E= empowered

A= all

G= generally

U= useful

I= is

R= respectful

R= remembered

E= eternity

No one really values their life

to take the time to realize

that our days are shorter than what we think

never knowing ”goodbye” will be the last words we speak

not knowing the last time we close are eyes, will be the last time we sleep,

did you know that you were really partying like it was your last day?

that you would truly be missed & never see another day?

now that you’ re gone, your an angel now with god, I know that

every time the sun shines it’s your smile, so I nod..

R.I.P Marlene Aguirre

March 5, 2010 – Friday

Viewing @ St. Josephs in San Pablo  Rolling Wood Street *9:00am – 11:00am

Mass @ St. Cornelious on McDonald Street *12:00pm – 28th Street *201, Richmond, CA  94804

Burial/Funeral St Josephs Cemetary *1:30pm – 2560 Church Lane, San Pableo, CA  94806

Peter K. Fagen

1 Civic Center Drive
Suite 300

San Marcos, CA 92069-2952

Direct:  (760) 304-6009 

Main Phone:  (760) 304-6000

Main Fax:  (760) 304-6011

E-mail:  pfagen@fagenfriedman.com <mailto:pfagen@fagenfriedman.com>  

Web:  www.fagenfriedman.com <http://www.fagenfriedman.com/>

P Please consider the environment before printing this email.

 CALSA and Fagen, Friedman and Fulfrost LLP   (F3) have joined together
to promote an Essay Contest awarding five (5) $1,000 Scholarships for
graduating High School Seniors. Information regarding the criteria for
student application is available on both the CALSA.org and
FagenFriedman.com websites. We encourage you to provide this information
to your scholarship coordinators in hopes that they can assist students
in preparing the materials necessary for application. An added feature
of this Contest is that the winners will be profiled in Hispanic
Business Magazine and their essays published in the online version of
the publication.

I have attached a copy of the Contest Postcard that provides information
on the needed criteria for your information. Terilyn Finders (
tfinders@fagenfriedman.com <mailto:tfinders@fagenfriedman.com> ) at F3
will be coordinating the Contest and can forward you hard copies of the
Postcard for your distribution to interested students.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Terilyn or
myself at your convenience. Thank you in advance for your assistance in
alerting students of this opportunity. It should be noted that this
Scholarship Opportunity is on top of the regular Scholarship Program
that CALSA offers. Information on all Scholarship programs may be
located on the calsa.org <http://calsa.org/>  website.

Roberto Salinas,

CALSA President

Greetings on behalf of UC Berkeley’s Southeast Asian Student Coalition
[SASC].

We’ve been doing research on high schools to outreach to for our
program, and we saw that you were the counselors for Richmond High
School.  This summer, SASC will be hosting its 2010 Summer Institute
from June 23rd-June 27th.  In this program, Southeast Asian American
high school youth will have the opportunity to participate in a five-day
program at Cal in which they engage in workshops, lectures, and other
peer-bonding activities promoting higher education, cultural awareness,
and other subjects.  They will also be paired with mentors who will
provide guidance specific to their needs.  This all-expense paid program
caters specifically to youth who are tied to the Southeast Asian refugee
experience stemming from the Vietnam War, including but not limited to
Mien, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, and Laotian students.  We would like
to stress that we are looking for students with diverse experiences and
backgrounds, not just those with high academic performances.
Ultimately, SASC SI seeks to empower these students and to encourage
them to empower their family and their community as well.

Since Richmond is a high school that we are interested in outreaching,
we request have you forward our application and/or make an announcement
to students, classes, or appropriate faculty and staff who would benefit
from our program or this information, and to also forward our
information to the student body in general as well.  We also ask that
you pass on these applications to Southeast Asian youth that you are
connected to or to other people or organizations that would benefit or
that would be able to get the word out.  We would like to be able to
outreach as effectively as possible, so if you have contacts,
suggestions, or information, please send it to us at
sascsioutreach2010@gmail.com <mailto:sascsioutreach2010@gmail.com> !  So
please pass this application and flyer attached and let others know
about the program. 

Thank you so much for your help and we hope to hear from you!

Casey Gin & Evelyn Moua

SASC SI Outreach Co-Coordinators, 2010

–

Applications must be postmarked by April 3, 2010 and selected attendees
will be notified by the beginning of May.

Please submit APPLICATIONS to:

SASC Summer Institute 2010

506 Barrows Hall

Berkeley, CA 94720-2570

Email: sascsioutreach2010@gmail.com
<mailto:sascsioutreach2010@gmail.com>

Website: http://sasc.berkeley.edu <http://sasc.berkeley.edu/>

Questions? Stephanie Yang: 916-367-1900 and Zona Keo: 562-852-2976

–
SASC SI 2010 | Outreach Co-Coordinators
[Southeast Asian Student Coalition, Summer Institute] 
Casey Gin & Evelyn Moua
sascsioutreach2010@gmail.com
http://sasc.berkeley.edu

SASC Mission Statement: 
To unite Southeast Asian communities, particularly those bounded by the
historical context of the Vietnam War and to address the economic
inequalities, social injustices, and political under-representation that
they face.

Dear Ms. McGuire,
My name is Rashid, and I am a student and Resident Assistant at UC
Berkeley.  I am putting on a program in the residence halls that serves
to connect current UC Berkeley students to local high school students in
a mentorship match during a three day retreat.  
The goal that I and my program planning group aim to reach is to help
students from underserved areas be motivated to apply to college. We are
currently accepting applications for our three-day spring retreat April
16-18. Accepted students arrive on the morning of Friday April 16th. We
will take them to a variety of classes around campus. In the past,
similar retreats that I have planned have included faculty luncheons as
well as college application panels. Saturday is Cal Day, the UC Berkeley
version of a campus open house. All the departments and majors are on
display and there are many activities to explore. We hope to give the
students a true college experience and make them excited about their
college options. This retreat is all-expenses paid except for
transportation to and from Berkeley. We will house the students in the
residence halls.
We accept students from all different ethnicities and socio-economic
backgrounds, especially the ones who would really benefit from this
retreat. Enclosed is the spring retreat application. Please distribute
it to any interested students. Applications need to be postmarked or
emailed by midnight on Friday March 19th. I encourage them to apply
early as we specialize the program specifically for a group of about 10
students.
If you have any other questions or would like more information, please
feel free to email me at sidr87@berkeley.edu
<mailto:sidr87@berkeley.edu>  Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Rashid Siddiqui

–
Mohammad Rashid Siddiqui

University of California, Berkeley
Molecular and Cell Biology, Immunology
Global Poverty and Practice minor

Good Afternoon  – I am pleased to announce that our Casey Family
Scholars Program will be accepting applications through OFA
(www.orphan.org <http://www.orphan.org> )  until March 31st for
undergraduate and graduate school support to college students who were
in foster care. We are informing the higher education/financial aid
community through their professional organizations, state child welfare
offices, and advocates.

We anticipate funding about 75 new  undergraduate awards & up to ten
graduate school awards for the 2010-11 academic year. We are especially
encouraging applications from eligible students of color.

I have attached a program flyer that provides basic information, a link
to the OFA application web site, and contacts to answer any questions -
from students and staff.  We have found that college financial aid
officers and support staff are excellent sources for referrals as they
have contact with many students. We are especially looking to get this
information to qualifies applicants of color.

Your assistance in providing this information to your contacts and
eligible students is appreciated.. 

With the March 31st phase one application deadline, we want to
disseminate this information as soon as possible. I am available to
provide additional information at any time.

John Emerson

Postsecondary Education Advisor

Casey Family Programs (www.casey.org <http://www.casey.org/> )

1300 Dexter Ave North, Suite 300

Seattle, WA   98115

(206) 282-7300

(206) 291-4647 cell

(206) 282-3555 fax

Jemerson@casey.org

Doris Avalos
Executive Director K-12
West Contra Costa Unified School District
1108 Bissell Ave. Room 227
Richmond, CA 94801
Phone: (510) 231-1128 Fax: (510) 620-2169