^{"My most memorable experience was that last day when they all decided that it was time to go home now. And they all felt really good about it and they were chanting as they left. They were chanting and clapping and cheering as they walked out of the building."}

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• Can I ask you a last question? What was your most memorable experience from that week of Protests?

My most memorable experience was talking to a young student who was in there who was really concerned. She was undocumented. We had – interestingly enough – an undocumented student from way back who was very concerned about her status, and the fact that she was there. And so that was one of my memorable conversations. Another memorable conversation was just talking to the group and saying to them, ‘you’ve achieved your goals. You can go back to school now and go to your classes.’ And their look on their faces, the look of Oh wow! We’ve done it. We’ve actually reached our goal.’ That was spectacular…because the students were all thankful. They were all, ‘oh! Thank you so much!’ And they had done all this work; they had sacrificed so much. You know, some of them didn’t go to class. And um, you know, they had very worked to make sure the students would not be suspended because that’s important - because you could be suspended for taking over a building. But it didn’t happen. And I think the students were very happy about that. My most memorable experience was that last day when they all decided that it was time to go home now. And they all felt really good about it and they were chanting as they left.  They were chanting and clapping and cheering as they walked out of the building. And Campus Safety is flanking the area where they are leaving and they are all chanting and cheering. You would have thought there was a big o’ party in there because that’s what it felt like to them. And it was a very positive atmosphere. And so that’s kind of my  impression of it. I thought the students did a great job. A really, really great job. I was very proud of them.

• And to live through that! That’s amazing.

Oh yeah! But it wasn’t, it hasn’t been the only time. It hasn’t been the last time [laughs].

• And it won’t be the last time!

I seriously doubt it! I seriously doubted that it would be the last time. So, when you’re here for a while, you really begin to see things in perspective and it’s part of the developmental process. It is part of that whole leadership sequence of events that students learn – that when they have to come together, they do. And it’s very positive for them so, I feel really good about it. The students felt really good about it, so I felt really good about it because they were happy. Had the ending not been that, you know, that positive, the students would have known and they would have felt differently I’m sure. But they didn’t; they felt good about it so, that just made it more…

• More satisfying? 

I think so. I think that is actually the right word: satisfying. Because they had a promise that there would be more Chicano Studies faculty, more Black Studies Faculty, that they would review the Asian American Studies situation, um, there was a clear commitment made. And that the commitment was also made to make sure that there were more students of color brought to the Claremont Colleges. That has happened. That really has happened. This is a very different place from way back in ’93. It’s very different. Changes have taken place and many of them for the good of the student body. I think the fact that we have AB 540 students here – a large mass – reflects that there’s a commitment. That would have never happened.

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