In a powerful display of civic engagement, students involved in Latinxs and the Environment (L&E) held an event at UC Berkeley with Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia on Wednesday September 27^th, 2023 to discuss important issues related to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Latinx communities in District 36 (Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties). L&E is a dynamic multi-UC campus program, led by Lupe Gallegos-Diaz, PhD (Director, Chicanx Latinx Student Development Office, UC Berkeley) and Federico Castillo, PhD (Associate Director for UC Global Health Institute’s Center for Planetary Health), that is designed and implemented to generate collaborations between academics, policymakers, and members of community-based organizations to increase knowledge about Latinx communities and the environment -both in the U.S. and globally. The program features UC-wide conferences, seminars, and funded research opportunities for students to facilitate collaborations across academic and community spaces.

The full-day event included a welcome breakfast with Assemblymember Garcia and faculty and partners across the University of California.  Undergraduate and graduate students were able to meet with Assemblymember Garcia at the UC Berkeley Latinx Research Center to engage in dialogue over lunch about important issues affecting their communities, including discussing ongoing research related to Latinx communities, new initiatives that can be implemented at UC Berkeley to better support Latinx students, the current issues that California farmworker communities face, and many more critical conversations related to District 36. The day concluded with an open forum with Assemblymember Garcia at the Latinx Student Resource Center where all UC Berkeley students were able to stop by and pressing issues related to BIPOC and Latinx communities in District 36.

This campus event serves as a powerful testament to the potential of student-led advocacy and community engagement. Opportunities like this one are so important and allow students space to meet, network, and learn from Latinx professionals who share likeminded goals to create a better environment for our communities.