Cynthia Diaz Interview

Interview by Mallika Sunder, photograph by Javier Trueba

Interview Transcript:

M: So I guess we’ll just dive into the interview! So the first question, how did you first get involved with activism and Demand to Learn?

C: So I first got started with activism when I was in high school. I was a junior when my mom was deported so it was my first instance experiencing what I felt was injustice. And so my family was separated and I was understanding it (injustice). This was in 2011 after SB 1070 in Arizona and so, in the news, I would see people marching, rallying with posters, just a lot of people, but at the time I didn’t understand what it was until something happened to me and my family. And then in my senior year of high school, I was encouraged to volunteer at an organization, a nonprofit organization, so I reached out to two local organizations in Phoenix that focused on immigrant rights. So that is how I started, just as a volunteer sharing my own story. And also I was doing a lot of learning from other people that had similar experiences, other people that were discriminated against in all forms, so it was a lot of learning during that time. And that’s how I got started as a high school student, and I liked it so much because a lot of people were so supportive and so loving and just getting to know me and the struggle I was going through, I felt a lot of support.

M: Nice. So what is the main force driving students out of schools, and how do you think this can be prevented.

C: So I got started with Demand to Learn two years ago as an advisor. We also had another organizer (there were two of us), and our main focus was on finding students that were directly impacted by policies that were harsh. This means students were not given an opportunity to be supported and then this also made us realize that, in Arizona, we have overly harsh discipline. Even zero- tolerance discipline directly affects students of color, students of low income, students with disabilities and you know, versus students that do have the resources and do have the support. They are not getting out of school suspensions- they are getting the support because they might have those extra resources that are missing in other schools. And so our goals are to end the disparities and the discrimination and encourage all students to be included and supported in the school environments. We believe that the main force driving students out of schools is lack of support, lack of resources. Also, similarly to harsh discipline, we find that there is criminalization- so that means policies that do lead a student to interact with the juvenile justice system, whether this is a school resource officer, which you know could often lead to school arrests. We have seen that black and native students are at the highest rates of being arrested in schools. And then we also know through ACLU nationally, that SROs are funded more in schools than mental health professionals and this includes school counselors, school psychologists and social workers. So we see this nationally, and Arizona stands out being the first. We have very, very little mental health professionals to student ratio versus the amount of SROs that we have, even in our middle schools. And so our elementary students, that are like fifth graders, are getting arrested, threatened with handcuffs, intimidated, and this is what we call the school-to-prison pipeline.

M: So how do you think that inequality in our education system will have a lasting impact on the next generation?

C: I believe that inequality in education has a lasting impact in that the next generation could lose opportunities in jobs or furthering their interests after high school- maybe it's not college bound, but what are the opportunities for students to keep thriving, which is ultimately what I want. Not so much focused on college because it might not be for everyone; but how do we ensure that students leave high school with a job, with some form of commitment to continue growing. And that includes, you know, growing our community, and making sure our communities are growing and safe and happy. I also believe that in Arizona, we do have a very low graduation rate, we have a high dropout rate. So I can only see this furthering people, and more specifically, the most marginalized, people of color, people of low income, being pushed into the prison system. So, instead of them being supported and given opportunities, if the inequalities continue to happen in Arizona, I believe that even more students of color, even students with disabilities, are being pushed into the prison system.

M: And how do you think this pandemic has impacted enrollment rates in schools?

C: I think for this, it’s also a question, I will tell you Arizona is interested to find out. We have not heard publicly how this pandemic has affected enrollment rates, and we have scattered information from specific families. But I think that for this, I mean we are interested, and I’m sure more people are interested to know the enrollment of students especially because there is a technology gap. There are families that do not have access to do online school. But this would be an ask for Arizona schools to release information to the public, to let us know and also call on the leaders in Arizona, the superintendent Hoffman or the governor, to take action after we know what is happening in terms of enrollment rates in schools.

M: Okay. And what do you think that the future of our education system will look like?

C: I’ve been working with the ACLU as an organizer for two years, I’ve been connected with students, with teachers, with parents, with school leaderships that are passionate to create equity in education, and each year, I’ve met more people, more passionate people, more students as young as fifth grade who realize there’s a problem with my education and I want it to be fair. So I see that more students are becoming braver, braver to stand up, braver to confront, braver to even share their concerns even with each other. I think that’s really important to continue the conversation, to not allow for students or anyone to feel censored because all of our experiences are valid. I am super hopeful that the future of our education will be led by students and people that work directly in the education system and that school leaders and leaders in our state do commit to learning and working alongside students because they’re the ones going directly through the education system and they're the ones who need to be listened to about what their experiences are currently. How do we meet their needs? How do we make them feel like they are comfortable and safe, and like they could thrive.

M: Yes, definitely. And what do you think that other people can do to reduce inequality in the education system?

C: So I am always encouraging different forms of activism, and this also means advocating. I mean the same thing, and that activism and advocacy can have different pathways and different examples of how you could take action. For example, when I started as a high school activist, one of my first experiences in activism was sharing my story. I didn’t realize it at the time; I thought it was just a way for me to introduce myself, right? But then, when I did share my story, I realized that people connected with me. I realized that people empathized with me and felt connected and really wanting to support me. So that built a bond, right? And it makes it such a more powerful group of people that has your back. And it’s a beautiful feeling. All of us have different stories, maybe it’s not as tragic as my story or as detailed, but sharing your story is a form to share your experiences and call to attention what you are passionate about and what you care about. Another way for people to get more involved is to build community. And so the community could be your family, it could be your friends, but trying to create a bigger circle of parents speaking to parents that go to the same schools, students of course, making sure they are in a good relationship with their peers, even their teachers. Like how they make sure they are in healthy relationships, just everywhere. And then also I didn't really know until when I was in college, but when I was in K to 12, I went to all public schools in Arizona and I did not even know about school board meetings. And it wasn’t until college that I found out what our school board members, school board meetings, school board races were. I’m the daughter of immigrants, I’m first generation, I know now that there were people in a position, that their job is to listen to students, and to the families that attend the schools. So now that I know, it is my turn to share that with other people so they know this is another tool to advocate. Get to know the people in the school board leadership, attend a school board meeting, get involved in school board races because some districts allow for people (it could be parents, community members) to run for a position in leadership. This is where someone could truly represent the community and truly advocate, especially if there is inequality in that school or in that district. And then also, getting involved in local politics and elected officials. This year is election year, so it is very important to understand what is on your ballot and doing that extra research, so being involved in local politics is very impactful.

M: Yes, well I think that brings us to the end of this interview. Thank you so much for having this interview!