Fullerton College students and professors took time to learn the story of a former Hornet, the first Chicano California Supreme Court Justice and advocate on the civil rights movement Cruz Reynoso in a documentary screened on Thursday, Aug. 31, in room 1440.
The event was organized by Fullerton College president Cynthia Olivo. Faculty members and the Associated Students body, welcomed any member from NOCCCD to enjoy the documentary called “Sowing the Seeds of Justice” which presents Reynoso’s path on the fight for hispanic rights on education and the laboral settings.
Members of The Cadena Cultural Center were also present at the spot, helping with the setup of the room and checking in students and professors by their ID number.
“We are supporting the event, assisting with checking students in and just people in general, setting up the whole auditorium and we are here to support Cruz Reynoso and the president of the college as well,” said project expert for The Cadenal Cultural Center Samantha Cruz.
The presented documentary released in 2010, lasted 58 minutes and was produced by independent documentary film producer Abby Ginzberg. Olivo acquired it via purchase on the streaming platform Vimeo.
Attendees, who were mostly ethnic studies students brought by their instructor, were offered free snacks and drinks during the duration of the event.
A counselor at Fullerton College and member of the Hispanic Heritage Month Committee Citlally Santana said that the screening aimed to be a presentation prior to the renaming ceremony of building 200 in honor of Reynoso, which will happen on Sept. 14.
“It was actually my idea to have some sort of presentation, in this case the movie, for new students to learn about Cruz Reynoso,” said Santana.
Attendees like member of the Puente program at Cypress College Luke Ernandes said to have liked the event because of what it means to learn about Latino heritage. “It has been so nice to learn about Latino history, because I have Latino heritage and it is really nice to learn about my culture,” said Ernandes. “It doesn’t matter what your heritage is. You should always hear stories of everyone’s heritage because it gives us all perspective.”
Olivo said in her remarks after the documentary, to have met Reynoso at a national awarding conference where he was awarded and recognized as a Fullerton College alumnus. “At the time, I was in a delegation with the former president of Fullerton College,” Olivo said. “It was great to meet him and just let him know about how thankful we were about his representation and courage as a leader of our community.”
The final dedication and renaming of building 200 to Cruz Reynoso Hall will take place outside the building on September 14, at 4 p.m. and will also be the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations at Fullerton College.
