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Cal Poly Humboldt and Equity Arcadia describe SAGE student advisory program to Human Rights Commission
Summary
Speakers from Cal Poly Humboldt and Equity Arcadia briefed the Humboldt County Human Rights Commission on SAGE, a paid student advisory group that connects campus cultural centers with community partners; Equity Arcadia is hiring a manager and expects to recruit more students by yearend. (350 characters)
Fernando Paz, campus and community development coordinator in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Cal Poly Humboldt, and Max, interim network coordinator for Equity Arcadia, told the Humboldt County Human Rights Commission the SAGE program (Students Advocating for Equity) aims to bridge campus cultural centers with community organizations and provide paid roles for students to offer feedback to both the university and the city.
Paz said SAGE launched last academic year and has gone through early restructuring. He said students are paid to perform cultural and outreach work on campus and in Arcata, and that the program has supported initiatives including the Home Away From Home effort that brings community members and students together each semester. Max said Equity Arcadia is in the process of hiring a full-time manager who will recruit and supervise SAGE students and strengthen partnerships with the university and city.
Both speakers highlighted a recent collaborative convening of Latino affinity groups that contributed to a Latinx Heritage Month proclamation read by the City of Arcata; they said Humboldt County supervisors were also expected to consider a proclamation. Commissioners asked how to expand youth voice countywide; speakers pointed to plans to have more paid student positions once the new Equity Arcadia coordinator is onboarded, with recruitment expected "by the end of the year".
Commissioners linked SAGE to parallel youth efforts: the commissions ad hoc work with Academy of the Redwoods to develop a Youth Human Rights Commission and a funding application submitted to the Humboldt Area Foundation to support youth leadership. Speakers and commissioners emphasized that youth participation should be youth-led and mentored rather than abandoned once convened.
The meeting record shows the presentation focused on program structure, recruitment timeline, and concrete local activities rather than formal policy changes; no formal action on SAGE was taken at the meeting. The commission discussed opportunities to coordinate training and to involve the Youth Human Rights Commission once SAGE recruitment expands.
