Recent UCI Graduate Participates in Research on Radical Education at BPOCS

Meet the Members of the Black Panther Oakland Community School Research Cluster

Meet Evelynn Cuautle, a UCI graduate working with the Black Panther Oakland Community School Research Cluster this summer. In the coming weeks, we will be spotlighting the UCI students, graduates, and graduate students involved in the cluster's research this summer. In addition, the BPOCS Cluster is hosting a series of talks and events this summer, with a lecture on July 29th leading up to a final event on August 23rd.

I am a recent UCI first-gen graduate with a bachelor's degree in Public Health Policy, and a minor in Chicane/Latine Studies. I call Tustin and Santa Ana home, but my family's roots in Mexico influence why I choose to identify as Chicana. Some of my favorite hobbies are reading, making earrings, and watching movies or binging TV series with my sister. For about a year now, I have taken interest in reading about (prison) abolition and learning how to reimagine thriving communities with equitable education as one of the main pillars. I am really excited to be a part of the OCS project and learn alongside my cohort.

I am hoping to really put into perspective the radical education that the OCS represented. As I listened to Ericka Huggins speak about the school at a virtual event for UCI Humanities, I was in in awe at how the school ran and the values that birthed this program by the Black Panthers. I hope to learn more practical skills and meet other students as interested in learning from one another as we are about the topics we will talk about this summer.