Attendees and panelists at Cabrillo College’s career panel for Hispanic students on Sept. 19 discuss barriers in the job application process. (Dave Ordonez — Santa Cruz Local)

APTOS >> Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz are bracing for funding cuts to programs that support marginalized student populations, including those bolstering minority enrollment in science and engineering programs and certified Hispanic Serving Institutions — which both colleges are. 

Roughly $350 million in cuts were announced by the U.S. Department of Education on Sept. 10. In a press release, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said, “To further our commitment to ending discrimination in all forms across federally supported programs, the Department will no longer award Minority-Serving Institution grants that discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”

Hispanic Serving Institution is a federal designation a college or university can get if at least 25% of students are Hispanic. The designation opens the door to millions in federal grants to serve those students. Cabrillo College received $26 million in such grants from 2010 to 2023, according to a 2023 report. 

Locally, Cabrillo and UCSC are expected to lose around $3 million each for minority-serving programs, with the biggest cuts affecting those which cater to first-generation Hispanic students.

At Cabrillo, this loss in funding is likely to lead to the shutdown or downsizing of the programs Abriendo el Camino (Opening the Pathway) and Camino al Éxito (Path to Success). 

Abriendo el Camino was launched in 2022 to help high school students transition into college earlier through dual enrollment. Students enrolled in this program would start college with a full year of credits already completed. 

Once students enroll in college full time after graduating high school, Camino al Éxito, established in 2023 assists students in outlining their schedules to help them attain their degree and successfully transition into careers or further education. 

Most of the funds went toward the payroll of faculty who managed these programs and student workers who mentored fellow undergraduates.

At an HSI panel at Cabrillo College on Sept. 19, speakers shared about their hardships on their path to a successful career and the importance of inspiring a future generation of learners. (Dave Ordonez — Santa Cruz Local)

University responses

Cabrillo College President Matt Wetstein has been a longtime supporter and member of the Cabrillo Hispanic Serving Institution task force, which helped research and decide on how the HSI funds were best utilized. He said in the aftermath of this news students and staff are anxious, especially as the Trump Administration ramps up immigration enforcement nationally.

“With all the activity that the Trump administration is engaging in, with ICE raids and the sort of indiscriminate efforts to target certain populations in our country, it’s creating a system of fear,” Wetstein said in a Sept. 19 interview. “When you have that, my worry is that individuals who feel targeted are going to have a greater reluctance to apply to colleges.” 

While the programs to help Latino high school students qualify and enroll at Cabrillo and support Cabrillo students to graduate and enter careers will likely shutter, Wetstein said the staff of these programs could remain employed until next fall. Cabrillo has $440,000 in carryover funds from previous HSI grants to utilize through September 2026. Staff who are currently on payroll through this fund are expected to continue their employment until at least June 30, 2026. 

Lizett Zuñiga Zamudio is one of the staff members on the HSI leadership committee who helped implement various programs funded by the grant. Zamudio also recently graduated from Cabrillo in 2024 and is now studying communications at San José State University.

She said programs aimed at helping minority students find success are critical, and the loss of them will have impacts across the community college.

“I definitely think they’re important for us,” Zamudio said. “Over 50% of our students are Latinos, and so I think being able to have spaces for them is really important. I know that when I was here I needed a space to talk to people that were just like me, so I think other students can benefit a lot from that too.”

At UCSC, organizations like El Centro — which serves as the campus hub for Latino groups — will lose funding. Groups part of El Centro include mariachi bands, traditional dance groups and sororities and fraternities that help Latino students connect with one another in campus social life, among others. El Centro programs focusing on career path guidance will also lose funding, like aiding Latino students who are interested in pursuing degrees in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Larive released a statement on Sept. 12 after the federal cuts were announced.

“Regardless of these federal decisions, we remain committed to supporting all students, making changes that foster academic success, and providing access to hands-on learning opportunities that deepen the student experience and prepare students for their lives and careers as UC Santa Cruz alumni,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Santa Cruz, joined 80 Members of Congress on Sept. 29 in sending a letter to McMahon opposing the cuts. They warn of the severe consequences the cuts will have to first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students who rely on Minority Serving Institutions for affordable, high-quality education.

“In the 19th Congressional District, Hispanic-Serving Institutions like UC Santa Cruz, CSU Monterey Bay, Monterey Peninsula College, and Cabrillo College play a critical role in increasing access to opportunity for students across our community,” Panetta said in a Sept. 29 press release.

During an HSI career panel at Cabrillo on Sept. 19, many speakers shared about their hardships on their path to a successful career and the importance of inspiring a future generation of learners. 

Yovanna Bravo, organizer for the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council AFL-CIO and panelist at the event, spoke to the repercussions she believes these cuts will have.

“It’s definitely going to have a negative impact on our community and Latino youth,” Bravo said. “I think that it is a miraculous strategy on the Trump administration’s part to dismantle education and knowledge-seeking. One of the ways that people in masses become easily manipulated is to strip away their access to education.”

While HSI grants have been discontinued indefinitely, Wetstein, the Cabrillo president, expressed hope for these programs to acquire funding elsewhere.

“I don’t see the legislature and governor walking away from supporting specialized population programs like that,” Wetstein said.

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