{"id":35722,"date":"2017-09-21T16:29:30","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T23:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/?p=35722"},"modified":"2017-09-21T16:30:12","modified_gmt":"2017-09-21T23:30:12","slug":"open-letter-to-sf-state-whats-the-protocol-when-one-of-your-students-is-tragically-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/en\/open-letter-to-sf-state-whats-the-protocol-when-one-of-your-students-is-tragically-killed\/","title":{"rendered":"Open letter to SF State: What’s the protocol when one of your students is tragically killed?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Gabriela Sanchez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the afternoon of July 19, 2017, I received the worst call I could have imagined. A mother crying, telling me: \u201cGardenia, mi hija se murio esta ma\u00f1ana\u201d (Gardenia, my daughter died this morning).<\/span><\/p>\n

I had barely clocked into my shift before getting the phone call that not only changed my life, but the many of others who knew Gabriela Sanchez. She was on her way to work when her life was tragically taken that morning. What devastates me more of this was that after her work shift at Starbucks, Gaby was going to drive to Santa Clara to stay with a friend to attend her summer school session at De Anza College.<\/p>\n

During the summer break, Gabriela was taking a few classes at De Anza College. Excited, she was anticipating her senior year at San Francisco State University. Not only was she a hard working young woman, but a devoted student and a DACA Dreamer.<\/p>\n

I felt like part of me left when I dropped to my knees as I heard her mother crying non stop. I was devastated but I knew I had to honor her mother’s request to inform everyone including SF State.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Gabriela Sanchez, a broadcast and electronic communication arts student at San Francisco State University and former El Tecolote contributor. Via Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I cried my heart out mourning the loss of someone who I felt was like my little sister, I reached out to everyone of her passing and provided my email address for those who wanted to contact me privately.<\/p>\n

The next day was like a bad dream that I couldn’t snap out of. But as I received emails from De Anza and SFSU staff, it hit me: she was truly gone.<\/p>\n

The Dream coordinator for SF State, Norma Salcedo emailed me the next day after Gaby\u2019s death and immediately assisted me with the proper contact info and procedure for Gaby\u2019s student death protocol. I was relieved that she gave me a phone call and offered to do an on campus vigil in honor of Gabriela, but only after the Dean of Students contacted me. However, she never did.<\/p>\n

This letter is not to bash anyone, but to raise the question as to why the Dean of Students, Dr. Mary Ann Beagley, hasn\u2019t called Gabriela\u2019s mother to offer condolences, and why she hasn\u2019t responded to my emails. She had been informed days after Gabriela’s death by Salcedo (During a phone call with Salcedo, she confirmed that Dr. Beagley was going to call me soon).<\/p>\n

It has been almost two months since Gabriela\u2019s death, and to this day, her mother has not received a phone call or letter from the University that Gaby once called home. It was only yesterday that Dr. Beagley finally reached out to me.<\/p>\n

We are not asking for a bench on campus in Gabriela\u2019s honor, nor a scholarship fund (although that has been done for other students). All we want is simply for the institution to acknowledge Gabriela\u2019s existence as a student and for a certificate of achievement.<\/p>\n

I have received multiple request from many SF State students asking when will the school have a vigil or will they even have something in her honor for graduation. I hate not having an answer, but the truth is, I don’t.<\/p>\n

My passion to honor Gabriela comes from seeing how hard she worked to be a student at this institution. She lived in Dos Palos, CA, and commuted just to attend her classes here. Myself, like many of her mourning friends, opened our homes to her because we knew how devoted she was to her education and we didn\u2019t want to see her commuting every day. Not only was she a commuter but also a brave DACA recipient and spoke in a video about her struggles just to attend college.<\/p>\n

Gabriela\u2019s life was taken in a tragic car accident, and I cannot let her memory be dissolved. Her memory lives at your library, in your comic book club, and with her fellow Dreamers, so my question to SF State is, \u201cWhy aren\u2019t you honoring her memory?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Gardenia Zuniga-Haro<\/span><\/p>\n