\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing that the outcome is trying to paint a picture of where San Francisco stands. This election\u2019s intention was to take advantage of a low voter-turnout, and that\u2019s exactly what happened. Half of the people who came out for the governor\u2019s recall came out for this election, and the people who were motivated to remove us made sure to vote. The results are not a surprise, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a reflection of where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did the super-majority of votes to recall surprise you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes and no. I expected there to be less people voting, and the ones voting already wanted us out. So it\u2019s a shock but it\u2019s exactly what they intended for us to do…I cannot agree with this notion that San Francisco\u2019s completely done with the way that the school board of the \u201cleft woke\u201d has been operating, because this is a high percentage of a small percentage of people who came out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anything else about the results you want to add? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I do want to add the response that we have been getting…it\u2019s really some hateful racist misogynist stuff in our emails, all over our social media, it\u2019s non-stop…there are people who are happy with the results and are pointing to really racist things and are seeing it as a victory…there are people who are white supremacists and are enjoying this…people are calling me a \u201cMexican whore,\u201d it\u2019s shining a light on things that people don\u2019t want to be associated with, but is a reality of what Tuesday was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you think that\u2019s a fair representation of Tuesday and the electorate that recalled the school board?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A part of it, yeah. I believe that there were people who were not happy with our response, but we have to recognize that if you\u2019re feeling like right now is not the right time to talk about racism or racist names or Lowell, I don\u2019t think it will ever be the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you want people to remember about your time on the board?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTwo resolutions I am extremely proud of are the Arts Equity Resolution, it completely shifted how we do arts education in the school district, and the Latinx Resolution, which is showing up now in so many ways that helps Latino students get more access to college [and] the creation of the English Language Development course in Ethnic Studies which is huge. What we would see as educators and what parents would tell is if you are an English Language designated student, you don\u2019t get to take classes that help you flourish in other areas. Lots of work happening that first year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will you run for school board again?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have learned I need to sit with that before I go all-in. I\u2019m reflecting right now. But I know that there are a lot of folks that hope that I do [run], and I just remind everyone that whatever happens, no one person can do it alone. So, we will see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that the recall is over, I\u2019m curious, how have you been de-stressing lately?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA couple weeks ago I signed up for a swimming class at [City College]. I don\u2019t know how to and I\u2019ve always wanted to. And it was my effort to learn a new skill and get me moving\u2026I\u2019m also trying to read more. Right now I\u2019m reading a biography of Malcolm X.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I remember you talking about your hopes to get a PhD, and that you\u2019ve been applying to programs, and I heard you got into Stanford?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI did! I did get into Stanford. When I heard the news, I was just starting a meeting and I saw the wonderful \u2018Congratulations, you got accepted.\u2019 It was a godsend,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cIt\u2019s a full-ride, it\u2019s for five years, and I also got accepted into a fellowship for Doctoral Students in Diverse Fields. It\u2019s a shock, I\u2019ve been getting a lot of \u201cCongratulations, I\u2019m sorry\u201d phone calls. It\u2019s interesting how I\u2019m holding a lot of this news in the past week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I take it you plan to go to Stanford, then?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n *Laughs* I am waiting on [UC Berkeley], and I know that I\u2019ll be able to make that decision as soon as I hear back. But I do know that come fall, I\u2019ll be enrolled in courses and starting my program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you attend either Berkeley or Stanford, will you continue to work at USF?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey have already shared that they can work around my schedule so that I can stay. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be able to be as active, but I have no insight around what my day-to-day will be like. I\u2019m going to be connected with current students in the program who can just highlight what that day-to-day is. I\u2019m not someone who doesn\u2019t understand going to school full-time and working full-time, that\u2019s always been my experience, but I\u2019m also getting a stipend in addition to the fellowship and tuition being paid. I\u2019ve never had the opportunity to just go to school, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019m prepared for that. I think I\u2019m going to need something else and USF has just been really wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What other plans do you have after the recall?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Going to school has always been in the works, to remain working at USF, ultimately, my main goal with school is to become a professor. Staying with the school district, staying connected, helping lend resources and opportunities for research, that is something missing in our work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any personal goals you have moving forward?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I told you I\u2019m learning to swim, right? *Chuckles*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I spoke with Gabriela Lopez before and after the February 15 recall election to discuss her thoughts about the recall, her career hopes beyond working on the school board, and to learn a little about what makes her tick. Before she was president of a normally-innocuous public body which, until recently, was facing a recall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":51015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,7],"tags":[19063],"coauthors":[18445],"class_list":["post-51060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news","tag-recall","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/LopezGabriela1_Portrait_1498-1.jpg?resize=320%2C480&quality=89&ssl=1\")