First-generation college students and students of color face many challenges in their academic careers. In "Critical Race Theory, Marginality, and the Experience of Students of Color in Higher Education", Solórzano and Villalpando suggest that universities focus their attention to "dependence on other Students and Faculty of Color for support and mentorship" in order to remain connected to their own experience and community (313). César Mora reinforces that idea as he comments on his relation to faculty at CSUMB:

I have taken a lot of classes with Latino faculty it's just great, it kind of makes you, see yourself achieving that and that motivates you a little bit more. They are so good you learn so much about multiculturalism. (Ln 112-114)

Smaller classes help students to feel they have easy access to and can establish relationships with their professors. Carlos Armenta states:

They're real cool, they're real cool people. it's not like a . . . typical or a stereotype of what a professor should be or of a classroom. . . There are some teachers that are just ­ they'll take the time out to help and stuff like that. (Ln 309-316)

Finding validation by sharing experience and identity in the university setting can also be hard for students of color. In her Service Learning 200 class, Sandra Chavarin was able to "caucus" with other students of color.

We got to meet together and talk about the things that we didn't like that had happened to us about racism or how you felt in your classes or anything that really bugged you a lot that you never said to anybody. We got the chance to say it. And I felt that it was just a group of people we felt comfortable with. Then they told us that if we felt comfortable that we could say it to the whole class. Then we went back to the class and we talked about it and things we really didn't like. We got to express things that we really hadn't gotten a chance to express to anyone before. That happened for me because I got to express a feeling that I had never told anyone. That really felt good to tell it to the group. (Ln 224-232)

     Clearly, having role models and a space to share your voice is making a big difference at CSUMB, when it happens. Still, first generation students name barriers to success. Maria Lupe Figueroa relates:

[S]ometimes in the classes when I do have to speak or give a presentation in front of the class, . . . it's hard for me to express my thoughts, to express my feelings, my ideas . Sometimes I'm thinking something in Spanish and I have to translate that in my mind and say it at the same time. So I get confused with that. So when I say that sometimes I don't feel like my ideas are making sense. So some of the students are just like, they don't say anything but they are kind of laughing. So I feel bad enough that I get nervous and I can't continue with my presentation and stuff. (214-222)

In "CSUMB Vision Statement: Vision to Reality", Annabelle Rodriguez states, "Nearly all interviewees referred to language as one of their biggest barriers to communication . . ." (28). Acquiring confidence and proficiency remains a struggle for many students.

     Not finding the proper supports and advising for students can lead to a low retention rate of first-generation college students. Lupe shares her feelings on the subject:

I don't really like that. Cause I saw a lot of the students are dropping out and sometimes um, when they, I remember when I was in high school the CSUMB did a presentation over there and all that I hear was wonderful, like great things for the students and when I came here I didn't found like some of the resources that I thought might be here. (174-177)

     CSUMB, in its Vision Statement, makes a commitment to "serve the historically low-income and underrepresented" (Rodriguez, A. 4). From Lupe's testimony it seems that CSUMB strives to project that Vision to the community, but the institutional resources to help realize the Vision are not always present or visible when needed. Focusing on the needs of incoming bilingual students through a language assistance center can help retain students who want more confidence in their language skills. Web sites, maps, and flyers in languages other than English can help students find the existing resources that may be unknown or underutilized at CSUMB.

The Commuter Experience

     Even though commuting students are full-time in the sense of their class load they are not what most people would consider traditional students due to the fact that they do not live in the campus community. Commuting students have very limited knowledge of the campus and people on it. This is not because they don't want to spend timecampus; more often than not they cannot fit a campus social life into their schedules. Sandra Chavarin states, "I think it's because I don't have the time or sometimes they do invite me to go to clubs, but it's so late at night or I have to do work so I don't have time. Since I'm commuting, they have their club times on like Saturdays or Sundays. So to drive all the way over here and then to go back home. It's hard"(Ln 184-186).

     Due to the lack of time on campus these students are not able to fit time in to see advisors. This may help explain the loss of direction these students face as they move forward in their education. Sandra Chavarin says, "I want to be a teacher, but it's like I don't know what I want. I think I need more advising on that. I need to more on the majors and more on the jobs and stuff"(Ln 401-402). If universities and colleges want to keep these students in school they will need to open their retention programs to include these nontraditional students' needs. It seems that the smaller the classroom setting is, the more connected a commuting student feels to the school. They have people they can talk to easily and the professor is more likely to know their name and spend time speaking with them. Also, a commuting student will feel more a part of the campus life if they are able to have a job at the university. In this way they form friendships outside of class, but still within the university setting.

     So while trying to make a commuting student feel part of the community is a challenge it can be done. The school must also take into consideration that commuters will normally have many other roles in their lives which they feel are just as important. Other universities have set up commuter centers or commuter study lounges with a meeting space, rideshare bulletin boards, couches for napping and kitchen facilities. These amenities can help commuter students feel they have a "home away from home" if they have time to stop by before or after a class. This space can also serve as a place for commuters to pick up flyers for clubs or events and campus maps. The main thing this university can do for nontraditional students is to make them feel welcome.

     Establishing a required faculty mentorship and advising program for freshmen and sophomores has also been suggested. Since these lower division students have yet to become part of an academic major, they often feel disconnected from faculty and may need extra guidance because they don't have time to wander from office to office looking for the support services they need. Faculty mentorship would help both commuting and non-commuting first generation college students.