A Look at Our Past
By Josiah Birkbeck
California has an interesting an enthralling past that may be found if it is sought out especially in a classroom or a library. An additional place where a student of history might discover introductory information about the events surrounding Mexican-American history is surprisingly located in the Taft College cafeteria.
Dr. Altenhofel requires her students to create and give a lecture every semester on different ethnic groups. Students have used plays, monologues, and standard powerpoints in the past, but interestingly enough, a few students this year decided to make a documentary.
Daniel Contreras, Alejandro Carillo, and Fernando Flores collaborated to create a documentary on the Mexican-American history in the era of 1848-1975. This period covers from the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the later years of Cesar Chavez, and the driving force of the League of United Latin American Citizens (L.U.L.A.C.).
The documentary is in a style reminiscent of Ken Burns with voice-over and a compilation of photos. It is well made, and the history is explained clearly in the time available with the overall length being about twelve minutes. Sadly though, the audio is hard to hear in a busy cafeteria, but if a student wanted to view it, it may be good to visit the cafeteria between classes not during meal times, take a load off, and lend ear and eye to our South-Western American history.