Emiliano González Ruíz / The SWC Sun
HOPE FOR TIRED STUDENTS—Some SWC students can benefit from an initiative that greatly reduces morning border crossing waits.
By Emiliano González Ruíz
From the hilly southern flank of the Southwestern College campus, Mexico beckons with open arms and affordable housing for students and staff. The border is less than 10 miles as the crow flies.
Unfortunately for students, they are not crows. Chula Vista, so close, can seem so far for students who live in Mexico.
By the time most American students stumbling out of bed, binational college students living in Tijuana, Rosarito and Tecate have already spent hours commuting to school. Depending on distance and proximity to transportation systems, students may have to wake at 3 a.m. to make it to an 8 a.m. class at Southwestern, San Diego City College or Mesa College.
Andres Ayala, a Mesa College student, said his day always begins before sunrise.
“I wake up at 4:30 (a.m.),” he said. “I take the trolley at 6 (a.m.) and I get to school at like 7:30–7:45.”
Ayala said he walks across the San Ysidro border daily, then takes the San Diego Trolley and a bus to get to Mesa College. Despite beating the roosters into the morning, he does not make it on time to class every day.
“The line varies,” he said. “The shortest amount I have (waited) is an hour. The longest is four hours,” he said. “I’ve missed the bus multiple times. I get late to school and I miss a class or two.”
Transfronterizos who commute have a potential savior. The Coordinated Access Program (CAP) promises to be life changing pilot initiative to help binational students cross the border faster.
Much faster.
Some students have reported that hours-long waits have been reduced to minutes. SWC student Damaris Cortez said CAP is a godsend.
“Zero line, it was instant,” she said. “It’s a huge lifesaver for me because I used to spend hours in line. I can get more sleep. I have more time for homework.”
Cortez said enormous amounts of anxiety have melted away.
“It was a lot of stress,” she said. “Even at home there was stress. I would wake up and check the line. Is it a lot?”
CAP is currently available to SWC, SDSU and USD students. Dr. Joel Pilco, director of binational and international programs at Southwestern College, was a leader in developing and implementing CAP.
“(CAP) is really the combination of 20 years of initiatives, requests and (efforts) to find ways to make this happen,” he said. “Work we’ve been doing at Southwestern College (has been essential). We worked to understand the binational student dynamic and give those students an identity.”
CAP started on April 23 and students report it is an instant success because they skipped the wait time at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry.
“We are so, so pleased to hear that students are now crossing the line in 5 to 7 minutes instead of 2 or 3 hours,” he said. “The difference it makes in their lives is huge. The first day the line opened… some students came straight here to this office and they told me, ‘I couldn’t believe it! I usually go to the border around 3 a.m. This morning, I went at 7.’”
Pilco said binational students now have more time to rest, do homework, spend time with family and practice sports. He credited regional colleges and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.
Ayala, the Mesa College student, said he is hopeful CAP will eventually extend to his campus.
“It would allow me to sleep more, have more time to do my homework patiently, rest more so I’m ready to go with more energy,” he said. “And not have problems with my professors. That would really help me.”
For students like Ayala, that routine starts again the next morning, before the sun rises, before the city awakes and before most people would even consider starting their day.
Pilco said he sympathizes.
“Without CAP, students typically wake up at 3 a.m., hoping to make it to school by 8,” he said. “They are here from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Many go to work after. Crossing back into Mexico can be difficult, too, so a lot of them don’t get home until 11 p.m. or midnight.”
Crushing international commutes are discouraging for even the most resilient students, said Pilco.
“When do you do your homework?” he said. “When do you rest? When do you spend time with family? It’s a real challenge that people don’t understand. The students who do it every day have such commitment, resilience and ganas. That is not easy. When I speak at conferences, I ask people, ‘How many of you could do that every day?’ Most people agree they could not.”
College President Dr. Mark Sanchez has been an active proponent of CAP.
“Every day (as many as) 3,000 of our students demonstrate an extraordinary level of determination in their pursuit of higher education,” he said. “Many begin their mornings long before sunrise, traveling to the border and waiting (for) hours. They do this…every time they come to Southwestern College. Their perseverance is inspiring, and it is a powerful reminder of the responsibility we share as educators and staff to (support them).”
