The California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley was present at the final Student Media Teleconference for the Spring Semester on April 19. The conference welcomed students, reporters, editors, and advisors to join and encouraged them all to ask Oakley any questions regarding plans and initiatives with community colleges throughout California. 

During the duration of the conference, Oakley had mentioned that advocacy for community colleges is currently their main focus and goal for him. He emphasized that one of the main reasons for this was because so much has been impacted since the beginning events of the pandemic through COVID-19. 

Through Oakley’s statement of setting advocacy for community colleges in California, he claims that student resources, such as the Cal Grant, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) are now easier for students to become eligible for, and that the deadlines for these applications are currently still open until September 2 due to recent policy changes.  

With the topic of these financial resources, the situation of several people taking advantage of these resources that are exclusively for students was brought up to Oakley. The situation involves non-students taking advantage of these funds by hacking the systems within the process, Oakley had said that there has been a focus on stopping these fraud situations, as the associations are currently creating many levels of implications through government levels. 

He also added that the situation is a “never-ending cycle,” since many people continue to find a way to consistently take advantage of these systems. Overall though, he assures students these applications are continuing to give students the funds they need to continue their education. 

Another priority that Oakley is currently focusing on is the goal to encourage students to acknowledge that ever since the events of the pandemic, the current world has shifted and that because of this the ability of students to find jobs has changed. 

He plans to create programs and chances for students to find jobs and prepare them to obtain structured jobs and careers. One of the significant things that he added to his goals, is that he is making sure that these actions are processed and done as soon as possible since it is an urgent resource that many students require.