By Clifford L. Williams,
Globe City Editor

California State University hosted its third annual Super Sunday event last weekend, partnering with 17 Bay Area African American churches (30 throughout Northern California) to help to increase the number of black students attending college.
    Throughout the day, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, CSU presidents, trustees and professors addressed congregations at the churches.

   Reed spoke at Glad Tidings Church of God in Christ in Hayward. During his remarks, he pointed to a sign in the pulpit that read, “We are better together.”
    “This church and other African American churches and the CSU system are better together,” he said. “We want you to join with us. We need to do everything we can to reach out and help our children and grandchildren and figure out how to go to college.
    “I have a secret to share with you. If you can get your children and grandchildren to take Algebra I and Algebra II in high school, and get a C or better, they can graduate and get into any college in this country. … Don’t let teachers or principals tell you or your kids they can’t get Algebra when they are in the eight or ninth grade. This is so important.”
    Reed reminded attendees that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislature are planning to cut education funds. “We need to send a message to the governor and legislature that when you look at education, you look at it as an investment,” he said. “If you want to go to college, it costs the state $8,700 per year. If you want to go to prison, it costs $45,000 a year. One is an expenditure; the other an investment.”

    Bishop J. W. Macklin, senior pastor of Glad Tidings, said the event allowed the congregation to recognize that they can achieve. “By the chancellor coming here, it shows that the university is investing in their future, and they are here to help you to be successful.
   “Its also says to adults who are already living their life that they can come back and do this. Some have been working, bringing up children and were not able to finish school. This is telling them to come back because we still believe in you.”
    Cal State East Bay President Mohammad Qayoumi spoke at Acts Full Gospel Church of God in Christ in Oakland. “Super Sunday is not just episodic; it’s part of a yearround effort on our part to get the word out about the opportunities available in the CSU to students from all underserved populations,” he said.
    CSU staff and church education liaisons have met to develop ways to reach out to the African American community, particularly young men. Some new efforts include financial aid workshops, expanded distribution of college materials to sixth through 12th grade students and their parents, and the creation of a how-to guide for church educational advisers who work with families.
    Cal State East Bay will host the annual African American Educational Summit on Saturday, March 1 on its Hayward campus, located at 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd. For more information, visit www.csueastbay.edu or call (510) 885-3646.

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