Author: David Wilkerson

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Rudolfo “Rudy” Xavier ~ Class of 1962

Rudy Xavier ~ Class of 1962

Departed ~ 5/14/21

 

diversityslo.org/

 Our Mission

The Coalition provides educational programs and resources to facilitate and advance the efforts of our affiliated organizations in order to promote and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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Support the Diversity Coalition San Luis Obispo County by becoming a member.

AS THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO’S POLICE DEPARTMENT held a special meeting in mid-July to address hate crimes and hate speech—after a man was arrested for threatening his neighbors—they have a new ally.

As of May 2019 the Five Cities Diversity Coalition has expanded their reach with a new name and new members throughout the region, rebranding as the Diversity Coalition San Luis Obispo County.

The group’s profile has risen dramatically in the two years since the installation of the “Arboring Our Roots of Diversity” sculpture at the Arroyo Grande High School, a project that brought together diverse contributors under an initiative that started out as an anti-bullying program.

The group’s now president, Rudy Xavier, explained at the time how things got started for him joining the group. “Every one of my early formative years through high school were filled with serious prejudice and moderate-to-serious direct injury. I have been shot at, stabbed and suffered many wounds almost exclusively based on racial bigotry,” he wrote, “My friend, former Arroyo Grande City Manager Steve Adams, knew all of these things about me, and when he told me about an organization that sponsored anti-bullying he had me at ‘bullying’… one of our key services is to regularly hire anti-bullying speakers and speak out about micro-aggressions, things like hate speech based on characteristics such as gender, sexual preference, religion, ethnic origin, etc.”

The monument, featuring themes of culture, community, diversity, heritage, education, peace, individuality, and unity, was the culmination of the Arroyo Grande community’s long look in the mirror after a cross burning at the home of a mixed-race family in 2011. it’s a very public statement of community values which students now see on a daily basis.

Though Xavier grew up in a significantly different time and place than the lives led by Central Coast teens—being of Portuguese ancestry in Bangkok, Thailand as it was 60 years ago—he said, he understood the significant emotional events that shape the world view of youth.

As the group’s membership base has expanded, it became clearer that the Five Cities weren’t the only local areas where intolerance has reared its head. Students at Cal Poly have recently dealt with the implications of their peers deciding to dress in what couldbe construed as “Blackface” during fraternity events, holding parties with sexist and misogynistic overtones, and in the previous decade an incident of vandalism in which a noose was found at an outbuilding as well as swastikas appearing on doors.

“We’ve had a lot of requests from San Luis Obispo leadership which indicated we had a broader scope we needed to address,” Xavier said recently as the group arranged to bring a speaker to the San Luis Coastal school district to discuss the Holocaust and elements of religious intolerance.

The group was funding expansion into the San Luis school system with help from an SLO Community Foundation grant, he added. They’re also working on issues affecting the LGBTQ community. Photos of their attendance at the first 5 Cities Hope Pride Festival held at Heritage Park in Arroyo Grande on June 1 are available now at the Coalition’s new website, diversityslo.org.

“Our most recent speaker was Jessica Lynn, who experienced extreme discrimination. As a transgender individual,” Xavier explained, “This would be more than 700 times she’s told her story to an audience but it’s eye-opening as most people have no idea how painful it can be to be born a certain way and to not be accepted by others for who and what you are.”

Anti-bullying, “is still a huge plank for us,” Xavier said, adding that as the group gears up for summer and fall programs, actual membership growth has gone up by nearly a third since the announcement of their expanded coverage area, “but numbers have not been our focus. Our focus is on ‘mindshare’ growth of the mind. That’s the important part of what we’re doing. ”

As the group goes from a finite population base of 47,000 to encompass a region of 286,000 people, Xavier noted, “I’m very proud of our elected leaders. Social justice issues are not partisan.”

Camas Frank has been a San Luis Obispo County print journalist for over a decade. First drawn to the Central Coast for a stint at Cal Poly, he’s focused on community affairs, people and technology.

 

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com

 

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Peter Gissel ~ Class of 1982

Peter Gissel ~ Class of 1982

Departed ~ 5/25/21

 

His daughter Olivia wrote:

The world has lost truly one of a kind. My Dad was a shining light and a guiding force for our family. There was no one with greater vitality for life, no one more caring, no one who could make me laugh harder, no one more passionate, driven and hard working. There is not a single thing this man wouldn’t have done for those he loved and cared for and for those he barely knew at all. He has taught me so much and shaped me in so many ways but given no greater lesson than the one in how to face adversity with the fight he has given the last few years. His mindset, bravery and sheer determination throughout it all was nothing short of amazing. I feel so lost and am so devastated to think of all the things in life he will not be there to experience with us but I am so grateful to have had 25 amazing years with this man being my father. Although his life was cut way too short, he lived a life of many lifetimes and I feel blessed to have been along for part of the ride. May he rest peacefully my hero, my role model, my partner in crime, my best friend.

To the Last Viking, jeg elsker dig for evigt ❤️

 

 

 

 

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com

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David Amber Wilkerson ~ Class of 1971

It don’t matter to the sun
If I go or if I stay
I know the sun is gonna rise
Shine down on another day
There will still be a tomorrow
Even if I leave today
‘Cause it don’t matter to the sun
If I go or if I stay
Modified lyric without the permission of the songwriters: Wayne Kirkpatrick / Gordon Scott Kennedy / Tommy Sims
Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com
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William Wayne Bill “Billy” Ferguson Jr.~ Class of 1970

Bill Ferguson ~ Class of 1970

Departed ~ 2/20/21

2/25/21

Bill’s sister Linda D. Ferguson –  Morgan ’71 wrote:

There will be no service for William, so this is what I would have read.

My Tribute to my brother Billy. He was my Irish Twin, meaning we were not a year apart in age.

He was not my rock…he was my BOULDER!

He taught me how to make a snowman, he taught me to ride a bike, he walked with me to school.

He ate tons of ice cream with me when I had my tonsils removed.

He taught me how to climb trees which I never stopped doing until I no longer could.

He protected me as much as he could from childhood abuse, he broke up many fights I had with girls and guys as a kid.

He literally rescued me many times…once when I was 13 and left by the side of a country road far from home…once in Pattya when I had run away and took me back to Bangkok.

He took over my babysitting job when I had to be rushed to the hospital for appendix removal.

When he went into the Army and told me he was getting ready to leave for Korea, I drove from VA. to New Jersey late at night to say good-bye. Not knowing a thing about the New Jersey turnpike and ran the toll booth cause I didn’t have any tokens with bells and alarms going off! He laughed! I sent him underground comic books and home made cookies and bagels. He said the bagels made excellent door stops! I didn’t know it took months to get there.

Although we lived a lot of our adult lives in different states, we were always in touch.

When I broke my back he flew across the states from AZ. to VA. to the hospital. He got all kinds of paperwork filed for me concerning future Rehabs and Social Security. I was in a bed that had to be rotated every two hours from my back to my stomach. He laid down on the floor and crawled under to look up to me…I burst out laughing then crying hysterically with nose dripping and tears falling like rain…he never moved.

Many years later, I moved to Tucson, where he had lived for decades. This was the first time we lived in the same place. We went to dinners, dollar movies, spent hours at museums, long drives in the desert…and always went out together for our birthday dinner and always while we were both the same age for five days. I volunteered in his elementary classes as an aid quite a few times..I always got the grunt work, cutting things up. I got to see his daughter and son grow up until I moved to Belize. He thought I was nuts to move by myself and gave some good arguments, but hugged me after our last dinner and I remember his son asking him why we were crying. I have lived in Belize for 21 years now. I spent twelve years in Tucson with him.

He flew down to Belize for my wedding to walk me down the aisle, even though he almost had heat stroke and endured an anxiety attack while snorkeling! Said he wouldn’t come back…haha!

He never judged me or my bad decisions..even though he was frustrated many times.

He always let my independent spirit soar.

He wasn’t really social, yet friendly, introverted. Worked hard, went down some rough roads, fought some demons which I could never rescue him from, no matter how hard I tried.

He fought hard after being shot and stayed positive.

He was kind, compassionate, caring and quite sensitive.

I will always love you and miss you Billy…until we meet again for a long awaited hug.

2/20/21

Bill’s sister Linda Ferguson ’71 wrote:

For those that knew my brother William Ferguson ’70… he suddenly passed today…not quite sure of details yet, heart attack or stroke. This is 8 years after he was shot in the head and was doing great…just talked to him 2 weeks ago……

 

 

 

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com