"An oral history with Jamile Balli, a cultural center program coordinator at California State
University Chico and a resident of Butte County. This interview was conducted for the
Preserving Chico State Voices for Change Oral History Project for California State University,
Chico. The purpose of this interview was to gather information regarding her professional life at
Chico State between the early 2010’s to the present as it pertains to student activism.
Specifically, this interview details Jamile’s background growing up in Merced, her college career
at California State University Stanislaus, and her first university job at UC Merced working at an
outreach center. The interview then shifted to Jamile’s different roles she has fulfilled over her 15
year tenure at California State University Chico. From 8 years working in the admissions office
to provide students the push to go off to college when they did not have that voice telling them
that growing up, to 4 years working in the Cross Cultural Leadership Center and talking about
the social impact the Cross Cultural Leadership Center had, to her transition to becoming the
program coordinator of a Latinx community space on Chico State campus called El Centro in
2024 and the differences between the two spaces. Jamile talked about the role the Cross Cultural
Leadership Center played on Chico State campus in the time leading up to and after the 2020
Presidential Election, mentioning a specific instance where a polarizing speaker was invited on
campus by a conservative club that caused an outrage on campus and the Cross Cultural
Leadership Center was called to intervene and defuse the situation. Jamile talked about the roles
of leadership students can take in the Cross Cultural Leadership Center and El Centro to get
involved in student activism and make a difference and the ways that the two centers make a
difference with student activism. And finally, Jamile talked about the biggest constraints that El
Centro has encountered being budget and lack of employees and how they are subverting those
constraints to continue to further its goals and has outlined the future goals the program has."
Cultural centers (Institutions)—California, Student activities, Social activism
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Jamile A. Balli (transcript)
Jamile A. Balli (image)
Balli-total.wav