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Todd-Diaz, Ashley: Okay. Kevin Barahona: Hello, can you hear me? Nico Calvo: Hold on. Nico Calvo: Okay, yes, we can hear you. Hi!

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Kevin Barahona: Hey there. So I just found out there's a planned power outage for all of Kevin Barahona: my neighborhood until 4pm, and so, please let me know if my service… That, for some reason, includes the cell towers, too, so please just let... Nico Calvo: Okay. Kevin Barahona: If, like, the audio's cutting off, or if the video quality is, like…

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Nico Calvo: Okay. Nico Calvo: Okay. Definitely. We will definitely let you know if that's happening. Scotty Mulig: Yeah. So I just want to explain, there's me, and then also Nico, they have theirs-- My laptop is connected to this. I'm gonna be using the chat. I'm Scotty, but should we just start with… Yeah, but we'll introduce ourselves, so you go first. So, hi, my name is Scotty. I'm an Anthropology major, of course, helping with the TU Unearthing Scotty Mulig: Towson's History Project. I'm super excited to be here. I'm super excited for this. So yeah, if you see me, like, typing this way, that's because in the chat, I'll be adding the questions we ask you, so you can refer to those if you're like,

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Scotty Mulig: "I'm not sure I caught the whole question," or if you need to refer to it as you answer, just, like, giving you as much information as possible to help answer questions. So if you see me, like... Scotty Mulig: I'm not, like, leaving. I'm just typing on my laptop. Right. Kevin Barahona: That's fine. Nico Calvo: Awesome. So, I am Nico. I'm a History major and a Museum Studies minor, and I'm also very excited to interview you today.

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Kevin Barahona: Thank you. Nico Calvo: Awesome. So, Nico Calvo: I just want to make sure that you got the consent form, that you signed the consent form for this interview. Okay, awesome. Were you able to get our questions that we sent earlier today? Kevin Barahona: Yes, yeah, I reviewed them a few times.

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Nico Calvo: Okay. Kevin Barahona: And if you put them in the chat, I'll see them again, but I do have them open. Nico Calvo: Okay, we just want to make sure, are there any questions that you are not comfortable answering? Kevin Barahona: No, they're all good questions.

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Nico Calvo: Okay, awesome, cool. Okay, so Nico Calvo: I just want to start off by saying, in our research, we were able to find everything that-- mostly everything that you mentioned in your autobiography that you gave to our professors, but what we were really missing was your direct, Nico Calvo: experience with those things, so that's kind of the gap that we're trying to bridge today with our questions, as you have seen them before. So, Nico Calvo: yeah, let's get into it.

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Nico Calvo: So, our first Nico Calvo: question for you is basically just to introduce yourself, your name, what your major was at Towson, as an undergrad and a graduate student, if you were living on campus or off campus, and we'll start off there. Kevin Barahona: My name's Kevin Barahona, and I went to Towson University for undergrad, I studied Economics and Geography and Environmental Planning, and as a graduate student, I studied Geography and Environmental Planning, Kevin Barahona: with a focus on GIS [Geographic Information System] for both undergraduate and grad school. When I was living on campus, I lived in Prettyman Hall before they installed the air conditioning.

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Kevin Barahona: And when I left off campus… I moved off campus immediately Kevin Barahona: after my freshman year. I found out you could save a lot of money by not living on campus, and so I had an apartment, and then for the last two years of undergrad, I had a townhouse. Kevin Barahona: And then for grad school, I moved home until some of my friends transferred to Towson, and then for a little bit, I was living in Ellicott City, and then I was living in the Towson Promenade, or Promenades, however you pronounce it. Kevin Barahona: The apartment building that's close to the mall.

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Nico Calvo: Gotcha. Okay, yeah. Kevin Barahona: I'm originally from Costa Rica, but my entire family's from El Salvador, and so I like to say that I'm half Costa Rican and half Salvadorian. Even though my family is El Salvadoran, I was raised to be a Tico, which is what you call people from Costa Rica, and anytime I would visit my family out of the country, we would always go to Costa Rica. Nico Calvo: That's really cool, that's really awesome. So let's get into your Towson experience. Nico Calvo: We know that you were an active eco-rep on campus. We found a few articles about that, and their involvement in getting Towson the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] award in 2019. What environmental issues on campus were important to you?

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Kevin Barahona: I think as an aspiring sustainability professional, or a student who wanted a career within sustainability, sometimes it's difficult to pick one thing, because sustainability... The theme is very interconnected, whether you're talking about water, energy, food, or air quality, and so Kevin Barahona: I was just interested in doing a little bit of everything, but I think through my experience at Towson, I found out what was important to the community, and I think that that's what influenced what became important to me. Kevin Barahona: And so I was really passionate about Kevin Barahona: food. I think it's because food is something that connects everyone. When you're trying to explain to someone, like, why it's important to be eco-friendly or environmentally conscious, they might not understand it, but when you bring it back to food, that connects a lot of different systems. Like, you know, whether it's

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Kevin Barahona: having, like, good working conditions for the farmers, or equal pay, or, like, the transportation to get that food to the campus? Like, you know, if the Nico Calvo: Mhm. Kevin Barahona: food is coming from farms a thousand miles away, and that's, like, a big carbon footprint just to get the food to campus. Kevin Barahona: And then, you know, what's in the food? If these are, not so much genetically modified crops, but if they were sprayed with, like,

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Kevin Barahona: RoundUp or other insecticides or herbicides that could be really harmful to our bodies. Kevin Barahona: And we're, you know, we're not really aware of that when we're just eating the food. And so I found out that, like, food was something that I was particularly passionate about because it was a way to make environmental issues really personal to everyone, regardless of what their perspective was on the environment. Kevin Barahona: And I think that Kevin Barahona: one thing that was also interesting to learn about was how Towson University did the… It's called the STARS [Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, & Rating System] reporting, and that's kind of how you document how eco-friendly you are, like, as a campus. And so then

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Kevin Barahona: learning about, like, what we were good at, or what we could improve on. And so I think early on in the STARS reporting, we would talk about, like, energy efficiency, and then later on, we started, I think, adding the food recovery efforts into the STARS reporting. Kevin Barahona: So, I guess to sum it up, I'm passionate about a lot of different things as it pertains to sustainability, but through my experience at Towson, I came to become more fond of food systems. Nico Calvo: Gotcha. So, what do you remember about what you did on campus as an eco rep? Kevin Barahona: So, the eco reps,

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Kevin Barahona: like, when I started, were working in an office called Civic Engagement Leadership [Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility], which was run by somebody named Chris Jensen at the time, and when I started as an eco-rep, we didn't have a graduate assistant being, like, kind of in charge of us, so we had a lot of freedom in what we did. Kevin Barahona: And so, we had these "Go Green" water bottles that we were giving out, and we would try to do different presentations about the EcoReps and what Towson does on campus to be eco-friendly, trying to just raise awareness about the different opportunities there were to be Kevin Barahona: you know, eco-friendly on campus. And so, I remember giving presentations, meeting with my friend's Kevin Barahona: floor, I think it was in Tower D [Glen Complex], just starting with his floor, and then moving up to going to one of the...

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Kevin Barahona: Is it BSA? Black Student Association? Nico Calvo: Yes. Kevin Barahona: We went and presented to one of their meetings, and so we went from, like, maybe, like, 10 people on a floor to, I think there was, like, 50 to 100 people at that meeting. Kevin Barahona: And so we were really picking up momentum in the reach that we had, at least with the different groups. And so then

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Kevin Barahona: every time we would schedule a presentation to just talk about being eco-friendly, we talked about some of the different campaigns that Towson had at the time. One of them, particularly, that was funny, that we like to joke about was called the "Do It in the Dark" campaign, and the "Do It in the Dark" campaign was a campus-wide Kevin Barahona: effort to reduce energy consumption. And Kevin Barahona: the building that reduced the most energy consumption over the course of a month won Chipotle Catering. So I can't remember who won the competition, but I just remember that in some of the presentations, we would joke about things that you would "do in the dark." Kevin Barahona: And so that would always get a giggle, that would always get a chuckle, and so… We also… I think there was also Recycle Mania.

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Kevin Barahona: Towson might still do that. And so, we would just talk about the different efforts that we'd have around campus, around the year. Sometimes it would be around Earth Day, which I think now is Earth Month in April. Kevin Barahona: And so we're just letting people know, like, what they can do on campus to be more eco-friendly. And so we gave out these green water bottles, and we had, like, hundreds of them. And so Kevin Barahona: we would do a presentation, hand out the water bottles, and it was just a lot of fun, because we were also getting paid for our presentations sometimes. Per presentation, I think we got, like, $10, and so it was just really cool that we were able to Kevin Barahona: Talk about the things that we enjoyed

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Kevin Barahona: and get compensated for it. And I think one thing that I remember the most was, like, how small our team was, and how I did it with one of my best friends. His name's Jack Stern, and I actually just went to his wedding this past weekend as his best man, and he gifted me a watch with a green band Kevin Barahona: to reference when we were eco reps, and giving out green water bottles. Kevin Barahona: And so… Nico Calvo: That is so awesome. Kevin Barahona: It was cool. It was probably the best wedding. Anybody who went to the wedding felt like it was the best wedding they ever went to. It was super magical.

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Kevin Barahona: An incredible mansion on the coast of Florida, perfect weather, super insane. It was an amazing wedding. But I think it's funny that we're having the conversation now, because it's just like, Kevin Barahona: my friend Jack and I really developed our friendship by being eco reps. He was, like, my partner in crime. Like, we did a lot of different presentations together. Nico Calvo: Yeah, that's really amazing how that friendship stayed, like, locked in for such a long time. Kevin Barahona: And then, one thing that changed, though, was in our second year of being eco reps, we then got appointed a graduate assistant who was kind of in charge of us. And so, in the first year, we had, like,

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Kevin Barahona: complete freedom in what we did. As long as we were spreading, like, you know, eco-friendliness on campus, we could do whatever we want. We were even trying to figure out how to organize, like, a small concert Kevin Barahona: during, like, I forget what it's called, the big Towson concert in the spring, it's gonna bother me. Nico Calvo: I think it's Tiger Fest? Yeah, Tiger Fest. Kevin Barahona: Yeah, Tiger Fest. So we wanted to have, like, a mini Tiger Fest event at the entrance of the Glen woods, kind of, like, by the towers.

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Kevin Barahona: It was just, like, a little, little fun event in nature. And I remember that was something we were trying to organize, but then once we got appointed a graduate assistant, Kevin Barahona: then we kind of had to carry out the agenda that the graduate assistant had for us, so we couldn't go around just doing "Do it In the Dark" presentations and having our water bottles anymore. We had to kind of fulfill an agenda, and then both Jack and I kind of Kevin Barahona: stopped being eco reps, because we, you know, the things that we loved about it, we couldn't do anymore. And, Kevin Barahona: you know, we stuck with it for a little bit, but we weren't as passionate, and that's kind of what led me to doing what is called the Real Food Challenge Campaign, was that I kind of had another avenue to get involved with sustainability issues on campus,

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Kevin Barahona: but without having to, like, have somebody tell me what to do. Like, I had more freedom and control in how to be active on campus. Nico Calvo: Yeah, I… That's really awesome. That's so cool how you were very, like, involved in campus. I feel like Nico Calvo: for me, I'm like… Scotty Mulig: or the graduate student?

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Kevin Barahona: I've been, like, sustainability-conscious my whole life, just being from Costa Rica. Ecotourism was our largest export for a really long time, so, you know, growing up, I was always kind of like a steward for the environment. I knew that protecting the environment is what makes Costa Rica so pretty, and what makes Kevin Barahona: the world so attracted to go visit. And so I knew that when I had the chance to talk about, like, sustainability, that it already wasn't a very popular subject amongst the majority of people. And so, I guess I don't want to say that I was too surprised at the turnout. Kevin Barahona: Only because I was kind of aware that it was, like, something that wasn't so popular, as much as it is now. Like, you know, even now, depending on who you talk to, or depending on how you look at the world, you might think that sustainability is still, you know, not getting the attention that it deserves. Kevin Barahona: But I think that there's so much more awareness around the subject now than there was when I was a student at Towson. So I knew that I was

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Kevin Barahona: the one who was kind of, like, raising the awareness on campus, and I didn't really expect too many other people to be familiar with it. Nico Calvo: Gotcha. So, let's get into… You mentioned in your autobiography that you experienced food insecurity on campus. What was the dining situation on campus at the time over, like, the 10 years that you were on campus? Kevin Barahona: So, when I lived on campus first year, I'm pretty sure it's still the rule that if you're gonna live on campus, you need to have a meal plan. Kevin Barahona: And so, being that it was, like, my first year in undergrad, and, you know, I'm an immigrant, I'm the first in my family to go to school in the U.S, period. So, like, I took out the loans that I needed to to live on campus first year, then I found out, you know, how much money I could save by not living on campus.

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Kevin Barahona: So in my second year, Kevin Barahona: like, when I moved off campus, I also didn't have a dining plan. And so, my schedule was kind of like, Kevin Barahona: you know, I'd come… I didn't have a car either, so I would take the bus, come to school. Kevin Barahona: And then, if it permitted, I would take the bus back to my apartment, and then, like, you know, make a meal and then come back to school, but sometimes my schedule didn't really permit for that. And so, you know, I'd bring a meal with me, but if I have to be on campus for, like, 8 or 10 hours...

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Kevin Barahona: And then I also got involved with playing club soccer, then I didn't really have the same opportunity to go back, and so I really leaned on some of my friends who... They all had dining plans. They were still living on campus their second year, and they were really helping me out. Kevin Barahona: And also, it depended on, like, where your classes were. So, like, I took a lot of classes Kevin Barahona: in the Stevenson building, or Stephens Hall, Kevin Barahona: and you know, like, I guess there's Newell Dining Hall, and then there's the den.

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Kevin Barahona: And Kevin Barahona: because I was, like, pretty, like, conscious of, like, what I was eating. Sometimes I wouldn't want to eat there because I felt like it was, like, processed junk food. Nico Calvo: Hmm. Kevin Barahona: You know, I didn't know where the food was coming from, I didn't know how it was prepared, so I wasn't the most comfortable eating it, and that's part of why I liked eating at home so much, but I couldn't always go home.

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Kevin Barahona: And then Kevin Barahona: To be like, oh, like, you know, I want to buy something, but my only option is something that is, like, pretty expensive for how processed it is. Like, it doesn't really nourish me. Kevin Barahona: And so, it was kind of like you had to start making compromises between, like, oh, like, you know, I don't want to eat this, but I don't want to eat this either. And so it's just kind of like, I remember at one point, and then this is, like, skipping from sophomore year to junior year, like, Kevin Barahona: my go-to thing to, like, not spend any money would be, like, a single donut or a single bagel, and then maybe just get that twice a day.

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Kevin Barahona: And then if one of my friends blessed me with a meal, that'd be cool, but otherwise, just, you know, eat a big breakfast, maybe bring lunch with me, and then Kevin Barahona: just, like, you know, if I had to eat on campus, it would just be, like, one bagel or one donut, and maybe twice a day. And I didn't like doing that, but it was just kind of like, otherwise, I was just not gonna eat anything. But it's funny, because now I'm really comfortable with fasting. Like, if I knew what I know about fasting now, back then, I'd probably just fast Kevin Barahona: way more often. Nico Calvo: Mmm.

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Kevin Barahona: And so it was really nice to see my friends, like, they had meal plans, but they also had groceries, and then I learned… I met other students that were, like, kind of like... Kevin Barahona: I don't know if food insecure is the right word, but they were trying to find ways to eat on campus, and I got exposed to some of the food waste on campus. So when Au Bon Pain opened, like, Kevin Barahona: I had a friend who was on the football team who had another friend who worked there, and when they closed on Fridays at 3, they would just throw a bunch of food away. So he'd be like, hey, come with me, my friend works in the kitchen, he's gonna give us some sandwiches. Nico Calvo: Hmm.

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Kevin Barahona: And so it's just like, you know, I made friends with this guy because we studied together, helped him with homework, and then he told me about how to, like, get food on campus, and so I developed that relationship, and I was like, wow, like, I'm so lucky, I get to have this meal, and I didn't pay for it, and it was just gonna get thrown out? That's crazy. And so, I remember at some point, it got, like, Kevin Barahona: the person who was working there was just like, hey, like, I can't give you food this week because, like, my manager's still here, and he gets really mad if I give away food for free. So, like, you know, that's where I learned about how, like, you know, I got exposed to this idea that we waste a lot of food on campus, because at the same time, I was working on the Real Food Challenge campaign, and Kevin Barahona: the… You know, I met with Kim Schatzel when she was our president, I met with a group of students, you know, I have the selfies, I still have the photos, and she said, you know, like, this is a good idea, but I represent the community, and so I can't make this decision Kevin Barahona: on behalf of the community, so if you get the consensus of the community, I'll support your, you know, your food recovery program, or your Real Food Challenge campaign. And so, Schatzel was like, go to the TU Senate.

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Kevin Barahona: Go to… I think it's called Towson University Student Council, TUSC, I don't know if they still have it, and also go to SGA [Student Government Association]. And if you get legislation passed in these three different bodies, I will sign this agreement to, like, Kevin Barahona: have a greater percentage of ethically sourced food on campus. Kevin Barahona: And so, one thing that Kim Schatzel did was, like, what some people would call, like, being "given the runaround." And so me and my student group, we did that. We got legislation passed across the three groups that she wanted, and she did not hold up her end of the agreement at all. Kevin Barahona: And she would start... She would straight up ghost our students

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Kevin Barahona: from meeting with her, and then she would pass us around her administration to somebody else. Kevin Barahona: And so, she never held up her end of the agreement, and that was her… That was, like, her lasting impression to me. It was kind of just like, I know she's here to make money for the school, but I don't trust her. And it's not… It's through my personal experience, not that she's, like, a bad person or was a bad president, but, Kevin Barahona: like, you know, I held up my end of the agreement, and she didn't hold up hers, and then the students that I worked with started graduating. So she just timed us out. She was like, "oh, you'll meet with this other person, oh, but they're not available until next month," and then… Kevin Barahona: If it wasn't for the fact that I continued directly after undergrad into grad school, then I would have been gone too. And I don't think that I would have been there long enough to start a food recovery program. And the pushback that they always gave us was that

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Kevin Barahona: if we got a higher standard of real food on campus, like food that, you know, is good for the producer, consumer, community, and Earth, it would increase the cost Kevin Barahona: to students for food. And so, you know, we were exploring, like, different ways to make Kevin Barahona: strategic product shifts. Like, we would go through the different invoices for the dining halls, see where they were getting their food, and just find out, like, what could we do? And we had a lot of guidance from Johns Hopkins University. Kevin Barahona: Because they had the same dining company as Towson University, and they had already signed the Real Food Challenge campaign, and they already started making these strategic product shifts.

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Kevin Barahona: For example, Johns Hopkins, they used to get fresh oranges from Florida to make their orange juice, and then once they, you know, did their review, they realized that that was just a waste of money, because of the carbon footprint of shipping it all the way from Florida. So then they stopped getting oranges from Florida, and they started buying into Taharka Brothers ice cream. Kevin Barahona: Do you know about Taharka Brothers ice cream? Nico Calvo: No. Kevin Barahona: Oh my god, you need to! It's the best ice cream in Baltimore. So, so…

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Kevin Barahona: The Real Food Challenge campaign had this, like, food wheel, and it's like, real food is good for the producer, consumer, community, and the Earth. And it doesn't need to meet all the criteria, but more criteria is better. And so, Taharka Brothers Ice Cream, Kevin Barahona: they're produced locally in Baltimore, and they employ people from the city that might not otherwise be able to get jobs. Kevin Barahona: So, I'm talking about, like. Kevin Barahona: you know, high school dropouts, former convicts, maybe people with some kind of, like, learning disability, people who can't, like, get jobs easily. So Taharka Brothers specializes in hiring these types of people, and then Taharka Brothers isn't owned by, like, a conglomerate, it's owned by the workers.

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Kevin Barahona: And so, by Johns Hopkins making that shift from buying oranges from Florida to purchasing Taharka Brothers ice cream locally in Baltimore, they're supporting the food workers, and they're supporting the community. And so... It's also really, really good. But Taharka Brothers Ice Cream only did Kevin Barahona: batch ice cream, and they never had a storefront, so you would have to go to, like, the Towson Creamery, or is it Towson Charmery? I can't remember, over by RoFo. But you could buy Taharka Brothers ice cream there. Taharka Brothers now has a storefront. If you go to R. House in Remington, they have a storefront there. Kevin Barahona: And what was special about their ice cream, too, was how they, Kevin Barahona: you know, they would make a batch for the month, and if it sold out, that was it. You have to wait till next month. And if the flavor you liked was sold out, you have to wait till they make it again. And it was just, they were so popular. But I think now, they're so much bigger, you could buy whatever flavor you want, anytime you want. So I implore you to please go check out Taharka Brothers Ice Cream at R. House.

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Kevin Barahona: And, you know, support the local community. And so, that's just an example of these strategic product shifts. And so, Johns Hopkins, who's Kevin Barahona: you know, they're deeper into the city than Towson is, farther away from farms. If they found a way to increase the percentage of real food served on campus, then Towson should be able to do that, too. Kevin Barahona: And what we came to find out is that some of these initiatives align with what the chefs wanted to do at campus. Like, chefs want fresh, local produce. They don't want to source produce that's from, like, you know, a couple states over. Like, they, you know, like, if you're gonna be, like, Kevin Barahona: a fine dining chef, that's what you pride yourself on. It's like, "this was sourced locally," like, or "I grew this myself."

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Kevin Barahona: And so, you know, we found out that a lot of what we were trying to do in the Real Food Challenge campaign aligned with what Chartwells as a company was doing, and what Kevin Barahona: the chefs wanted to do. But, as I mentioned, it never got signed by Kim Schatzel, this agreement to increase the percentage of real food on campus, but they did take the work that we did and just start Kevin Barahona: creating, like, marketing materials around it. Like, I feel like even to this day, you know, I haven't been to the West Village Dining Hall in forever, but I feel like if you go Kevin Barahona: they have signage, which is like, you know, "locally sourced apples," or, like, "these pumpkins are in season," or something from the local farm. Just because that's… Nico Calvo: They do.

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Kevin Barahona: Yeah, yeah, and so what I was trying to say is that, like, they started doing that, they took, like, our efforts from the Food Challenge campaign, and just started, like, doing the marketing without agreeing to actually doing it. Nico Calvo: Right. Kevin Barahona: Just because it, you know, it looks good. They're, like, the university became aware of, like, how it looked good to… If you're coming to visit Towson, and you gotta go eat at the dining hall, and you see all these signage, it, like, makes you feel good about eating there. And so, Kevin Barahona: you know, it's the Real Food Challenge campaign, like,

00:25:59.040 - 00:26:51.910

Kevin Barahona: that… When I learned about the food that was being wasted, I saw it as, like, a way to come back to the conversation to be like, "hey, if we stop wasting so much food, we'll have more money to, you know, if you're worried about increasing the cost of students, what are you doing about all the food that we're wasting already? How much money are we wasting?" Kevin Barahona: Because if you can offset some of that food waste, you should have more money to purchase more ethically sourced food, which you claim is going to increase the cost of students. And so, inadvertently, you know, I brought this up in a conversation with some Kevin Barahona: stakeholders in the university, and Kevin Barahona: that was, like, the inception of what became the Food Recovery Program. It was kind of like, oh, we got the green… I pointed it out, I was like, I know Au Bon Pain throws away a lot of food at 3pm on Friday, because I used to get free food, and now I can't get free food there anymore. And that's where

00:26:51.910 - 00:27:32.660

Kevin Barahona: Patricia Watson, who I'm confident still works at Towson, and in a different title, I think our Sustainability Manager, or Director of Sustainability, something like that. Kevin Barahona: She got permission from Au Bon Pain to come on Friday and weigh out the food waste, so we could just see how much food it was. And so when it started, it was two friends that I'm still friends with. My roommate at the time, Colin McNelly, and then a friend, her name's Kimberly Joseph. Kevin Barahona: And it was just the three of us that went there and started packaging the food waste Kevin Barahona: and then weighing it. And so, by food waste, I mean, like, it was perfectly good food. It was, like, all the pastries, like, all the salads, all the parfaits, like, it wasn't

00:27:32.870 - 00:28:16.710

Kevin Barahona: spoiled by any means, or rotten or anything, but it was already deemed to be thrown away. And so we put it in these black bags, we'd weigh out, and then we go, what do we do with this now? Like, we don't… We're not… We don't want to throw it away. Kevin Barahona: Hey, do you want to take some home? Like, yeah, I'm gonna take home a dozen parfaits. This is my breakfast every day. Or, like, we would each, like, stuff a bag of whatever we wanted, and we would still have, like, 100 pounds of food. They'd be like, "what are we gonna do with this?" Nico Calvo: Right. Kevin Barahona: So then, at the beginning, we were trying to figure out, like, where to take it off campus, but the issue was that some food pantries would only take non-perishable food, and that other food pantries would close at, like, I think 4pm.

00:28:16.710 - 00:29:05.840

Kevin Barahona: So it was like, we didn't get the permission to start collecting the food until 3PM, and then to weigh it out, or to bag it and weigh it, and then get it to the off-campus partner, was a bottleneck for us. Kevin Barahona: Sometimes we wouldn't get it there on time, and it would close, and then it would be like, what are we gonna do with all this food? And so, we would get creative, and like, Kevin Barahona: oh, you know, I know the student group's meeting, let's take it there. Or, like, what we ended up finding out is just taking it to the custodial workers on campus. They work 24-7, like, and they're gonna bring it back to their families. So that was a really good strategy that we had, was just taking it to the custodial workers on campus. Kevin Barahona: At the time, they had closed down… I think they've already rebuilt it. It used to be the, like, the old white building in between Prettyman and the Liberal Arts Building.

00:29:05.970 - 00:29:37.820

Kevin Barahona: I think they've already started constructing something new there across from the Health Center. It used to be this little white house. It used to be… Kevin Barahona: I forget what it used to be. Maybe it was, like, a counseling office? Kevin Barahona: The Glen Building [Glen Esk]? I forget what it's called. But, Kevin Barahona: That became… While they were in the process of, like, rebuilding that building, it became, like, the local headquarters for the custodial workers. So we would take the food there. And they were really happy, and they never went to waste. And so what…

00:29:37.960 - 00:30:10.520

Kevin Barahona: I was also playing club soccer. And so, when I started playing club soccer, Kevin Barahona: the men's soccer team was, like, the lowest tier of, like, Kevin Barahona: club on campus. Like, I think, what is it, like, Tier 4 or Tier 5? And it meant that, like, we didn't get, like, funding from the… We didn't get a lot of funding from the university, we didn't get, like, any priority in scheduling the fields for our practice times. Kevin Barahona: And it, like, when I found out that the way that we, you know, increase our standing with the school was through these different...

00:30:10.550 - 00:30:51.500

Kevin Barahona: I forget what the points are called. Kevin Barahona: But, but I was just like, hey, I... Nico Calvo: I think they're "Tiger Stripes." Kevin Barahona: Yes, the Tiger Stripe points. And so, like, volunteering gets you more points. And so, I already… I was already starting, you know, the food recovery program, and I was just like, oh, like, why don't we get 10 guys from the soccer team to come help me on Friday? Instead of taking, you know, 30 to 40 minutes to an hour to pack the food, we could probably pack the food in 10 minutes. Kevin Barahona: And so then, every Friday, we started taking 10 guys from the soccer team to help us, and it counted as, like, 1 hour of volunteering for them. And so, really quickly, the men's club soccer team went from, like, the lowest tier of club to the highest tier.

00:30:51.570 - 00:31:25.110

Kevin Barahona: And so then, now we had priority in scheduling our practice times on the field, we got more funding for equipment, for buses, for jerseys, etc. And it was just, like, a win-win all around. Like... Nico Calvo: Right. Kevin Barahona: You know, I got more help in packaging the food, and then we were able to expand to more dining halls, too. We were just doing Au Bon Pain, and then Au Bon Pain, and then we were able to do Starbucks in the library, the Newell Dining Hall, and then I think we started doing the West Village Commons, too. Kevin Barahona: And so, because we had so much, like, people power, we were able to send

00:31:25.110 - 00:31:52.620

Kevin Barahona: you know, more… Like, the men's soccer team's huge, so we were, like, it's like, oh, you need 10 people at Starbucks, or 10 people at Au Bon Pain, or 10 people at Newell, like, we had that, and that just meant more community service hours for the club soccer team, and Kevin Barahona: It meant that we were able to work faster as the food recovery program. Nico Calvo: Right. Kevin Barahona: We also eventually found an off-campus partner that was willing to accept our food and stay open to, you know, like, receive our goods. And so...

00:31:52.650 - 00:32:46.700

Kevin Barahona: That's a little bit about the food recovery program, and how it kind of came from, like, the Real Food Challenge campaign, and then running into, like, walls with, like, Kim Schatzel not holding up her end of the agreement, to then, you know, Kevin Barahona: like, kind of sticking with it, like, not wanting to be, like, shut down and stop there, but trying to pivot into, like, "what can we do now?" Found out that we were wasting a lot of money by throwing away a lot of food, you know, brought that up in the right space, and was able to start the food recovery program from there. Nico Calvo: Yeah, that's really awesome. Did you collaborate at all with the Latin American Student Association Organization, like, when you were doing this? Kevin Barahona: No. So when I was in undergrad, I was primarily involved with eco-reps, and then with club soccer, and I didn't really do anything with the Latino community on campus until I started working at the Center for Student Diversity as a graduate assistant.

00:32:46.870 - 00:33:27.880

Nico Calvo: Gotcha. Nico Calvo: Okay, that definitely makes a lot of sense, and you kind of answered all of our questions for this section. Scotty Mulig: Yeah, that was a very smooth, like, you crossed over all of our questions with that answer. Nico Calvo: Yeah, that was really great. Nico Calvo: I want to move on a little bit to around 2016, when Trump was elected into office. We found some TowerLight Nico Calvo: articles that had mentioned, division on campus and, even, like, protests happening. Did you feel a shift in campus culture when Trump became president?

00:33:28.850 - 00:34:07.010

Kevin Barahona: So, when I came to Towson University in 2013, the first thing that I noticed was, like, there's not a big Latino community here. So, I come from Montgomery County, which is extremely diverse, compared to Baltimore City or Baltimore County. So, it was kind of something that I was aware of from my freshman year. It was like, oh, Kevin Barahona: I don't see a lot of diversity here. Everybody's Black or white. And, you know, I'm not trying to be racist or discriminatory, it's just not what I grew up with. And so it was kind of like, Kevin Barahona: you know, for, you know, people who don't know, or who do know, kind of, like, Kevin Barahona: Towson University moved away from the inner city of Baltimore.

00:34:07.070 - 00:35:10.270

Kevin Barahona: And, like, Baltimore County also has, like, a history of discrimination to Baltimore City. Like, there was, like, the "white flight" of the people from the city to the county, and so I was kind of aware of this context Kevin Barahona: before Trump was elected into office. And so, if there was a shift in campus culture, it wasn't so much that, like, suddenly there was, like, Trump supporters or rednecks, or racist people everywhere, it's just now that those people were empowered, because their guy was in office. Kevin Barahona: So it's just, like, they're… They could be more vocal about their ideals, and it wasn't an issue. And so, it kind of felt like I was seeing what I had only read about playing out in real time. Like, I only read about the white flight from the city, or only read about, like, this kind of, like, Kevin Barahona: the history of discrimination between Baltimore County and Baltimore City, and so it was just, like, I finally got a chance to, like, it was like I was seeing it play out. It was like, oh, this is, you know, the history of this community at a different point in history, like, and I'm witnessing it.

00:35:10.390 - 00:35:28.090

Kevin Barahona: Like, are you aware of the "White Student Union" that Towson had in 2012? Nico Calvo: Yes. Kevin Barahona: Yeah, and so it's like, I learned about that from, like, the Vice episode. You know, that guy went on to being one of the, like, Kevin Barahona: Proud Boy leaders, like, and so it was kind of like,

00:35:28.300 - 00:35:55.570

Kevin Barahona: you know, when you say, like, in some ways, there's a shift, in that there's more people who are, like, outspoken about being, like, Trump Kevin Barahona: supporters, and I think that that could be, like, the shift, was just like, people were more outspoken or more open about it, but it doesn't mean that they weren't there before. Kevin Barahona: And so… Just a moment, I need to Kevin Barahona: put my phone on Do Not Disturb, I'm getting way too many notifications.

00:35:55.720 - 00:36:13.760

Kevin Barahona: There was a… And I have the videos on my phone to this day, so there was a little… I feel like that you might have seen this in the archives, or gotten somebody else's input, but there was, like, the… Kevin Barahona: I don't know if they still do it. They're, like, the religious fear-mongering people that protest on the sidewalk with a loud megaphone. Nico Calvo: Yes, they still come here. Kevin Barahona: So they were...

00:36:13.760 - 00:36:41.960

Nico Calvo: Yep. Kevin Barahona: They were always doing that, like, before Trump got elected. But now, after Trump got elected, there was, like, way more people that were also, you know, counter-protesting. Like, you know, some people were just, like, kind of like "leave him alone, it's not a big deal," but now this person is, like, Kevin Barahona: representing, like, you know, kind of Trump's agenda, or Trump's fan base. There's, you know, some students that are brave, and, like, Kevin Barahona: there was, like, a… There was this day where, like, it was, like,

00:36:42.310 - 00:37:20.330

Kevin Barahona: a little crowd that became a lot bigger, really fast, in front of the Center for the Arts, and I can't remember the end results, like, I think maybe the Towson Kevin Barahona: university police… I don't want to say arrested, but detained those, like, loud front people, and I think it's just because, like, Kevin Barahona: you know, on the sidewalk, it's considered public property or something, that's why there are a lot of protests. So, you know, Baltimore County Police wouldn't get involved, but I think Towson University Police were able to get involved because Kevin Barahona: these protesters, I think somebody touched a student, and so then that gave them, like, the authority to then get involved and

00:37:20.330 - 00:37:47.320

Nico Calvo: Right. Kevin Barahona: take them out of there. And so I remember that it was, like, I think people started skipping classes, or just coming out of the classes, like, because of how loud it was. Just, like, a huge uproar. Kevin Barahona: And I just remember, like, seeing it develop in real time. Like, I might have spent, like, an hour there, just seeing the crowd grow bigger, and seeing the, like, counter-protests Kevin Barahona: where students, like, come out in full force, like, pride flags, chanting. You know,

00:37:47.540 - 00:38:14.250

Nico Calvo: Hmm. Kevin Barahona: maybe their own signage or something. Kevin Barahona: But it was just kind of like… It didn't feel so much like a violent event, as much as it was, like, Kevin Barahona: a unifying event. Like, these students that probably wouldn't talk to each other, hang out with each other, are now here together to, like, protest these, like, people who are, like, I don't know, spreading fear of God or something like that, or spreading this hate rhetoric on campus.

00:38:14.250 - 00:38:48.930

Nico Calvo: Yeah, I agree with that. I feel like Nico Calvo: it's def… It even sounds unifying when you're explaining it, like, I can just imagine students coming from everywhere with signage, like you said, their signage, like… Nico Calvo: How could you get the signage so quickly to, like, come and protest on campus and stuff? So, that definitely does sound like a very unifying event on campus. Were there any other, protests that you remember happening on campus? Kevin Barahona: I think… So, following that event, I think that

00:38:49.210 - 00:39:38.500

Kevin Barahona: Schatzel was, like… I can't remember if it was, like, the chicken or the egg in this scenario, but I feel like you could probably find this in the archives, too. They Kevin Barahona: had a, like, and this might have been right after the election, maybe it was even before this little protest, they had something in Freedom Square where, like, people were gonna come up and, like, kind of, like, talk about how they're feeling, like, if they were feeling safe or unsafe. Kevin Barahona: I think Kim, like, it was a good intentioned event, but I don't think it was… It was poorly executed. So then it was, like, you know, I think Kim Schatzel gave her remarks, then, like, another important administration person gave their remarks, and then, like, Kevin Barahona: It was kind of, like, open mic to other people who wanted to come up, and some really passionate student came up and just started, like,

00:39:38.820 - 00:40:22.740

Kevin Barahona: talking shit about the Trump administration and Trump supporters, and, like, his agenda, or his, like, fan base. And then, because it was, like, an open mic event, Kevin Barahona: there was, like, a Trump supporter in the crowd, and then he wanted to come up and talk on the mic. And so then… And then, like, you know, like the tribalism that happens within communities Kevin Barahona: that aren't willing to, you know, meet peacefully or discursively, like, it was, like, instant mob on this guy. Like, he came up, I think he was trying to say a word or two, and then just, like, just started getting hated on by everyone right away. Kevin Barahona: And so I felt bad for that guy, because I don't know what he had to say, but,

00:40:22.920 - 00:40:52.770

Kevin Barahona: you know, nobody wanted to hear it. Kevin Barahona: And so that was a different incident, and I think that one's well documented. I think I also have the videos and photos for that on my phone still, too. Kevin Barahona: So there was a little bit, you know, there was some commotion on campus, but I had the context of knowing that, like, there's a history of racism in this county, in the city, and so, like, what I'm seeing is just, like, what I should expect to see. Kevin Barahona: Like, not something that I would expect to see in Montgomery County, but something that I shouldn't be too surprised if I see it in Baltimore County.

00:40:52.910 - 00:41:20.860

Nico Calvo: Gotcha. Do you remember any talks about Nico Calvo: Towson becoming a sanctuary campus, or anything like that? Kevin Barahona: I don't… Kevin Barahona: I mean, maybe vaguely, something about, like, "we won't allow certain people to come on campus." I can't recall if, like, ICE [United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was such a… Like, the way that it is now, as much of an issue in the previous administration.

00:41:20.860 - 00:41:52.960

Kevin Barahona: But I think… Kevin Barahona: Like, vaguely. Vaguely. Like, not… Like, I don't feel very strong about it, but I remember, I think it was, like, at the time, his name is Dr. [Santiago] Solis. I forget his full name, but he was an awesome, like, Kevin Barahona: community member for Towson University, and I think I remember him saying something about, like, Kevin Barahona: "we're not gonna let, like, police on campus, we're not gonna let ICE on campus," or "Customs and Border Patrol on campus," and I think there might have even been a statement, but

00:41:53.190 - 00:42:42.250

Kevin Barahona: I don't know what it would be like under this administration. I don't imagine… I don't know who the current university president is, but I know that a lot of people are, like, Kevin Barahona: even people within that base, like, if you're Republican, there's a lot of Republicans who, even though if there's a lot of wrong, they're not outspoken. So I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, whatever administration's in power at Towson right now is, like, Kevin Barahona: not saying that this time around, because they're scared of losing funding, or they're scared of being targeted as a university. You know, there's examples being made out of, like, Columbia and Harvard and UCLA, so it's just like, I wouldn't be surprised if whoever the, Kevin Barahona: you know, whoever's in charge of Towson now would just be like, we're not going to say anything, because we don't want to make ourselves a target, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they wouldn't say anything, because they themselves are also,

00:42:42.770 - 00:43:15.090

Kevin Barahona: you know, part of that fanbase. Nico Calvo: Right, I will say, for an update for you, last year, or… Nico Calvo: I don't know if it's last semester or the semester before that, but, we were able to get, ICE out of the career fair, specifically. They were going to show up, and all of the students protested, literally. Nico Calvo: So many students protested, so they ended up backing out themselves, not through, like, the university, if that makes sense.

00:43:15.090 - 00:43:28.630

Kevin Barahona: Oh, and that's a perfect example of, like, I'm not surprised if the students, like, organized. Nico Calvo: Yeah. Kevin Barahona: But it should have been a… The career fair… The Career Center should have just been like, hey, ICE, this is not a good move, you just shouldn't come to campus this year. Nico Calvo: Right.

00:43:29.120 - 00:44:13.990

Scotty Mulig: Yeah, I also want to tell you, like, or update you. Our current president, President, Mark Ginsburg… Towson's currently under investigation for DEI stuff. I'm pretty sure that's still ongoing. He's spoken out against that. I think it was kind of like a middling response. I mean, like, when I read it, it was kind of just, like, Scotty Mulig: not going one way or the other, I think that was expected, but yeah, I mean, like, what you were saying with, like, trends, like, repeating, like, historically, and they're not trying to, like, make one mover one way or the other, like, it's still definitely tracking, I think. Nico Calvo: It's happening. Kevin Barahona: Well, it's because, like, Towson University has a lot of, like, Kevin Barahona: wealthy alumni that are a thousand percent Trump supporters. People who came from Baltimore County that have been lifelong Republicans, that are just like,

00:44:14.070 - 00:44:56.770

Kevin Barahona: "I don't want to do anything with this gay shit," like, and so then they're like, "I'm gonna pull my, you know, million dollar donation that I give to the university every year," or "I'm gonna pull my $100,000 donation, or even if it's a $10,000 donation," because, like, money talks, and the university knows, like, Kevin Barahona: you know, the position that they're in, it's just, like, strategic for them to not do it. You know, it might not fall well on the student's perspective, but if that funding did get pulled, then that would impact the students, too. Nico Calvo: Yeah. Kevin Barahona: So it's like, it's like a double-edged sword. Like, I understand that it's a difficult situation for them. And also, like, you know, it could spread nationwide. It could be like, oh, Towson stands up for this, and then it gets into, like, the local

00:44:56.770 - 00:45:46.840

Kevin Barahona: Towson newspaper, but then it makes into, like, the Baltimore Sun. Like, I'm pretty… I forget the… The guy who owns the Baltimore Sun is, like, a Trump dick rider, I forget his name [David D. Smith]. But, Kevin Barahona: like, what I'm trying to get at is that, like, they have to be careful, because it's just, like, we don't know what, like, the downstream effects are going to be, and at the end of the day, that can impact the students, even the ones that we're trying to protect. Nico Calvo: Gotcha. So, our next question, is, what was the Latino experience on campus for you during this time, and do you remember any specific standout experiences on campus as a Latino student? Kevin Barahona: I think that, for me, and I think for a lot of other people, in a way, it was, like, rejuvenating or revitalizing. So, you know, I went to a nice private school for high school, and I only went there because I got a Latino scholarship. A Latino,

00:45:46.880 - 00:46:39.220

Kevin Barahona: like, academic-based scholarship, and so it was, like, in high school, my Latino identity is what enabled me to be upwardly mobile, as, like, an individual within this economy. And so then when I went to Townson University, I didn't get, you know, there wasn't any, like, Latino-specific funding or Latino-specific scholarships, and so… Kevin Barahona: All the other schools that I applied to did have Latino-specific scholarships, like, kind of like underrepresented background, academic career within STEM, something like that. Kevin Barahona: And so, when I went to Towson, I was just kind of, like, bummed out that they didn't have that, but it was okay. But in a way, like, it gave me a chance to reconnect my Latino heritage outside of my family. Kevin Barahona: Like, because growing up, that was, like, it was, like, everybody in my family was, like all of the Latino community that I had, other than, you know, some of the neighbors. But even then, we were, like, pretty similar, because we all came from Montgomery County.

00:46:39.310 - 00:47:28.700

Kevin Barahona: But when I got to Towson University and I started connecting with the Latino people on campus, I learned about the Latino experience from different perspectives. The people who've come from Carroll County, Calvert County, Southern Maryland, Western Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and their lived experience is so different from mine, being from Montgomery County. Kevin Barahona: Like, it gave me the context of how blessed I was to grow up in Montgomery County. You know, Montgomery County's Kevin Barahona: pretty good for a bunch of different reasons, but I felt extra fortunate in that, like, I had access to bilingual resources anywhere and everywhere, all the time. If I needed a bilingual lawyer, bilingual banker, bilingual doctor, like, Kevin Barahona: these businesses had signs on the front saying, like, "Si hablamos Espanol." But for my colleagues and my friends that came from a different part of Maryland, they were the only Latino family in their community, the only Latino kid in their high school.

00:47:28.700 - 00:48:11.060

Kevin Barahona: The only Latino business was, like, a family-owned business, like, and so I… You know, for them, coming to Towson, this was the most Latino people that they've ever seen, or this was, like, the largest community they've ever had. And so for me, where I felt like my… Kevin Barahona: The Latino community was smaller. What I didn't realize at the time was just… It was just different. Kevin Barahona: It was just different. And not everybody was Salvadorian. Like, from Montgomery County, Kevin Barahona: it's, like, one in two Latinos is probably from El Salvador. It almost feels like every single person's from El Salvador, but at Towson, there was people, like, people from Colombia, people from Peru, and so I got, you know, a different perspective on, like, what it meant to be a part of the Latino community.

00:48:11.060 - 00:48:49.240

Kevin Barahona: And so, it was, like, it was rejuvenating in a way. Like, I got to, Kevin Barahona: like, get in touch with my roots in a way that was different than what was available to me in Montgomery County. And I think that, in a way, it was, like, more powerful. Kevin Barahona: Because we were, you know, we were a smaller community, we were, like, really strong. Like, really, really unified. Kevin Barahona: And it was a lot of fun. Like, I went to, like, one or two LASO events, I went to Noche Latina, that was cool, and I really enjoyed going to the Pasión Dance Club. Like, you know, I've grown up with, like, latin dance all around my family, and…

00:48:49.240 - 00:49:37.680

Kevin Barahona: But outside of my family events, there wasn't really too much opportunity to listen to the music or practice the dance, and so it was so cool to go to Pasión and, you know, be able to learn and pick it up really, really quickly. And I really enjoyed that. So I felt like my undergraduate experience was... Kevin Barahona: That it was, like, you know, rejuvenating, is what I would say. Nico Calvo: Gotcha. I feel like I have to look into Pasión now, because I'm Dominican, so I'm also looking for things on campus for Latino students, so, I'll be looking into that. Kevin Barahona: It was so fun. I wish I did it, but it conflicted with one of my classes, but I wanted to go all the time. Because, like, you know, I'm not, like, I'm not prideful in, like, "oh, I know how to dance," or, like, even be like, "oh, I want to go out dancing," but, like, going to one Pasion session, I felt like, "oh, I know how to dance, and I want to go dancing."

00:49:37.680 - 00:50:12.160

Nico Calvo: Right. Yeah. It's awesome. So, Nico Calvo: moving on to, like, the Center for Student Diversity, Nico Calvo: during your time working with them, did anything stand out to you concerning the student culture during Trump's administration? Kevin Barahona: So, a couple things for… Center for Student University, the CSD, I never went to as an undergrad. I didn't even know about it, but when I got accepted to Towson as a grad student, I was looking at graduate assistant positions, you know, and this one was open.

00:50:12.270 - 00:50:39.030

Kevin Barahona: And it was a graduate… I happened to know the old, the previous graduate assistant for the Latinx program, because he was in my master's program. Kevin Barahona: Like, I just got lucky. We worked together on a project, he told me he was the current GA, and he told me about it, so I knew when there was gonna be a vacancy, and I applied. And during my presentation, they tried to ask, like, you know, like. Kevin Barahona: "What would you do if you were in this role?" Nico Calvo: Oop.

00:50:39.570 - 00:50:51.640

Scotty Mulig: Uh oh. Nico Calvo: Uh oh. Let's give him a second to come back. Sorry, you cut out. Can you start that over again? Kevin Barahona: Yeah. Scotty Mulig: You cut out just as you're about to explain what you would do with the role.

00:50:51.930 - 00:51:24.080

Kevin Barahona: Oh, I guess, like, I guess my power came back, because I just connected to Wi-Fi out of nowhere, and I think that's what the delay was. Nico Calvo: Got you. Kevin Barahona: So, during my interview for the graduate system position, I gave a presentation on the Real Food Challenge campaign, and they were super impressed about how I was making these connections between the food system and then, like, the people that we're trying to uplift or support. And so Kevin Barahona: during my time in the CSD, one thing that was, like… And this might be separate of the Trump administration stuff.

00:51:24.150 - 00:52:10.850

Kevin Barahona: But I'll get to it, was I noticed that I was the only person in the CSD who was, like, eco-friendly or environmentally conscious. Nobody in the office cared about sustainability, and I'm not trying to say this in, like, a bad way, I just mean, like, Kevin Barahona: the Union was one of the only buildings at the time that had composting bins, and we didn't have a composting bin in our office. Kevin Barahona: But we had tons of events with free food, so we had a ton of food waste. And so I would just be like, "why don't we have a composting bin?" And they'd be like, "why do we have to compost?" Kevin Barahona: And so, I had to give a presentation to the CSD about the connection between food waste and environmental injustice, and the communities of color that get disproportionately affected by that environmental injustice. So, you know,

00:52:10.850 - 00:53:10.690

Kevin Barahona: I don't know that this is, like, you know, like, I don't know what waste goes to the Baltimore incinerator, but I was just trying to give an example of how, like, when we don't manage our waste efficiently, some of that waste will probably go to the Baltimore incinerator, and then, like, who are the communities that live near it that are disproportionately affected by their environment? Like, you know, more at risk for respiratory issues or other health issues. Kevin Barahona: And so then that's when they started understanding, like, the connection between, like, environmental issues and social justice issues. But I had to be the person to make that connection, and then we got a composting bin in there, and then I had to put up signage, because no… Like, people felt like it was a burden. They're like, "I don't want to have to remember, like, what is Kevin Barahona: recyclable, or what is trash. Like, I don't know anything about this stuff." And to me, I was, like… Kevin Barahona: I was baffled at, like, you know, how they were so social justice oriented, but they didn't… It felt like they didn't… I don't want to say they didn't care about the environment, it's just that they didn't know. They didn't know about that connection.

00:53:10.690 - 00:53:44.480

Kevin Barahona: And so, my experience at the CSD was, like, I was the environmental steward, and I was trying to create a culture of, like, conscious around Kevin Barahona: sustainability issues within the office. But that was a little bit of, like, an uphill battle, because a lot of people just felt like it was, like, a chore, and they were more just like, "oh, but there's this, like, Kevin Barahona: you know, Kevin Barahona: gender assigned bathroom issue, labeling, why do I have to care about sustainability?" It was just not that important to them. And I'm not trying to say what they were concerned about wasn't important, it was just, like...

00:53:44.540 - 00:54:09.780

Kevin Barahona: It was a little bit of... There was a little bit of learning curve to get people to adopt this, like, culture of, like, consciousness around the environment within the office. Kevin Barahona: But as it pertained to the Trump administration, like, we were kind of like… We were… Kevin Barahona: I don't want to say we were unstoppable, but during the first Trump administration, we were unfazed. Like, we had direct support from, like, the Vice President of Student Affairs at the time Kevin Barahona: Debbie [Moriarty]?

00:54:09.810 - 00:54:53.320

Kevin Barahona: I forgot her last name. Also, Dr. Solis, like, we had people in the administration that were champions for our community, and they were kind of like, you know, we're not gonna back down from this, or like, you know, we're not gonna let this injustice, like, spread like a wildfire on campus, like, we're gonna do right for our community. And so during the first administration, like, Kevin Barahona: I want to say that, like, we felt empowered or protected. Kevin Barahona: But also, it, like, heightened the significance of the CSD and the programs that we offered and the spaces that we held. Like, Kevin Barahona: you know, we had the Rainbow Lounge safe space for queer students to come on campus, you know, just, you know, be good, like, without fear of

00:54:53.470 - 00:55:34.220

Kevin Barahona: whatever else might be going on on campus. And so, we also, you know, I was the graduate assistant for the Latinx Kevin Barahona: community, but Kevin Barahona: there was a vacancy in the graduate assistant for, like, Pride stuff, and so I filled in for that role for a long time, and I don't think that I mentioned that, so it's just, like, in order for the... Kevin Barahona: I think it's called "In the Life" and the Queer Student Union. I forget the name of the student groups that met in the CSD. In order for them to be able to meet in the CSD, somebody had to stay in the office to keep it open, a CSD employee. And so I did that for about a year. Like, I would stay there, I think it was, like, Monday nights or Wednesday nights,

00:55:34.220 - 00:56:17.720

Kevin Barahona: so that this student group can meet. I think I attended their event maybe once or twice, but, like, I recognized that being, like, a cisgendered straight male maybe made them feel uncomfortable. Kevin Barahona: But I forget who their faculty advisor was, but they invited me to come check it out, and I did, but, you know, I kept the space open, and then I would just do my graduate work in the other room. Kevin Barahona: But, I also, because I filled in this role temporarily, I also did, like, a drag brunch and drag bingo. And as probably the only straight cisgender male, like, to ever do that. And so Kevin Barahona: it was fun, like, I didn't care, like, I have queer friends, like, and so it was just fun. Like…

00:56:17.990 - 00:56:43.000

Kevin Barahona: And I had a good time doing it. Nico Calvo: Hmm. Kevin Barahona: And so I… It was kind of like during the Trump administration, like, I wasn't a part of that community originally, like, the queer community on campus, but I recognized Kevin Barahona: the role that the CSD had in creating, like, in fostering inclusive community for this population, and so, you know, I had… You know, I did my part to try to keep it open to support these student groups, and keep the events going.

00:56:43.430 - 00:57:08.610

Nico Calvo: Yeah, that's really amazing. Scotty Mulig: Great. Nico Calvo: How did you first get involved with the Center for Student Diversity? Kevin Barahona: Just my classmate was the graduate assistant for the Latinx program, and he was telling me that he was gonna graduate, and that it was going to be a vacancy, and so then, the first time that I ever went there was for my interview. Nico Calvo: Gotcha. Okay, okay, cool. Kevin Barahona: Yep.

00:57:08.810 - 00:57:32.890

Nico Calvo: Okay, so… Well, that's awesome. Kevin Barahona: I think the next question's about ALPFA [Association of Latino Professionals for America]. Nico Calvo: Yes, ALPFA. We want to know about that, because we were struggling in our research, we-- Scotty Mulig: --didn't have much, and I reached out to the email, never got back, so I'm… Scotty Mulig: With bated breath, so curious. Nico Calvo: Yes, how did you get involved with ALPFA?

00:57:33.770 - 00:58:26.450

Kevin Barahona: So, as the graduate assistant for the Latinx program, we put together different programming that is, like, culturally relevant, and also, like, makes our students just, like, more competitive. Like, Towson University wants their students to get good jobs, and ALPFA does that. So Kevin Barahona: ALPFA's a nationwide nonprofit. It started in LA, but it focuses on professional development and networking. Kevin Barahona: And so, there was no Baltimore professional chapter of ALPFA, and there was these two guys, David Diaz and David Bajos, and they were alumni from Towson University. Kevin Barahona: And so, after the professional chapter gets established, they start creating these talent pipelines from the universities in the city to businesses that want the… That value diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workspace. Like, they want more of these underrepresented people in their offices. And so the two Davids came to Towson University because they were alumni.

00:58:26.450 - 00:59:25.020

Kevin Barahona: And because ALPFA is the Association with Student Professionals for America, they are trying to connect with the Latino students on campus. And so that's where they came to the Center for Student Diversity. Kevin Barahona: And when they first came on campus, it was just, like, a presentation to let other students know about ALPFA, and that it just started in Baltimore, and that it's a free resource to them, and that by being a student, you get to be a part of the network, and so our partners at the time in Baltimore were BGE, Kevin Barahona: Stanley, Black & Decker, Under Armour, McCormick Spice, Domino Sugar, Kevin Barahona: that I can remember. And so it meant that, like, these companies were, you know, offering free, you know, resources to students, like mentorship opportunities, internship opportunities, or straight-up job opportunities. So by being an ALPFA student member for free, you get to connect with these different companies. So as a student in… As a graduate student, I got to go to all of these headquarters

00:59:25.020 - 00:59:53.220

Kevin Barahona: and take, like, a private tour of their office. Kevin Barahona: I was getting wined and dined as a student by these companies, and it was super cool. Kevin Barahona: Because, like, I was the only student, but everybody around me was, like, a high-ranking professional. Like, when ALPFA starts, like, it's with, like, C-suite level executives, so it's just, like, Kevin Barahona: chief operating officer, I don't know, chief financial officer, chief marketing officer, like, the highest that you can be at a company. And so I'm, like, going to these spaces where I'm, like, the only student there, and it's just, like,

00:59:54.220 - 01:00:47.280

Kevin Barahona: it developed me into a professional, like, really fast. Like, I was able to be more competitive, and get exposure to, like, the insights of what it's like to be a chief operating officer. And I was so moved by that experience that I felt like I just had to tell everyone. Kevin Barahona: You know, I was a second-year grad student at this point, so it was, like, ALPFA was kind of, like, over for me, like, to be able to take advantage of it as a student. So I felt like the next best thing that I could do was, Kevin Barahona: you know, let the other students know about it, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, et cetera, so they could take advantage of it. And so I, like... Kevin Barahona: There was one year, like, my first year, I worked under the associate director for the Latinx program. In my second year, there was… He left. So there was a vacancy in that role, and so I was a graduate assistant by myself, working,

01:00:47.280 - 01:01:34.120

Kevin Barahona: like, without someone. So I had to create the student programming, you know, order the food, reserve the room, create the marketing materials, invite the students. Kevin Barahona: And I invited ALPFA to come back on campus more than once, and then they invited me to join their board of directors to help develop their student committee. Kevin Barahona: So I got involved as a board member on the student committee, and then within, like, my first 3 or 4 months, the chair of the student committee stepped down, and nobody else stepped up. So I stepped up. And then I had, like, an executive board role as a student Kevin Barahona: within the professional chapter. And so I was kind of, like, I was, like, navigating, like, two sides. It was, like, for ALPFA, I was a professional because I worked in this office, but for myself, I was totally still a student. I had never had my first full-time job after school yet.

01:01:34.360 - 01:01:58.020

Kevin Barahona: And Kevin Barahona: the goal is to create student chapters around the universities so that we can create these talent pipelines. Because I worked in the Center for Student Diversity, and I was connected with all the Latin students on campus, it was really easy for me to create a student group. It was like… Kevin Barahona: I did it in one day. Like, what is it, I have to go to the... Kevin Barahona: I know the Union's changed, but I think the office is still there. It's, like,

01:01:58.420 - 01:02:54.950

Kevin Barahona: the student clubs office. I forget the name of that office [Student Organization Resources]. But it's like, yeah, like, create your student constitution, find your student advisor, find your five founding members, take that paperwork to that office, get it approved, and then suddenly you're in the Involved at TU website, and then you're official student group on campus. Nico Calvo: Right. Kevin Barahona: It was like, I was just strategically positioned between the administration and the campus community and ALPFA to start that student chapter right away. So that was the fall of 2019, and then in the winter of 2020, I stopped working at the CSD, Kevin Barahona: like, my eligibility to be a graduate assistant, like, was no more. Like, I finished all of my classes, and you need to be, like, at least a part-time graduate student to work as a GA, but I had no more classes. So I, you know, I just had to defend my thesis, and that was only one credit a semester, which wasn't enough

01:02:55.260 - 01:03:46.990

Kevin Barahona: to be a graduate assistant, so I had to step down from that role. And then, at the same time, I moved away from Towson. Like, I didn't have to be on campus anymore, Kevin Barahona: moved back to Montgomery County, and then in March of 2020, you know, the pandemic starts. And so, it was challenging to Kevin Barahona: stay engaged with the student groups that we had, because there wasn't really anything going on on campus, and so we did a lot of online events, and we even hosted this, like, Baltimore-DC student summit, where we had, I think, PWC, Boeing. Kevin Barahona: We had a couple companies that wanted to, like, support our event, and it was pretty cool. You know, we took advantage of something that was like Zoom, but it wasn't. It was a competitor, I forget what it was called. But that was kind of, like, the beginning of getting involved with ALPFA, from being a student to

01:03:47.160 - 01:04:31.280

Kevin Barahona: becoming a board member, and then, because of the pandemic, the students that we started out with, they all graduated, and we weren't able to, like, continue. It was like the student group kind of died out for a second, but I was still, Kevin Barahona: you know, on the board of the professional chapter, still knew how to navigate campus life at Towson. And so, I reached out to Kevin Barahona: the person who was then the associate director for the Latinx program, Alejandra Balcázar, and I recruited her to ALPFA. I was like, hey, this is ALPFA, if you've never heard of it, Kevin Barahona: you should learn more about it, and it's a free resource to students, and this is what we do. Nationwide network, professional development opportunities, and she saw the vision right away. She understood why it made sense, and

01:04:31.470 - 01:05:02.440

Kevin Barahona: she got involved, she also joined the board, and she killed it. She killed it. She did an incredible job. I think she started 5 or 6 student chapters, Kevin Barahona: all associated with the Baltimore Professional Chapter. So, like, now we have Morgan [University], first HBCU in the country to start an ALPFA chapter. We have Johns Hopkins at the Homewood campus. Kevin Barahona: And what is it? Funny enough, Montgomery College decided to join Baltimore Professional Chapter, even though they're close to the DC Professional Chapter. Nico Calvo: Hmm.

01:05:02.640 - 01:05:41.490

Kevin Barahona: And then we have the first graduate student chapter at Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business. Kevin Barahona: And so, like, Alejandra, who worked at Towson, recruited her, and then she really developed our student committee, and now we have a ton of students. Oh, also Howard County Community College, they also joined. And so Kevin Barahona: ALPFA has a convention that is, like, once a year, 5,000 people, all the professional chapters come, as many student chapters as possible can come. And so when we started out, we didn't send, like, any students to this national convention, but Kevin Barahona: like, every year we're sending more students from Baltimore to the convention, and just this year

01:05:41.670 - 01:06:15.390

Kevin Barahona: the Howard County Community College Student Chapter won, like, two national awards. It was, like, they got, like, Innovative Student Chapter of the Year, and then there was also, like, a Student of the Year, and the president of HCC won that award. And so, like, Kevin Barahona: you know, ALPFA's doing its thing, and I know that there's, you know, it's free to anyone. You don't have to… As long as you don't mind that we're Latino-facing, anybody can come hang. And a lot of people come because they're attracted to our network. Just, like, the different… And it's free to you. Like, Nico Calvo: Right. Scotty Mulig: Nice. Kevin Barahona: you know…

01:06:15.390 - 01:06:44.610

Nico Calvo: Yeah. Kevin Barahona: I don't know if I answered all of the questions about ALPFA, but that's how I got involved. Nico Calvo: That was most of what we wanted to know, basically how you started it and, like, the timeline, which you gave a very good one. I think we also got a couple of answered questions because we wanted to know if you were... Nico Calvo: We know that you were not on campus during COVID, but we wanted to know if you were still doing stuff on campus, but

01:06:44.960 - 01:07:39.580

Nico Calvo: we want to ask, like, one, like, three last questions, I think. Scotty Mulig: Kind of like closing questions. Nico Calvo: So, since you've been through a Trump administration once before as a Latinx student on campus, what advice would you give to the Latinx students now experiencing uncertainty? Kevin Barahona: I think that everybody's situation is pretty unique, and so it's, you know, if you're an undocumented student on campus, I'm not going to tell you to go protest, but if you have your citizenship, you should go protest. Like, you should go stand up for your community and, you know, even for the people who are, like, mixed-status families, or who, like, Kevin Barahona: are either DACA recipients or something. Like, I would… I think they know this, but maybe they don't. Like, Kevin Barahona: the Latino community

01:07:40.170 - 01:08:38.280

Kevin Barahona: comes from a history of overcoming adversity. Like, we have… That's the history of our people, be it in Latin America, or here in the United States. Like, when I was a child growing up through the Bush administrations, like, I faced a lot of racism. Even though I'm, like, white-passing, I faced a ton of racism because people knew I was Latino. Kevin Barahona: And so, like, you know, during the first Trump administration, or now the second Trump administration, it's like, adversity is not new to our community. Kevin Barahona: And I think that they need to remember that they come from a proud community that's overcome diversity for centuries. Be it the, you know, Kevin Barahona: the people from Spain who came through and, like, colonized Latin America, or, you know, the US involvement in Latin America, like, messing up all of the countries, like, it's like, we come from a history of… Our community comes from a rich history of overcoming adversity and

01:08:38.280 - 01:08:58.710

Kevin Barahona: thriving. Kevin Barahona: Thriving despite that, and so I think that it's important for them to remember that, Kevin Barahona: you know, if… And if they don't know about that, then it's an opportunity for them to go learn, and learn about the people that came before them, and what they overcame, and I hope that that gives them strength. Nico Calvo: Right, that's awesome. So,

01:08:58.840 - 01:09:53.810

Nico Calvo: is there… We have a couple of names that you've mentioned so far. Is there anyone else that you think that we should talk to, who went to Towson, or who worked at Towson, regarding anything that we discussed today? Kevin Barahona: I think that Kimberly Joseph could be a good person to talk to, because she helped me with the food recovery program, but she was also really involved with the Black community on campus. Kevin Barahona: And so, she would have a different perspective than I did that can help you learn more about some of the things that we talked about from a different angle. Like, she could talk about, you know, how she got involved with the food recovery program. Kevin Barahona: in a different way, but because she was so involved with the Black community on campus, like, that's something that I can't speak to. And she was also there for, you know, the Trump administration, and she was also there for COVID. So, like, even though I finished

01:09:53.920 - 01:10:27.270

Kevin Barahona: undergrad and grad school, like, she was still there, and so I think that Kevin Barahona: you know, she'd be able to talk more about some of those things, and Kevin Barahona: I think that there was also a thing about, like… I don't know if they do it anymore, but at the time, like, the Migos album, "Culture" was super popular, and then they came out with "Culture 2," and, like, Kevin Barahona: the Black community on campus had, like, a cookout called, like, "Culture 3" or something like that, but then people came from other universities that weren't originally invited that caused trouble, and then those events got canceled.

01:10:28.120 - 01:11:09.500

Kevin Barahona: And so I think Kim would be able to talk about maybe some of these things, like her experience. Kevin Barahona: But, I think she could be a good person, because she was really involved with sustainability issues for a while, and then involved with the Black community on campus, and I think that she'd be a good person to talk to. Kevin Barahona: Trying to think of, like, another person that might be good to talk to. Kevin Barahona: one of the students that I worked with, the first student president of ALPFA at Towson. Her name's Kelly… I think I have her full name on my phone. But Kelly was, like, a… She was also the…

01:11:10.500 - 01:11:35.490

Kevin Barahona: Kelly… I think her last name's Geraldo? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kelly was the first student ALPFA president, and then she was also the president of Pasión. So she was, like, part of the Latin dance team, got involved with ALPFA, and when she got involved, she was pretty young, I think she was, like, a sophomore to junior, but Nico Calvo: Hmm. Kevin Barahona: she's from Columbia. I think that Kevin Barahona: she's also from Montgomery County, but, like,

01:11:35.930 - 01:11:59.360

Kevin Barahona: I think she came from Columbia later. Like, I basically grew up in Montgomery County, I think she came from Columbia, like, Kevin Barahona: later in her life. Kevin Barahona: But Kevin Barahona: I think that she'd be somebody good to talk to for a different perspective, and also the fact that she was the first ALPFA student president, and then also the Pasión dance team. And I think she did other stuff, too. I think she might have been on the board with LASO.

01:11:59.580 - 01:12:39.410

Kevin Barahona: And, I forgot, that was one thing that you can go back to, is Kevin Barahona: I got the first student group, the first students to sign up to ALPFA by going to LASO. Like, LASO is the most, like, the biggest group that would meet consistently, and so I would take the, you know, the ALPFA to them, and then they'd be like, oh, this is so cool, yeah, let's sign up. But, you know, when Kelly got involved, like, Kevin Barahona: ALPFA was in its infancy in Baltimore and at Towson, and so we didn't have too much direction or guidance the way that we do now. We have so much more structure and resources, and so it could probably be interesting to get her perspective of, like, Kevin Barahona: what that was like, when there wasn't as much.

01:12:39.980 - 01:13:12.910

Nico Calvo: Gotcha. Okay. And is there anything else that you would like to add before we conclude our interview? Kevin Barahona: I think I just mentioned it earlier, and it was just, like, I was really disappointed by Kim Schatzel. Kevin Barahona: But besides that… Let's see if I can remember… I remember when they built Kevin Barahona: the new health center, and the fact that you could get, I think, 11 free sessions as a student without insurance, like, if you wanted to go get therapy, that was really cool.

01:13:13.170 - 01:13:21.160

Kevin Barahona: When that opened up. Kevin Barahona: Yeah. Kevin Barahona: That was really neat. I'm trying to think of the other things that were really cool. Kevin Barahona: Or just, like…

01:13:22.090 - 01:13:39.230

Kevin Barahona: No, I think I mentioned… I think we hit a lot of the important points of my experience at Towson. Nico Calvo: Right. Nico Calvo: Okay. Scotty Mulig: It's like a free food pantry.

01:13:40.410 - 01:13:56.940

Kevin Barahona: It used to be across the street from the Prettyman building in some kind of house. Is that… Kevin Barahona: Is that the same thing? Scotty Mulig: I think so, yeah. I just never knew it was, like, called something else, but do you remember, like, was that around when you were on, like, either undergrad or Kevin Barahona: I went...

01:13:56.940 - 01:14:11.370

Scotty Mulig: graduate student? Kevin Barahona: I went to the food pantry, I think, once or twice, and I remember it being, like, Kevin Barahona: a house, like, almost directly across the street from Prettyman or Newell. Kevin Barahona: Like…

01:14:11.550 - 01:14:37.550

Kevin Barahona: And I just remember it was kind of, like, in a basement, but it was, like, this big food pantry of non-perishable foods. And so I remember… I remember being around… I remember it being something that you wouldn't, like, easily know about or learn about. I think I was, like, talking to other food insecure students that, like, that's how I learned about it. I was like, oh, I had no idea. Nico Calvo: Yeah. Kevin Barahona: And maybe at that point, I might have already figured something out for myself, but I remember going there once or twice. Nico Calvo: Gotcha. Okay.

01:14:38.140 - 01:15:10.220

Kevin Barahona: And I think I learned about that from, like, other eco reps. Like, I might have no longer been an eco rep, but they were, like, teaching me about it. Just because we were talking about, you know, food recovery efforts, or reducing food waste, or just accessing food. Kevin Barahona: Oh, also, the eco reps had a… Kevin Barahona: I think they had a… I don't want to call it a social justice retreat, Kevin Barahona: because the CSD does that, but the eco reps had some kind of retreat. And I remember, like, do you know about the Towson campus that's, like, 40 miles north, like, almost on the way to York?

01:15:10.220 - 01:15:24.640

Nico Calvo: I think so, yeah. Kevin Barahona: It's like a research site. Nico Calvo: Yeah. Kevin Barahona: But it's, like, I don't know, it's in the woods, but I remember I went there, and it was all vegan, and, like, I remember, like, we had to make vegan meals, but…

01:15:25.460 - 01:15:49.500

Kevin Barahona: I don't know, I just remember a bunch of vegans told me that I made the best vegan mac and cheese that they've ever tried. And I am not a vegan. So that was… Yeah. Nico Calvo: High praise. Scotty Mulig: Yeah, wow, nailed that. Kevin Barahona: Very lucky, but those… I don't know if those retreats are still ongoing, but that was really cool. And it was something that was, like, wasn't there when I started, but grew while I was there. Nico Calvo: Gotcha. Okay, okay.

01:15:50.240 - 01:16:20.630

Nico Calvo: Awesome! Kevin Barahona: I think I, you know, I think I mentioned everything that I could remember. Kevin Barahona: The stream cleanups were cool, I hope they're still doing that with the Glen Stream. Nico Calvo: I think we gotta look into that.

01:16:20.820 - 01:16:30.010

Scotty Mulig: I know of it, somebody told me about it, and then we tried to look it up in archives, there's, like, zilch about it. Kevin Barahona: Yeah. Scotty Mulig: So I figured I should ask... Kevin Barahona: If you

01:16:30.280 - 01:17:03.070

Kevin Barahona: need anything from me, like, I think I have video footage from the, like, the God-fearing people protests, and then I think I have video footage from when we did Kevin Barahona: the thing in Kevin Barahona: Freedom Square. Nico Calvo: Yes, I almost forgot to mention, like, if you do have anything like this, especially anything regarding anything that we discussed today, we would really love to have it in our archives, so that… Scotty Mulig: Anything to record, yes. Nico Calvo: So, yeah.

01:17:03.070 - 01:17:35.990

Kevin Barahona: Did you also, you could probably find this, it's the TowerLight, right? Yes. The student paper? Yes. When I was working on the Real Food Challenge campaign, I dressed up as a pea one day for, like, 3 days in a row. Nico Calvo: Okay! Kevin Barahona: I was in a pea costume. Kevin Barahona: And, I went to every class in a pea costume in, like, I don't know, a random month, so that people would be like, "why are you dressed up as a pea?" And then I'd be like, oh, I have this real food event later, like, you know, raising awareness about this issue, come to my event. And I wore that costume for, like, 3 days, and I got in the paper. They wrote a little article on me and took a photo.

01:17:35.990 - 01:17:58.910

Kevin Barahona: It's me and Dan Slattery, he was, like, the Vice President of Auxiliary Services at the time, and I know that I have this newspaper hung up Kevin Barahona: on my parents' fridge at home. Kevin Barahona: But it's, like, it's like something that you could, it's like, you can connect it to our interview. Nico Calvo: Right. Do you know, like, at least, like, what month and the year?

01:17:58.910 - 01:18:21.800

Kevin Barahona: I can find out, and I think it was 2016? I think it was 2016. Kevin Barahona: Maybe in March? But I know I can find out. I'll just be like, "hey mom, can you tell me what the date is on the newspaper?" Nico Calvo: Okay, cool. That's awesome information, so… Nico Calvo: Thank you so much. Scotty Mulig: Yeah, thank you so much. This was so interesting, so informative. Nico Calvo: Yes.

01:18:22.580 - 01:18:43.460

Kevin Barahona: Yeah. Well, I appreciate you, too, for making the time to meet with me, and I hope you have fun with the other people you have to interview. Nico Calvo: Thank you so much, alright! Kevin Barahona: If you, if you need any referrals to the people that I mentioned, just let me know. I can reach out to Kim or Kelly and let them know. Nico Calvo: Thank you, thank you so much. Scotty Mulig: We appreciate that. Nico Calvo: Yes. Thank you.

01:18:43.650 - 01:18:46.060

Kevin Barahona: Have a good day. Nico Calvo: You too, bye!