Student designs ‘Chap-tivism’ timeline detailing campus activism

Dating back to the opening of Chapman University in 1861, senior peace studies major Natalia Ventura conducted research to create a timeline that marked over 96 entries of activism and social injustice on campus. Photo courtesy of Natalia Ventura.

Senior peace studies major Natalia Ventura has a single mantra she lives by in her journey to create a more equitable world: “Till justice.” 

Ventura is one of many student activists in Chapman’s history. She has been involved in social justice efforts since her high school years, and her involvement in her fourth year at Chapman has led to the creation of many projects aimed at fostering a more inclusive, equitable community.

In her most recent directive, Ventura created a timeline spanning the history of student activism from Chapman’s beginning to the present. The project, titled “Chap-tivism,” acknowledges a legacy of student activism that Ventura hopes will continue.

“I want (the timeline) to be a tool for students to continue the fight and not lose hope in the struggle that we’re enduring,” Ventura said. 

The project originated in the “Ethnofiction Through Contemporary Narratives” course she took with professor Sarah Garcia spring 2020. The assignment spanned the entire semester, and she initially described the task as overwhelming. However, Ventura’s discovery of a previous timeline by 2014 alumna Michelle Lin eased the process considerably.

“It just shows that there’s a larger need for more communication across different generations of Chapman students so that progress can continue,” Ventura said. 

In her research, Ventura reached out to dozens of alumni and put the word out about her project on social media. The process of creating the timeline, which contains over 96 entries, led Ventura to recognize the longevity of her fight and that her activism today addresses similar root issues to those of the student activists before her.

“We always get so frustrated with progress at Chapman, and just doing this research really connected the dots for me and I saw that there were underlying issues that have been present at our school since the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s,” Ventura said. 

Ventura envisions this as a continuing project, a tool for future students. There is a Google Form at the end of the timeline for students to continue making submissions on entries.

“I want it to be kind of a living timeline and I want it to be a resource for student activists now and in the future so that we don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel every time new students come in,” Ventura said. 

In her time at Chapman, Ventura has worked in Civic Engagement, was a part of the Chapman Diversity Project and now works at the Cross Cultural Center, where she recently organized mandatory diversity training for first-year students with fellow senior peace studies and health sciences double major Preetha Raj. 

So, what’s next for Ventura? At the moment, she’s undertaking another massive project with her roommate, senior communication studies major Lucile Henderson. The two are working to create an activist coalition at Chapman to centralize student activism and combine the efforts of individuals on campus advocating for social change. 

“This is going to be a way to have more of a truly ongoing fight,” Ventura said. “(Four years is) a very short amount of time if you’re talking about institutional change.”

As the two work on meeting with professors and creating the initial founding documents, Ventura hopes the coalition will turn into a bigger movement that will work towards shaping their vision of the university. She believes that the fastest way to change someone’s opinion and to change Chapman as an institution is to lead by example – to embody the kind of world she believes in by living as though it already exists.

“That’s a very radical thing to do,” Ventura said. “To live your life as if you were liberated.”