Board of Trustees Consider Monterrosa Scholarship
By Julie Zigoris
@jzigoris
The Board of Trustees will be voting at their next meeting on Oct. 28 whether to create a scholarship fund in honor of Sean Monterrosa, a City College student shot by Jarrett Tonn of the Vallejo Police Department.
If approved, the Chancellor will work with the Foundation of City College as well as Associated Students to provide criteria for the scholarship. The goal is to provide more opportunities for underrepresented students at the school.
Monterrosa was majoring in Latino Studies at City College when he was shot unarmed and kneeling with his hands up in the air on June 2, 2020. He was born in San Francisco and raised in Bernal Heights.
The board was initially slated to vote on the scholarship at its Sept. 23 meeting, but tabled the motion until next month, to give them more time to coordinate with the Monterrosa family.
In a Sept. 29 statement, the Monterrosa family supported the creation of a scholarship fund, saying they were “grateful.” The statement continued, “Sean believed that knowledge is power. It’s something that no one else can take away from you.”
Monterrosa cared deeply about social justice and fought to address systemic racism during his brief life. Just 47 minutes before he was killed, he sent a text message to his two sisters urging them to sign a petition to demand justice for George Floyd. He fought for justice for other victims of police violence, including fellow City College student Alex Nieto, Mario Woods, and Jessica Williams.
Monterrosa’s family noted, “this scholarship is so important because it will make sure that families affected by police violence are still able to access resources in order to go to school. We’re grateful to CCSF for uplifting Sean’s story, along with so many others whose lives have been taken by police.”
The Vallejo Police Department’s rate of officer-involved shootings is higher than the national average, and it has the highest rate of residents shot per capita in Northern California.