Grand Opening of the Office of Community Impact at MATC, less than 2 dozen attended, and no mainstream from televised media attended, except Hispanic News Network U.S.A., which briefly covered the controversial event.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
January 27, 2026
Milwaukee. Wisconsin - On Tuesday, Hispanic News Network (HNNUSA) briefly attended the Grand Opening of the Office of Community Impact at the downtown Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), but was asked not to continue to video record or take pictures by MATC Public Safety. (Video link: https://youtu.be/NcuvYOXPj-U)
HNNUSA complied, but not after video recording part of the Grand Opening. HNNUSA was allowed to video record and take photos in the lobby.
The Community Impact had replaced the Office of Multicultural Student Services after it was eliminated in late August 2025 and unjustly terminated four student services specialists who filed a discrimination complaint against MATC. (Video link: https://youtu.be/VyTtNJw0H9s)
MATC President Dr. Anthony Cruz decided to eliminate the Multicultural Student Services after decades of providing crucial student services to the Latino/Hispanic, African-American, Mexican-American and Native-American students, in order to comply with Trump's executive order to eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) race oriented programs. Multiple federal courts have ruled, Trump's elimination of DEI related programs at colleges and universities was illegal and unconstitutional, which violated instructors free speech in classrooms. Despite Dr. Cruz, who is of Cuban descent knowing of the federal courts rulings, he continued to proceed with the elimination of the Multicultural Student Services. Also, his administration is working to eliminate all race oriented programs at the college.
Members from the Latino, African-American, Asian-American and Native-American communities have demanded for Dr. Cruz to restore the Multicultural Student Services, but he seems to lack any diverse community related negotiating skills and has not addressed the erroneous decision to cut the Multicultural Student Services affecting student at the college. (Article link: http://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2025/11/matc-president-anthony-cruz-eliminates.html)
Three organizations resource tables at the Grand Opening of the Office of Community Impact were setup in the lobby. They were the International Institute of Wisconsin, Mexican Fiesta (Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Foundation), and the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, which to date, and unfortunately none of these Latino/Hispanic based organizations have released a statement demanding for Dr. Cruz to restore the Multicultural Student Services at the college.
Also, Dr. Cruz has failed to remove Laquitha Bonds-Jones, Vice-President of Human Resources who has been the center of major issues affecting employees and instructors at MATC.
Bonds-Jones has allegedly proliferated the hostile working environment at MATC by failing to stop the harassment and retaliation against employees and instructors that have filed complaints. She also cut the wages of part-time instructors in 2025 without any authority by the MATC Board of Trustees and Dr. Cruz, and Bonds-Jones didn't even informed the MATC union Local 212, nor the part-time instructors affected totalling more than $620K, which had to be reimbursed after the union notified the part-time instructors.
Recently, another Bonds-Jones unauthorized act was exposed, when she apparently failed to notify the MATC Local 212 union and Dr. Cruz that she had also cut sick leave pay for part-time instructors after being discovered she had cut the wages for part-time instructors last year.
According to a MATC union newsletter that HNNUSA received anonymously, the newsletter was sent by the MATC Local 212 union to more than 500 part-time instructors and employees, indicating that HR had allegedly cut the sick leave pay for part-time instructors.
The question remains, did Bonds-Jones also expanded these cuts to full-time instructors and staff? An independent audit of the HR under Bonds-Jones is warranted at this time to make sure wages and sick leave pay cuts get fairly compensated to anyone affected by the Bonds-Jones cuts of wages and cuts to sick leave pay, including any undisclosed and unauthorized acts.
So far, Dr. Cruz and the MATC Board of Trustees have failed to resolve the unfortunate matters at hand plaguing the college, since Cruz was hired.
Check out the ongoing issues affecting MATC under Dr. Cruz that have rolled over into 2026 and continue without resolve.
Public testimony given at the MATC Board of Trustees meetings regarding the current state of affairs at MATC:
• MATC Alumni and community activist Samuel A. Alford public comment testimony regarding the elimination of the Multicultural Student Services Office by MATC President Dr. Cruz, during the November 24, 2025 MATC Board of Trustees meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Here's the October 2024 MATC Board meeting video where Luz Sosa, Carlos Aranda, Patricia Gómez and others exposed the hostile, harassment, retaliation and discrimination practices by leadership administrators at the technical college. https://youtu.be/Lm_ImpZGXn4
• The December 2024 video, the MATC Board meeting and testimony given by employees and MATC Counselor Carlos Aranda https://youtu.be/ed93-NODo8M
The members of the MATC Board of Trustees are, Erica L. Case, Chairperson; Citlali Mendieta-Ramos, Vice-Chairperson; Dr. Waleed Najeeb, Secretary; Gail Pence, Treasurer; Lauren Baker; Mark F. Foley and Wisconsin State Representative Supreme Moore-Omokunde (D-Milw). (MATC Board of Directors | MATC https://share.google/JBtolZmTGaz4lo885)
Editor's note: In a press release, MATC says, "The office (Community Impact) serves all MATC students, with a particular focus on those who may benefit from additional academic, financial, or community-based support." If the Community Impact will serve all students, then why wouldn't all benefit, instead only those who could benefit with additional academic, financial and community based support. It's unreal, sounds like some students will be privileged more than others. That's why the Office of Multicultural Student Services was created to make sure all students of color would have additional academic, financial and community based support by providing bilingual services and one on one counseling, peer support, mentorship for student services to help them succeed at the college and prepare them to compete for jobs after graduating from MATC. MATC has a 63% minority majority student population with 24% Hispanic student enrollment in 2025. MATC press release link: https://share.google/H63VM9tNMvoDRUnU9)
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