School Sets Up Fund for Family of Slain Cal State Student

Cal State Dominguez Hills is accepting donations to help out the family of Marcela Franco, one of the people killed during the tragic shooting rampage in Santa Monica on Friday, according to a release from the university, where the 26-year-old Franco was a student majoring in psychology.

Marcela Franco was with her father, Carlos, who was driving their SUV out of the Santa Monica College parking lot at 20th and Pearl streets. Carlos Franco, a groundskeeper for Santa Monica College, died at the scene while Marcela died Sunday from her injuries after being taken to UCLA Medical Center.

“As a campus community, our thoughts, prayers, and sympathies are with the Franco family and all the victims and families affected by this senseless act of violence,” said CSU Dominguez Hills President Willie J. Hagan in a released statement. “Finding the right words or actions to express the most heartfelt response to such unthinkable tragedy is not easy, but given Marcela’s direct ties to CSU Dominguez Hills, our hope is this gesture from the university community can in some way help her loved ones during this difficult time.”

The school then provided background about Marcela Franco's time there:

"Marcela was a senior at CSU Dominguez Hills majoring in psychology. She enrolled at the university in fall 2012 as a transfer student from West Los Angeles College, and quickly embraced the Toro Spirit. She was involved in a number of activities and events on campus, including the Campus Food Pantry Program, Welcome Week, and Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day. She also was a student member of the Campus Alcohol Awareness Coordinating Team, having become a certified trainer to help present workshops to students. In April she attended the CSU Alcohol and Other Drugs Conference and returned with new ideas to implement at CSU Dominguez Hills.

Passionate about psychology, she was a member of the university’s chapter of the Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology and according to those close to her was looking forward to earning advanced degrees in the field to help individuals and her community."

To make a donation, checks can be made payable to CSUDH Foundation/Marcela Franco Memorial, and mail to Marcela Franco Memorial, CSU Dominguez Hills Office of Development, 1000 E. Victoria St., Welch Hall A-425, Carson, CA 90747, or give online at www.csudh.edu/onlinegiving, and click on “Marcela Franco Memorial.” Donations are not tax deductible.