Students for Fair Consideration

Hey guys,
I just want to share this article that I got interviewed from WA API newspaper.

http://www.iexaminer.org/news/features/student-deportations/

On March 15, 2009, Alonso Chehade, an undocumented immigrant from Peru, was arrested at the US/Canada border for unlawful presence in the United States. After remaining in the detention center for two weeks, Chehade was later released with the assistance of his family, who posted a $7,500 bond to free him from prison.

For undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., Chehade’s story is not uncommon. In 2007, three hundred thousand people were detained for illegally residing in the U.S. For the years between 2003 – 2008, deportation increased by 60 percent in the U.S. From these statistics, we can see that the number of deported immigrants is on the rise, which impacts the communities they live and work in.

Chehade’s experience as an undocumented immigrant is different from the first generation’s. The decision to live undocumented in the US was his parent’s decision, not Chehade’s. Therefore Chehade became an undocumented resident through no action of his own.

Enter the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors), a proposed bill that would give undocumented minors a chance to enlist in the military or go to school in the U.S., thus preparing a way for them to become citizens. Introduced by Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois and Rep. Howard Berman of California, the bill has not yet officially passed Congress. Yet with the help of certain individuals, this bill could pass soon, allowing people like Chehade to become citizens of the U.S. Without citizenship, undocumented immigrants cannot apply for government IDs, such as driver’s licenses and strips them of many opportunities that citizens take for granted.

“My hardships began when I went to UW,” said Chehade. “There were some things I wanted to do that I couldn’t do, like study abroad. I didn’t have enough money for going out of the state and I couldn‘t do internships. You need social security to do internships.”

Many other immigrants, like Ju Hong, an acquaintance of Chehade, have to work menial jobs that will hire undocumented workers.

“You can’t get a decent job because the only jobs are construction work or restaurant work,” said Hong. “You get low wages and are treated really badly.”

In addition to the numerous legal barriers students face, the social stigma attached to being an undocumented immigrant can make some feel they don’t belong to American society. One may be tempted to ask: “Why should we care for a resident who is living here illegally? Why can’t they go through normal channels to gain citizenship?” It is important in this circumstance to realize that people like Chehade and Hong had little control over their lives when they came to the U.S; their fates were decided by their parents. The DREAM Act allows qualifying individuals a chance to gain citizenship in the U.S. and pursue their dreams.

Chehade and Hong are working tirelessly to raise awareness regarding the DREAM Act. As the founder of DREAMERS for Positive Change, Chehade gets to connect with other individuals that have similar experiences to Chehade’s. Chehade’s case has also received the attention of numerous prominent politicians, such as Senator Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. While Hong participates in two organizations aiming to raise awareness about the DREAM act – the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco and Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles.

Hong emphasizes: “I want to make it clear that the DREAM Act is not just for Latinos. There are 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., of which 2 million are Asians. In the Asian American community it is embarrassing to talk about these kinds of issues. But we have to step up and support the issue.”

So, if passed, what would the DREAM Act mean to the community at large? First, it would allow undocumented minors the opportunity to live legally in the U.S. as citizens. Since the bill is aimed at those minority residents aspiring to go to college, the bill would also help create educated and productive members of the community. Finally, the bill would reinforce the principles of the American Dream, which are founded on equal opportunity, equality, and diversity.

There are numerous ways to get involved in the passing of the DREAM Act. Calling your senator will inform him/her that immigration reform is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. Telling friends, family, and others about the DREAM Act would also raise awareness of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

The following link provides information on how to participate: www.dreamactivist.org

I am the McDonald double Cheese Burger
I am the Starbucks white chocolate Mocha
I am the Strawberry tootsie roll pop

I am the Los Angeles Lakers
I am the New Orleans Saints
I am the New York Yankees

I am the Walmart when I save money
I am the Disneyland when I have fun
I am the Public University when I attain a higher education

I am a dreamer through love and hope
I am a public servant through loyalty and respect
I am a believer through faith and patience

I am the Eagle
I am the Democracy
And I am the resource

I am the land of opportunity
I am the water of freedom
I am the soil of knowledge

You see, I am who I am
I am an American

For the DREAM Action week, RISE will be facilitating a teach-in about AB540 (undocumented) students in higher education.

“Dreamers: The Struggle of Undocumented Students in Higher Education”

The teach in will be part of “Decolonizing the University: Fulfilling the Dream of the Third World College,” a conference taking place February 26-27, 2010 at UC Berkeley, in commemoration of the Ethnic Studies Department’s 40th anniversary and in celebration of the 10th annual Cultural Night of Resistance.

More about the conference:
“The purpose of this conference is to have collective dialogues about fulfilling the dream of the Third World College and decolonizing the university at large. These goals are more relevant today than ever given the demographic change in the state and the nation, and the racial, sexual, gendered, and colonial dimensions of transnational capitalism, neoconservatisms, and neoliberalism globally. It is also significant that as people of color have become the majority in the state of California, the state has dramatically changed its priorities in funding and it is about to allocate more resources to prisons than to public higher education.”

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=229249904147

About the teach in:

Despite economic hardships and unique sociopolitical challenges, many undocumented students have excelled academically and are active and productive members of society. Nevertheless, when these students apply for college admissions they are confronted with the reality that they cannot attend. Many if not all of these students were brought here as minors by their parents and thus had no choice when their families moved to the United States. Because of their immigration status, these students do not qualify to receive federal or state financial aid. These students are not eligible for Pell Grants, Cal Grants, federal loans, or even work study. Furthermore, they are not even eligible for most public and private scholarships since they require applicants to be at a minimum permanent residents or citizens. Even though these are bright and talented students with dreams of earning a degree, many give up because they find it difficult, if not impossible to afford an education.

Now, more than ever, action needs to be taken for these students’ rights as both the Federal and California Dream Acts have failed to pass and the comprehensive immigration reform has not been supported by the Senate in the past.

Our goals are to increase awareness around the issue and at the same time motivate attendees to get involved in the struggle and resistance that has been developing in the past years.
In order for the DREAM Act (which would make undocumented students qualify for financial aid and open a path to citizenship) or immigration reform to get enacted, student power and allies will be essential.

It has been said that there are about 450 undocumented students in the UC system. Students who have not received an equal opportunity to fulfill their dreams of achieving an education. That actually goes against decolonizing, ethnic studies and world college ideals which to a certain extent can be counteracted by increasing the awareness and supporting this AB540 student-led movement.

We hope to see many of you there.

I attended the retreat for the Gender and Equity Center two weeks ago. For the past few months now, the idea of decolonizing the university has come up after the budget cuts and rise in tuition cost. I still don’t know what it means to decolonize it when we have not decolonized our own minds.
We went to the multicultural center to do an activity. Before the activity was done, the history of it was told to us by one of the interns. She mentioned that the center was in danger of being closed down and the decision would be made by next year. One thing that stood out and was later discussed by the director of GenEq was about her personal idea of how decision making works in the university. She claimed university officials make decisions for one generation to in a sense give them what they want to calm them down and once they leave the decisions are contested and changed.
The director of GenEq in a sense challenged her idea and reminded everyone that some people in power are minorities. It seemed like he wanted to protect the brothers and sisters that are in power because they have the opportunity to change our school. This however, came into question when the chancellor for Equity and Inclusion came in to talk to us about what he does and answer questions. Out of that conversation, he reiterated many times how decision-making took so much time to do and that it should be done slowly. He pissed me off when someone asked a question relating to what he was doing to reduce the sexism and racism within the staff and professors. Someone suggested a deep training on ethnicity for every professor but he basically said he was not going to force professors to do it because they would not want to attend it any way. Another student asked him about where they could report the racist comments, or actions professors have done and the only thing he said was that none of that was being done.
These happenings made me question the privilege minorities have when they are in power but yet don’t use it properly. It also made me realize how those same minorities are so unaware of ethnic issues. The chancellor is a minority himself, he is supposed to be working to bring equality and inclusion to this campus but when it comes to it he can’t even fix the racism and sexism that students suffer from teachers who have not decolonized their minds. He has not even though about fixing this issue or appointing someone to start collecting this data of the racist and sexist remarks that professors have made. He is not open to trying new ideas that could potentially change the views of at least one professor. He even said that as a professor himself he would not attend such workshops. If he has such negative attitude toward change, and toward getting educated about the issue then fixing it is not on the list of tasks. He was definitely not interested in the agenda of minorities. He told us to email him if we had any more questions, BUT he left no email address or business card. This showed me he was not interested in what we had to say because he already had a list of things to attend to that did not include equity and inclusion. If the goal is to decolonize the university in this case, it should be worked on from the roots up. The professors should definitely be included on the list of must decolonize!

The New Leader Scholarship of the Marin Community Foundation annually awards scholarships of up to $7,000 which may be renewed. Awardees may receive additional support for graduate school application costs. Applicants NEED NOT be Marin County residents to qualify. Application deadline is March 15th.

You may qualify if you:

- Are enrolled at one of the following universities: California State University, East Bay; San Francisco State University; San Jose State University; Sonoma State University or University of California, Berkeley;

- Are an upper division student who has attended the school for one academic year or more, with 60 units or more, 30 of which need to have been attained at your present university;

- A minimum 3.5 GPA either at the current school or at a combination of the current school plus all schools previously attended. Consideration will be given to students with a GPA of 3.2 to 3.49 under special circumstances;

- Are planning to pursue advanced education in the social sciences, human services, public interest law, health-related fields or public service;

- Have demonstrated financial need.

OR, if you are a previous New Leader Scholarship recipient and plan to attend graduate school at a public university in California.

If you would like to apply for a New Leader Scholarship, download and complete this pdf application form and mail it by March 15th to the Marin Education Fund (see address below).

You can find out more about the application process by downloading our application guide.

Marin Education Fund
781 Lincoln Ave., Suite 140
San Rafael, CA 94901
phone: (415) 459-4240
toll-free: (800) 891-7540
fax: (415) 459-0527
info@marineducationfund.org
www.marineducationfund.org

See Recipients’ Biographies for information about previous New Leader Scholarship awardees.

Established with the Marin Community Foundation, scholarships are administered by the Marin Education Fund, the scholarship arm of the Marin Community Foundation.

I write today because I am saddened. My friend, who is also an AB-540 student, is two quarters away from graduation but will have to drop out due to the fee increases.

I start to wonder, is this some sort of “natural selection” type of task where only those than can afford to go on, do so? I mean think about it, out of the 400 or so AB-540 students in the whole UC system, what makes us different? I think that all of these hurdles are making us look for alternative ways to reach our goals. The fact that this social institution inhibits many of us from paying the financial need makes us compete for the limited economic resources that are available. Not only that but in the end, who can go on to a graduate school or professional school? It is us privileged few.

I wish that I had an easy solution to my friend’s position but what can I do besides advocating for our rights and suggesting that she apply to the few scholarships that are out there for her?

What will we (the few privileged AB-540 students who are still here) do to help others?

This past weekend was definitely a great one. I spent my weekend with a group of powerful and inspirational Latinas, a weekend where I was able to once again reconnect with more AB540 students. It’s very rare to find this space, a space where I was comfortable speaking of my situation and where I was trusted in return to hear theirs. It is a space where I was able to relate and express those feelings that I constantly hold on to. The feelings of being angry with our educational system, the feeling of unfairness. It happens every so often where I am able to release these emotions and it is something that I should practice more often. I want to commit myself to speak out more often when I get the chance with another AB540 student. It is a time that is very crucial to me to move on forward with these negative occurrences surrounding us. Everytime there is an opportunity to reconnect with individuals such as ourselves, we need to take it. Believe it or not, it really does ease the negative mentality and emotions that we carry…

New America Media, News Report, Seth Sandronsky , Posted: Feb 05, 2010

“In dreams, immigration officials rushed in and arrested me,” said Ju H. “I woke up sweating. My heart was pounding.”

Eyes tearing, the 20-year-old immigrant without citizenship documents from South Korea and current community college student in the San Francisco Bay Area continued telling his story to advocates, lawmakers and students at a crowded Capitol summit in Sacramento on Wednesday.

He described barriers to federal and state help for himself and others like him seeking education at four-year institutions. The walls to such schooling would fall with passage of the federal Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, first introduced in Congress in 2001.

DREAM Act for California Immigrant Students Gets Push

So far our event planning is awesome! We have hooked up with SPEAK (Undocumented Students advocate group), Sigma Lambda Beta, and KASA (Korean American Student Association). We are getting a lot of support from our student government and hope to have a successful event! How are everyone else’s events/projects going??

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_87/ma_congressional_relations/42959-1.html

“The tide seems to be turning in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, despite populist trends that might suggest otherwise…A study conducted last month by University of California, Los Angeles, Professor Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, for example, finds that any deportation plan of America’s undocumented immigrants would cost our country’s gross domestic product a whopping $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years. Conversely, if we embrace comprehensive immigration reform, we add $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product over the next 10 years. Hinojosa-Ojeda also projected that the economy would benefit from a temporary worker program, which would raise the GDP by $792 billion.”