UC Berkeley Students Call On Obama to Enact the Dream Act

Quote:

UC Berkeley students joined the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigrant Rights, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) Thursday to launch a national campaign urging President-elect Barack Obama to enact the federal Dream Act, which would legalize federal financial aid and open a path of citizenship for undocumented immigrant college students across the nation, who are otherwise entrapped in complicated paperwork. Held at the MLK Student Union on campus, the event—which was organized by BAMN and co-sponsored by Rising Immigrant Scholars through Education, the Latino Business Students Association, the gender and women’s studies and Spanish and Portuguese studies departments at the university and the Chancellor’s Student Opportunity Fund—started with a group of undocumented students from around the Bay Area testifying about their struggles in the absence of federal financial aid. Calls to Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s office for comment were not returned by press time, but a campus spokesperson confirmed that the chancellor supports the Dream Act. Birgeneau wrote an op-ed piece in support of the act for the UC Berkeley student newspaper The Daily Californian, Nov. 5. In California, undocumented students have the right to attend a public university but are not allowed to apply for financial aid, something Thursday’s participants said they would aggressively push for once the new president is sworn in. BAMN activists also called upon UC Berkeley to become a sanctuary campus and welcome African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and other minority and immigrant communities. “We want to make the era of change and hope real,” said BAMN organizer Yuvette Felarca, who also teaches at Malcolm X Elementary School in Berkeley. “When we see the nation elect the first black president and yet we see that the percentage of blacks and Latinos on campuses like UC Berkeley and UCLA is so low, we need to make a change.” Shanta Driver, national chairperson for BAMN, asked students to seize this important moment in history to start a new kind of civil rights movement which would oppose racism and bring equal opportunities to all. “Over the last few weeks we have seen a real change in America and it has presented us with an opportunity to leave our mark on our nation,” she said to applause from the audience. “If it’s possible for America, with such a strong and deep history of racism to do this, then anything is possible. We need to resolve deep social problems and engage in a real debate and discussion on racism. “ She said that Obama should enact the Dream Act within his first 100 days in office.

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/i...-the-Dream-Act

Excellent! Thanks lilbawler.

Is that a prediction or a prescription? (I like how that sounds )

To put it differently, is she saying that Obama is going to definitely try to get this into law within the first 100 days or is she saying that Obama ought to do this?

I admire their determination in fighting for the DREAM Act. I do, however, disagree with them about demanding financial aid now when the economy is weak. We only have to pay in-state tuition in CA now. Would I like to receive financial aid to help pay for my UC education? Of course. But I don't think it is right to demand it now when resources are scarce because doing so will only fuel anti-immigrant sentiment. If one looks at the past, one would realize that during times when the economy was weak, anti-immigrant sentiment rose. We do not want to fuel hatred by asking for financial aid when some U.S. citizens can't even afford to go to college.

I am not asking for money. I am asking for an opportunity to stay in this country and contribute to society. That's all I am asking. That's what the DREAM Act offers. For me, that's enough.

I agree as much as i would like financial aid i can live without it . Just give me Conditional status and i'll work while attending school to pay it off myself it might be difficult but not impossible to do so.

Ditto.

all we want is a chance, not a hand out

right... we don't have much to negotiate with here.

I wonder what group this is. I'd like to get in touch with them and ask them if they could change their minds from demanding for financial aid and just stick to legalization.

yeah seriously, I got some friends in Berkeley. I should contact them next time I visit Berkeley, I am only two hour drive away. Of course, after thanking them for their support...

I agree.
We don't need the financial aid.
Many of us here have been going to school without financial aid for a while now.
Just being legal provides a better relief than financial aid.