An open letter to UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau

Hello, I'm a current Berkeley student, and I sent this email to the Chancellor to raise awareness of the DREAM act and its importance to undocumented students on campus and across the nation. I'm not sure if this is the right section for this post, so forgive me if it is not. Just doing my part in raising awareness.

Dear Chancellor Birgeneau,

You are no doubt aware that the DREAM Act has recently been
reintroduced in Congress as of March 26th. I would like to ask for
your support in promoting this legislation, so that students like me
can afford to go to amazing schools like Berkeley. I recall your
message to President Obama in the Daily Cal in November, in which you
asked the President to consider legislation to make education
affordable for all students. You also asked for legislation to help
undocumented students attain an education.

The DREAM Act will do both. It will make in-state tuition possible
for students, especially those outside of California, who have no means of
proving or establishing residency. It will also establish a legal
pathway to permanent residency through education or
military service.

UC Berkeley is a top institution. We all know this. Consider what
the passage of this bill will do to continue Berkeley's status as a
preeminent educational institution: more out-of-state applicants,
more California students who will be able to prove residency, more
intelligent students who wish to succeed and believe that Berkeley is
the investment to ensure that success.

You cannot deny that Berkeley's liberal reputation precedes it:
the Free Speech and Civil Rights movements both contributed to the
idea that Berkeley is the place to be if one is inclined to promote
inclusion. And I know that you are.

As of November 2008, there are 35,400 students at Berkeley, not to
mention faculty, staff,
and most importantly, alumni. Imagine the difference we can make
if everyone took part in supporting a piece of legislation that will
help thousands of people achieve their dreams, not to mention how much
of a difference we can make in the social stature of this institution.

We can do this, but we need your help. We need your help to spread
awareness of the dismal reality that there are undocumented students
at Berkeley who have not been considered in your plans for inclusion.

How are we to feel included if we cannot pay our tuition because we
cannot get a job? How are we to feel included if we know that after
graduation, our chances of getting a job, regardless of Berkeley's
prestige, are precisely zero? How are we to feel included if we are
afraid that our education has been in vain?

These questions are not facetious if you consider the state of US
immigration policy. When the US military offers a path to citizenship for immigrants, you know that the time for change has come.

We have the opportunity to change the lives of thousands, without
sacrificing anything, but we must actively pursue it.

The DREAM Act is our best hope for success. I hope you will join me
and others in our attempt to spread the word. I hope you will uphold
your promise of inclusion for everyone.

Yours sincerely,

DY

Class of 2009
English - Slavic Languages and Literatures

I like what you're doing here. Have you heard back from him yet?

I am waiting for the act too. Because of the status, I become afraid to talk to people, afraid to join club and unable to take a job on campus (like working in a lab.) I am a dedicated future RD. However, I am not able to finish the intern requirement, which make my dream vanish. People said berkeley is all about research and such, I wanted to share this part of the experience but I am not sure if I can.
Class of 2010

great! UCB is a huge school and if we are able to get the chancellors support, it would be a major thing. pressure!! a rally at ucb would have a major impact. are you part of the DA clubs at UCB yurchie?

No, I wasn't part of any DA groups, unfortunately. I also just graduated.

The chancellor's response was that he had already voiced his support with the Daily Cal and implied that nothing else would be done.

Good luck to you if you're still a part of that community, it looks like California isn't making things any easier.

Yurchie, what are you doing now that you graduated? What did you study?

I don't graduate till 2011, and I feel like my time's running out :/

I studied English and Russian and I'll be going to graduate school in Virginia this fall, to study creative writing.