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Oct. 23, 2013
www.duclarion.com
Alum implements bill for undocumented students But as a private institution, DU does not have in-state Although Rodriguez said tuition benefits and is not ASSET and DACA helped “to affected by the bill. “We offer the tuition cost an extent” with the problems she faced, there is still a lot of as the same regardless of their work left to do for both she and residency status, whether the are in-state, out-of-state and Trejo. abroad,” said Chris George. “There’s no difference in that What is the ASSET respect for us.” George, who has been the bill? Assistant Vice Chancellor for The bill, Senate Bill 33, was Enrollment and Director of passed through the Colorado Financial Aid for the past three Legislature and was signed by years, as well as a doctoral stuGov. John Hickenlooper on dent in DU’s Higher Education April 29. Effective this year, the program studying the impact bill grants in-state tuition and of higher education policies, u nd e rst and s Colorado Opporthe difficulties tunity Fund (COF) that students access to undocuface to pay for mented students college once who had been accepted. enrolled for at least “I think its three years at a maximizing all public/private Colthe resources orado high school to afford a immediately preprivate educeding graduation cation,” said or earning a GED, George. “The admitted into a challenge is if Colorado instituthe university tion of higher educan be succation or a reciprocessful and cal program within Chris George be able to pay 12 months of high Assistant Vice Chanfor students school graduation cellor for Enrollto get those or earning a GED, ment and Director of opportuniand able to submit ties. We don’t an affidavit that Financial Aid have all the the student has e n d o w m e nt s applied for lawful presence or will apply as soon as he or she of Ivy schools so we can’t help the students as much in some is eligible to do so. The bill also coincided respect. It’s about having those with a national memorandum conversations about ‘how can “Deferred action for Child- we make DU work?.’” George said that it depends hood Arrivals” (DACA) passed on each student’s family situain 2012, deferring action tion, but DU’s average student against individuals who meet fi nancial aid package is about 31 the criteria and are at least 15 thousand dollars, and the needyears old, for a period of two years to be granted employ- based portion of that is almost ment authorization, subject to $26,000, excluding loans and renewal, to prevent low priority work study. Neither ASSET nor individuals from being placed DACA qualify students for Pell into removal proceedings or Grants, work study, state merit removed from the United States aid, loans or scholarships, or based on unlawful immigration Federal Merit Aid, meaning an status. Together, the two bills undocumented student applyallow Colorado students who ing for DU would need to fund qualify to both attend an insti- their tuition on scholarships tution of higher education and and other financial aid that is generated from each individual be employed after graduation. Trejo has watched these school’s funds or private benbills from their inception to eficiaries donating money to their implementation over the individual schools where U.S. or Colorado residency is not past decade. “For me, I was a high required, and hourly-wage jobs school student at West High created by individual instituSchool in Denver, where I saw tions (not work-study). In short, that means many of my really good friends, undocumented students would including my high school have to meet DU’s $58,115 cost boyfriend and high-achieving peers, struggle with problems of attendance through private with their immigration status. means, which can be challengThrough Together Colorado, ing, according to Rodriguez. “Basically the biggest chalwe founded a youth organizing lenge is the financial part of it group,” said Trejo. “I remember because we [undocumented stuliving in Denver with Val Vigil, dents] can’t do FAFSA or many who first put forward this piece of the scholarships offered,” said of legislation in 2003. We sat Rodriguez. “Also another thing down with him to learn what is that many of us are fi rst genthe rules were, what the bill was. Even though I am not directly eration students so our parents impacted, I learned how much don’t fully understand what it of a barrier paying out of state means to go to college and how tuition was for DREAMers. I to help us with the process of was able to work all through applying, so its really up to us college and high school, was to live through the experience able to qualify for large schol- and hopefully give back later to arships, the Boettcher and younger students going through the Gates scholarships, and I the same issues.” Continued from Page 1
“The challenge is if the university can be successful and be able to pay for students to get those opportunities.”
was also able to apply for state and federal financial aid, like FAFSA, all because I had a social security number.”
The Road Ahead
Trejo hopes to continue to alleviate the confusion around
the college process for undocumented students and their families. “We know that the number one reason that students do not go to college is because they can’t afford it,” said Trejo. “ It did not seem just or right for these students to have such a high barrier in front of them. That drive never left me, it is with me even now, because we want students to know about it and take advantage of it.” Trejo said that in addition to the “thousands and thousands” of students who qualify to receive in-state tuition and work under ASSET and DACA, private, non-governmental scholarship programs, such as the Denver Scholarship Foundation, have opened up applications to DACAqualified applicants. Rodriguez is working to increase visibility of such scholarships at DU. “Well here on the DU campus we are hosting a conference called Keeping the Dream Alive which is targeted for the mentors and teachers of these students to help them get more informed about scholarships that already exists and to inform them about what other options are available to these students,” said Rodriguez. The conference was held last Friday, Oct 18. from 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. in Sturm Hall. It was held in partnership with DU, Together Colorado, Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity Inc., Metropolitan State University of Denver, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Higher Education Access Alliance, The Denver Scholars h i p Foundat i o n , College Summit, College in Colorado and B r u c e Randolph School. B u t b o t h Trejo and Rodriguez agree that action within communities and at the federal level is needed to reinforce Colorado’s existing policies. “ I would say educators and mentors of these students need to become m o r e educated about the options that exist for these undocumented students so that they could help t h e m ,” said Trejo.
“Another thing that needs to happen is for either the DREAM Act to pass, but as we have seen, it has already been shut down too many times and the next closest thing we have to happening is a Comprehensive Immigration Reform, which not only will benefit the undocumented students, but everybody who is already here without a valid legal status... there is also the success of the S.B. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act in the senate and now it is currently stuck in the House of Representatives. What this act would do is create a path towards citizenship, but only for those who qualify.” Trejo elaborated on S.B. 744. “I’m not going to pretend that I have the magic bullet,” said Trejo. “Our immigration system is so complex and its problems will have a complex solution. The types of students [that qualify for ASSET and DACA] would qualify for citizenship in five years under the bill that was passed in the senate and is waiting in the house, meaning they could go to college and be ready to go into the field of architecture, medicine or engineering. That is one piece that I would love to see pass. It is not ideal because a lot of students would not qualify, but it is something.” Misconceptions about undocumented students can be the biggest roadblock to passing more comprehensive legislation, both Trejo and Rodriguez agreed. “I think that the miscon-
ception of undocumented people in general is also inflicted into students such as that we are taking their jobs or that we are criminals and well, that’s not true, which puts a lot of pressure on us who are actually doing something good,” said Rodriguez. “If we do something that is socially wrong then our whole community will be held to those standards and be judged based on that action of that one person.” Trejo said it is the “spiteful” stereotypes like those in the comments of news outlets that are most troubling to the undocumented members of society. “Some people equate immigrants to undocumented, but not all immigrants are undocumented, and not all are Mexican or Latino, some are from Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, etc,” said Trejo. “Unfortunately we’ve heard staunch and hateful remarks from senators and representatives at the national levels. It’s really important not to judge an entire group of people based on the actions of some people.” This story is part of a three-part series aimed at giving equal voice to populations in poverty by examining policies that affect them for the Marguerite Casey Foundation 2013 Scholarship for Journalism on Poverty. The series, called, “Impoverished Policies,” examines already progressive social policies that have gaps that disproportionately affect the poor or minorities.
Grad School Fair November 4 | 5–8 p.m. Free!
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