By Bobby Rivera
Staff Writer
For being one of the top six colleges that support first-generation college students, CSU San Marcos has focused on building communities within the campus, as seen in Greek life and various campus clubs and organizations. However, a new, invisible club on campus consists of students attending CSU San Marcos that are not legally citizens of the U.S.
Resources for those students include the program S.T.A.N.D. (Standing Together As oNe Dream). Student Flor Barraza said, “[S.T.A.N.D.] is a student organization that supports all undocumented students here on campus and in the community. This organization has been reaching out to different departments for support. Their goal is to make them aware of the presence of undocumented students on this campus and of all the obstacles they have to face.”
College gives all people the opportunity to educate themselves in order to become successful members of society.
“Most AB540 students share the same dream: contributing to this country as professionals,” Barraza said. “However, there are a so many people with so much talent who do not go on to college because they do not have the financial means to complete their degree. Studying full-time and holding two jobs is a common reality for many undocumented students.”
Barraza believes the passing of the CA Dream Act in 2011 will help undocumented students qualify to receive financial aid, which will help them obtain these goals.
As I spoke with Barraza, it reminded me of one student I knew who I had met on campus.
In the spring of 2012, I met a student name Reyna. She sat towards the front of the class and was always polite. She dressed casually and rarely spoke out in class. She was more outspoken before class began as we would wait for our professor to enter. I was surprised because she was articulate and had what I would call a “street-smart” sense of life. We immediately hit it off and would share information about our families, life experiences, and our values. She is incredibly ambitious and wears her heart on her sleeve.
One day Reyna came to class in tears and told me she was leaving school. She was having personal troubles and the stress was becoming difficult to manage. I convinced her to talk to me over coffee at our campus Starbucks. Once we got there, we both realized we’re not really coffee drinkers so we loaded up on brownies instead. Between the two of us we must had eaten about 8 brownies.
After we spoke she promised to continue going to school for a few more weeks and we agreed to meet before our class on Tuesdays. We called our meetings, “Brownie Tuesday” and for the following Tuesdays over the remaining course of the semester, I entered the world of life as an AB540 student.
AB540 is a California state law that allows qualified undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, versus out-of-state tuition.
Reyna is one of four sisters to attend CSU San Marcos. One has graduated and two others still have two years remaining. The sisters have an incredible bond that is unmatched. She lived in Mexico until her mother became ill and passed away. Reyna was nine at the time of her mother’s death. The four sisters have had to take care of each other since then, and the word sister has taken on a stronger meaning.
Reyna prefers to be speaking English, she sees it as her primary language.
“I just want to be accepted and feel like everyone else. I see myself as being independent and more Americanized with U.S. culture. I’m more familiar with U.S. history than I am Mexican history,” Reyna said. “Yet I don’t understand why there is the celebration of Cinco de Mayo here in the U.S., with the exception of selling and drinking beer. I guess I’m caught up in the middle of who I am Mexican or American.”
Due to the poverty level of her family she has no baby pictures. She has had to maintain at least two jobs for the past six years to pay for college. She sees herself as Mexican-American.
Life for Reyna before AB540 was cautious and quiet. Her not speaking out in class was a means of not standing out. “Undocumented means I have a label. The color of green on the side of a Border Patrol car meant I avoided driving and avoided different streets. I didn’t have to read the logo on the side of the Border Patrol vehicle, it was understood what it meant to me and my family. Life was a prison for me and I was very secretive with whom I shared my legal status with.”
“The DREAM Act is common-sense legislation drafted by both Republicans and Democrats that would give students who grew up in the United States a chance to contribute to our country’s well-being by serving in the U.S. armed forces or pursuing a higher education. It’s good for our economy, our security, and our nation,” said White House Representative Luis Miranda, on the White House blog. “That’s why the DREAM Act has long enjoyed bipartisan support. It’s limited, targeted legislation that will allow only the best and brightest young people to earn their legal status after a rigorous and lengthy process, and applies to those brought to the United States as minors through no fault of their own by their parents, and who know no other home.”
Reyna shared a high school story of how a male student had embarrassed her friend by writing about her chest size in a yearbook. Reyna was upset and decided to take her friend to the principal’s office and find recourse in the lack of a thought by the male student. The principal asked Reyna, what she felt was just for what the male had done. Reyna told him he should publicly apologized for what he did and purchase a year book for her friend. The principal agreed and an Avid teacher who witnessed Reyna’s actions took Reyna aside, and told her how impressed he was in her coming forward for a fellow student. He also told her how she could do anything in her life and she should consider law school in college. This planted a seed.
Reyna was caught off guard, it was the first time she remembers being given a compliment and encouragement for going college. Once in college, she later questioned, “If I earned a degree, could I do anything with it? After AB540 I have a choice and can go places. I see a future where I can fight injustice and help people. I have a lot of gratitude towards the United States and want to give back to the community. I felt as if people would look at me as being less than them. That’s not true, legal status doesn’t define who I am. Even when I may have barriers in place, I see immigration as an obstacle that I can overcome.”
Financial Aid and Scholarship Director, Vonda Garcia said, “The University had approximately 90 applicants this semester, for which 56 students were awarded a max of $2736 all of which goes towards tuition fees for this spring.”
In talking to students on campus affected by AB540, they shared with me the challenges from bias they’ve experienced with students in the classroom, as well as challenges met with the university.
“A small group of AB540 students, who applied for the CA Dream Act, were not able to attend school this semester as they thought they were going to receive some sort of financial aid, but didn’t meet the qualifications,” Barraza said.
Barraza holds hope that the process to access higher education will get easier for undocumented students.
“This was a difficult process for many of us. We had to make ourselves be known to the campus administration to explain all the financial barriers we face because of our undocumented status and had to keep persisting to obtain support,” Barraza said.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated on the White House Blog that passing the DREAM Act “will allow these young people to live up to their fullest potential and contribute to the economic growth of our country. In particular, the DREAM Act will play an important part in the nation’s efforts to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, something vital for America to remain competitive in today’s global economy.”
Life has changed dramatically for Reyna with the implementation of AB540. She told me about her goals of possibly being an attorney, or maybe working in a non-profit with youth.
As students go through AB540 they get their social security card, can obtain a California Driver’s License, and work permit. Once they complete the process, a path is set for citizenship and they go through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as defined under Homeland Security. As the legislation becomes a reality, I can’t help but go back to our shared meets at the Starbucks on campus.
I remember Reyna calling me after she was first able to get her driver’s license last September, she has also called me after every meeting with her attorney in reference to her AB540 status. I’ve met someone I consider to be a lifelong friend. In the Latino community as well as many other cultures, breaking bread with someone is symbolic of respect. It ties ourselves to earth, which we may share with a complete stranger, or with family and friends. In our case it’s a simple brownie once a week that bound us in friendship.
For more information reference the DREAM ACT and AB540 you can go to whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/01/get-facts-dream-act