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ASU Students Rally to Push Passage of Elusive DREAM Act
Tempe, Arizona – A coalition of Arizona State University students and
activists rallied Tuesday in support of the Development, Relief and
Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act.
If approved, the proposed legislation would allow thousands of
undocumented students in the country to legalize their status, enter
the workforce and apply for federal student aid.
The students and advocates demonstrated in front of the Memorial
Union building in the Tempe Campus, where they held signs, chanted
and talked to other students in an effort to educate them about the
DREAM Act, and persuade politicians to approve it.
The rally also sought to create awareness on the campus and
encourage supporters to call senators to ask them to vote in favor of
the DREAM Act. Similar actions have been taking place in other major
cities in the U.S.
Students have also been travelling to Washington, D.C. to make
their voices heard in a time they deem pivotal to get the bill passed.
A new series of hunger strikes was also announced during a press
conference held in the Memorial Union building. The strike will be
among other actions aimed to call the attention of politicians like
Senator John McCain.
“We have an entire generation of students who were brought here
(to the U.S) without a choice,” said student Debbie Robles, 18, a
Chicano Studies major at ASU was among those who participated in
Tuesday’s rally.
Robles believes the DREAM Act would allow undocumented students
to give back to the country since they have been educated in the
United States and hold college degrees.
Carmen Cornejo, a long-time advocate for the DREAM Act who also
participated in the rally, stated the United States would benefit from
legalizing this cohort of undocumented students, since they have
degrees and fields related to science engineering, technology and
mathematics.
“These are key fields needed for the future of this nation,” said
Cornejo, a member of the advocacy group CADENA.
In Texas, a number of students have been on a hunger strike for
three weeks. Dreamactivist.org, a social media site that promotes
the passage of the DREAM Act, reports some students met at
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's office in San Antonio after a rally. The
group was seeking the senator’s support for the DREAM Act but
reportedly they were arrested.
Fox 29 News reported San Antonio Police Department arrested 16
University of Texas at San Antonio’s students Monday when they
refused to leave Bailey’s office.
Students and advocates agree the DREAM Act currently has one of
its best chances of being passed. However, the bill has been
repeatedly defeated.
Cornejo blames this to several factors, including educational and
political.
“There are not enough educated people about the DREAM Act, and
people in Congress are being driven by politics, not by rationality or
the imperative need of the passage of this legislation.”
activists rallied Tuesday in support of the Development, Relief and
Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act.
If approved, the proposed legislation would allow thousands of
undocumented students in the country to legalize their status, enter
the workforce and apply for federal student aid.
The students and advocates demonstrated in front of the Memorial
Union building in the Tempe Campus, where they held signs, chanted
and talked to other students in an effort to educate them about the
DREAM Act, and persuade politicians to approve it.
The rally also sought to create awareness on the campus and
encourage supporters to call senators to ask them to vote in favor of
the DREAM Act. Similar actions have been taking place in other major
cities in the U.S.
Students have also been travelling to Washington, D.C. to make
their voices heard in a time they deem pivotal to get the bill passed.
A new series of hunger strikes was also announced during a press
conference held in the Memorial Union building. The strike will be
among other actions aimed to call the attention of politicians like
Senator John McCain.
“We have an entire generation of students who were brought here
(to the U.S) without a choice,” said student Debbie Robles, 18, a
Chicano Studies major at ASU was among those who participated in
Tuesday’s rally.
Robles believes the DREAM Act would allow undocumented students
to give back to the country since they have been educated in the
United States and hold college degrees.
Carmen Cornejo, a long-time advocate for the DREAM Act who also
participated in the rally, stated the United States would benefit from
legalizing this cohort of undocumented students, since they have
degrees and fields related to science engineering, technology and
mathematics.
“These are key fields needed for the future of this nation,” said
Cornejo, a member of the advocacy group CADENA.
In Texas, a number of students have been on a hunger strike for
three weeks. Dreamactivist.org, a social media site that promotes
the passage of the DREAM Act, reports some students met at
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's office in San Antonio after a rally. The
group was seeking the senator’s support for the DREAM Act but
reportedly they were arrested.
Fox 29 News reported San Antonio Police Department arrested 16
University of Texas at San Antonio’s students Monday when they
refused to leave Bailey’s office.
Students and advocates agree the DREAM Act currently has one of
its best chances of being passed. However, the bill has been
repeatedly defeated.
Cornejo blames this to several factors, including educational and
political.
“There are not enough educated people about the DREAM Act, and
people in Congress are being driven by politics, not by rationality or
the imperative need of the passage of this legislation.”
By Eduardo Barraza November 30, 2010
Students Yadira Garcia (l), and
Debbie Robles chant in support of
the DREAM Act during a rally at the
Arizona State University Tempe
Campus.
Photo by Eduardo Barraza Photo Gallery
Debbie Robles chant in support of
the DREAM Act during a rally at the
Arizona State University Tempe
Campus.
Photo by Eduardo Barraza Photo Gallery
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Eduardo Barraza is a journalist and writer,
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
