Students with signs showing their support of the DREAM Act, several of which were members of the Latino Student Union, packed the SGA meeting last night.
Though the SGA rarely takes a stand on national issues, after nearly 100 students attended last night’s meeting in support of a federal bill that would allow illegal immigrants to be eligible for higher education, the SGA voted to publicly support it, too.
The Student Government Association threw its support behind the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a controversial piece of federal legislation that would allow children of undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship after either attending college or serving in the U.S. military.
Though a few legislators voted against the bill, the majority was so overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution that no official vote tally was taken.
Several students and faculty members urged SGA legislators to, in their view, act in accordance with their job description and represent the student body by supporting a bill that students agree with. No attendee spoke against the DREAM Act or the SGA voicing its opinion.
A number of minority student groups are invested in the bill’s approval, including the Asian American Student Union, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda and the Latino Student Union, another factor that contributed to SGA legislators’ decision.
After Camden Lee, vice president of advocacy for the AASU, approached the SGA several weeks ago about the DREAM Act, SGA journalism legislator Michelle Chan drew up a resolution asserting that the organization supports the federal bill.
SGA President Steve Glickman said he and other representatives received a massive number of phone calls and e-mails advising the SGA to take a stance, a response that convinced him it would be a ripe opportunity to set a precedent.
“That’s exactly what we’re hoping for out of the SGA,” Glickman said. “I wish this would happen for every single bill.”
During debate, some legislators argued that supporting the bill now was irrelevant because the federal legislation did not pass the Senate last month. Behavioral and social sciences legislator Zach Cohen said though he opposes the DREAM Act in itself, he voted against the SGA resolution because it wasn’t timely, not because of his own views.
Chan said the SGA hopes to boost student awareness about the DREAM Act and encourage students to voice their opinions to Congress. The SGA’s next step will be to coordinate with other student groups to generate support and awareness about the DREAM Act, she said.
Lee and Jose Centeno-Melendez, vice president of finance of the Latino Student Union, echoed her sentiment and said their groups will try to expel the most popular myths surrounding the bill.
“It gives us a lot of time to get the word out about this and get students to call their representatives,” Chan said. “My goal is that student voices are heard.”
Chan said she thought some people may oppose the bill if they interpret it as a form of indiscriminate amnesty, a concern she thinks is misguided because immigrants must meet very specific provisions in order to benefit from the bill, she said.
To qualify, students must be under the age of 35, have lived in the United States for at least five years before the bill is passed and must have arrived before age 16. Applicants must have received a high school diploma, have a clean record and possess “good moral character,” a criterion many think is too subjective.
If an applicant meets these conditions, he or she is eligible to become a U.S. citizen after serving in the military or attending college for at least two years.
“This one does directly deal with students, education, using degrees effectively,” Chan said. “I think it’s important that the SGA takes a stand supporting this, because this is what our students need to do well.”
meehan at umdbk dot com
