The Dream Act

Yesterday, as I was waiting for the bus with my in-laws, one of my old students emerged into the daylight from the large and dark Catholic church on 4th Avenue and Ninth Street. I run into my old students frequently, and my first questions is always " Are you in school?"(Yes, the broken record the teacher quality plagues me.)
As soon as those words escaped my mouth, this young woman's situation reemerged into my mind, and I thought, "Oh, shit...NOT the question to ask."

This student--we'll call her Lucia--is from Mexico. Her parents moved her here when she was a toddler. She was raised in Brooklyn, has the rough Brooklyn demeanor, speaks Spanish at home and accent-less English at school, was in all honors and gifted classes during her 12 years of public education, and is an astounding artist. BUT, Lucia is an undocumented immigrant. She cannot received Federal Financial Aid to go to college b/c she is not a citizen. Her family cannot afford to send her to school. Therefore, she is bussing tables at a busy restaurant in SoHo instead.

Lucia is one of the students who got me interested in one area of my doctorate research on what happens to undocumented immigrant students once they finish high school. To ask a student their immigrant status is an illegal act, but at the end of high school (when college looms heavy in everyone's minds and conversations) many students will begin to offer up the information to their teachers in order to ask for help. Lucia was one of those for me.

While many states have granted in-state tuition for undocumented students (NY is one of them), they are still unable to get the finanicial aid they need. There is legislature out there to legalize these students so that they can go to college and start careers here. It's called the dream act

Please familiarize yourself with this, and when it comes back into the political dialogue (both Barak and Hillary support it) voice your opinion that ALL students deserve the educational opportunity to attend college.

Gracias ;)