Governor Jerry Brown signed half of the controversial California DREAM Act, AB 130, July 25, allowing undocumented students EASIER access to private financial aid.
AB 130 is half of the California Dream Act, which stands for Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors. The act reads that “all (undocumented) students who are… deemed to be in financial need shall be eligible for financial aid.”
The other half of the act, AB 131, allows for undocumented students to also be eligible for state-funded financial aid, but it is still in the California Senate.
AB 130 interacts additionally with the 2001 education bill, AB 540, which allows undocumented students who attended a California high school for at least three years to receive resident tuition. AB 540’s other guidelines include that the student must have graduated from a California high school or received a GED, be registered or enrolled at a California accredited university or institution of education and file an affidavit saying the student will apply for legal residency.
Lupita Sotelo, a wine and viticulture senior and alumni representative for the Movimiento Estudiantil Xicano de Aztlan (M.E.X.A.) club, said she felt the passing of AB 130 shows the importance of the California DREAM Act.
“I do think this is a crucial step as it shows the possibility for greatness this bill has,” Sotelo said. “Of course, ideally we wish both parts of the bill would have passed, but I am definitely grateful for the progress we’ve seen. And little by little these hardworking students will have a fair opportunity to receive aid for a higher education.”
The passing of AB 130 also offers hope for the federal DREAM act, which allows for undocumented students who either attend an accredited United States four year educational institution or enlist in the military for at least two years to earn the chance to eventually gain citizenship.
Yet, as with AB 540, the DREAM act has many similar guidelines, including the student being of “good moral character.”
Eduardo Ortiz, an anthropology senior and vice president of M.E.X.A., said he felt AB 130 is a step in the right direction for the DREAM Act.
“I agree with the passage of AB130 in California because it gives undocumented students, a largely ignored segment of the population, more opportunities to achieve higher education,” Ortiz said. “I also believe this legislation can help set an example to other states around the country. Although I agree with AB130, I feel it lacks one aspect, which is a pathway to citizenship, and this can of course can only be achieved through the federal DREAM Act.”
Vanessa Soto, a comparative ethnic studies senior and former president of M.E.X.A. also said that the passage of AB 130 remains as “just a step.”
“The California DREAM Act is very basic and currently does not provide a path for legalization, nor any other benefits that are crucial to work for if anyone wants to be able to make a living and support themselves after college,” Soto said. “Because of this, many undocumented students will be very reluctant to even take advantage or apply for any benefits of the DREAM Act for fear of being persecuted for being undocumented.”
The federal DREAM Act did not pass through the senate in December 2010 or May 2011, showing the often strong opposition to legislation concerning illegal immigrants. In fact, Arizona, Colorado and Georgia do not give undocumented students in-state status, and South Carolina does not allow undocumented students to attend state colleges at all. Section 505 of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act says undocumented students cannot receive in-state tuition rates. Additionally, Maryland’s recently passed version of the California DREAM Act is facing repeal.
Soto said states that do not offering in-state tuition rates are “extremely discriminatory and harm thousands of students that simply want to pursue the American Dream.”
“What they’re doing is creating a filtering system where they are choosing who has privilege and opportunities, and who does not,” Soto said. “(They are) ultimately perpetuating many societal and economic problems and inequities by ensuring that the stratified remain stratified and that the power remains with those who hold it now. Plain and simple, they should not have the right to decide that. Education should be a basic human right, but right now it’s treated as a privilege, where only the more and more privileged are being able to attend college and the masses are left behind.”
In addition, with the cost of California higher education increasing, UC fees rose 20 percent and CSU fees rose 23 percent compared to the 2010-2011 school year-opposers of the bill worry legal citizens will have to compete for financial aid.
In fact, Maryland House of Delegates member Patrick McDonough, who started the petition to repeal the Maryland Dream Act, noted the “tough economic times” as a reason he opposed the Maryland bill. However, AB 130 states that “the number of financial aid awards received by California resident students from financial aid programs administered by the segments shall not be diminished as a result of the application (of the bill).”
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said though some think “we might see an uptick in the number of Federal and state loans being take… overall we anticipate the same percentage of students requesting financial aid as last year,” even with the higher fees.
Some California citizens still have had trouble receiving financial aid due to lack of docmentation.
Brittany Smith, a San Luis Obispo County resident who asked to have her name changed for privacy reasons, fought six years to receive her birth certificate and social security card after her mother failed to gain the documents after Smith’s home birth. Because of this, she was not able to receive needed financial aid, which stalled her college career.
“(California) wanted me to provide evidence for every single year I’ve been alive and lived in the U.S. before they would help me,” Smith said. “I’m a citizen, and it was still a six-year struggle to be able to go back to school with financial aid.”
Smith said she also worried about legal citizens not being able to receive financial aid.
Yet, supporters of the bill remain optimistic. Sotelo said she hopes the passage of AB 130 will make the education system more “equal.”
Armstrong said he believes “that a great education has the power to transform lives.”
“If I hadn’t had access to a public university, nor access to financial aid, nor the benefit of others’ encouragement, I wouldn’t have gone to college, and I wouldn’t be at Cal Poly today,” Armstrong said. “Tools like financial aid and laws like the DREAM act are intended to expand opportunities. My goal is to expose as many students as we possibly can to our Learn By Doing methods without sacrificing quality.