A group advocating for undocumented students at UCLA protested a plan by University of California President Janet Napolitano on Tuesday that will provide them with financial aid in the form of student loans rather than scholarships.
“We don’t need more debt, we need support to complete school,” said Zyshia Williams, a fifth-year international development student who led the protest.
About 15 protesters marched in a circle in Bruin Plaza on Tuesday, holding signs and chanting slogans such as “Two million deported, we will not forget,” and “You see, you see, this UC president is not for me.”
Last month, Napolitano announced a plan to allocate $5 million to undocumented student resources for the approximately 900 undocumented students across the UC, including financial aid, advisers and program centers.
Last Wednesday, representatives of undocumented students across the UC attended a meeting with the UC Office of the President to discuss plans regarding the $5 million allocated.
Napolitano’s initiative will give undocumented students access to loans and work study positions they cannot currently get, said Shelly Meron, a spokeswoman for the UC Office of the President. Details of the initiative are still being discussed.
Currently, only undocumented students with legal work authorization under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program are able to be employed in work study positions.
Undocumented students are also not eligible for federal student loans, which have more beneficial terms than private loans, Meron said.
Students at the meeting were generally against the idea of student loans, although details of the loans were not discussed, said Belinda Aguirre, a member of UCLA’s undocumented student group Improving Dreams, Equality, Access, and Success and a fourth-year Chicana and Chicano Studies student, attended the meeting.
Undocumented students are unable to work in the U.S., and thus paying off student loan debt is difficult, Aguirre said.
“We want to keep Napolitano accountable. It would be progress if the money was (for) scholarships, but we’re undocumented students not in a position to repay loans,” said Lester Fox, a second-year biology student.
Even though the California Dream Act, which allows undocumented students access to non-state funded and state-funded scholarships and financial aid, passed last year, some undocumented students are still struggling to pay for school, Aguirre said.
There are also undocumented students who do not qualify for the California Dream Act and are in need of help, she said.
Josefina Flores, a second-year psychology student, has to commute an hour and a half daily to and from school because she is unable to afford living on campus.
Meron said in an email that Napolitano’s initiative would be in addition to the scholarships and grants the UC already gives undocumented students.
No additional benefits, such as additional grant or scholarship assistance, will be provided to undocumented students beyond what the UC already provides to documented California residents, Meron said. Their aim is rather to ensure both documented and undocumented students have access to loans and work-study jobs, she added.
This initiative will be discussed at Wednesday’s UC Board of Regents meeting.
So let me get this straight. You’re in a country that you have no right to be in and you demand free money that originated from taxes that you do not pay? (and don’t give me that “illegals pay taxes” crap, unless you have a decent salary, which no company will give to an illegal immigrant because hiring them is ILLEGAL, you don’t contribute any substantial amount of tax money.) Man, talk about the gall these people have .
First off, your information is WRONG! Some undocumented people CAN ACTUALLY work ‘LEGALLY.” You might want to do some research and at least give accurate information 🙂 Second, the point of the article was about holding UC president Napolitano accountable to all STUDENTS, including UNDOCUMENTED student. By the way, “ridiculous” fits you just about right 🙂
Nah, there’s a reason why you need a work visa, which you can only obtain by coming to the US LEGALLY, in order to have permission to work. Anything other “legal” work is simply exploiting a loophole. And you’re right, Napoliatno is accountable to all students. She’s taking money that could be used for students who aren’t breaking the US laws every single day that they’re in the country to help those here illegally. What’s that saying? Give a finger take a hand?
It seems that many have misconceptions about undocumented immigrants and the way they are able to contribute. Many undocumented youth who have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) actually have to pay taxes. Those who are undocumented–in order to apply for citizenship–also do pay taxes. No one who is undocumented wants to remain undocumented forever, so by paying taxes, that is one step they do to get legalized too. It is important that we engage in educated dialogue, and not just mere misconception. http://www.e4fc.org/images/E4FC_GOTDACA.pdf
If they can work legally, then why can’t they pay back loans? Most people at UCLA are lower or middle class, and have no other option other than loans, and will struggle to pay them back once they graduate. Why is your struggle different than theirs?
Amen Sister. I have absolutely ZERO financial aid from the university. I get nothing from CalGrant. I’m paying for my education through loans and I’m a natural US citizen. I get the DREAM Act. It may not have been their fault if they were brought here illegally and had no choice but to grow up here, but that doesn’t mean that they get to automatically be given better treatment than those who are here legally. Those who are here legally do not get any special privilege outside of the fact that the tax dollars we pay are given to those legal students who are in need in the form of grants and loans. Why is that those here illegally get to have scholarships specifically designed for them when citizens here don’t even have access to that?
Fir
So you’re saying you deserve scholarships for being in this country illegally? Why? Why do you deserve money over documented citizens? Why do you deserve special treatment for breaking the law and disrespecting it? There are plenty of legal US citizens who also can’t afford more loans, but take them on. If you were to get scholarships for being here illegally, there would be nearly NO incentive to get naturalized. I am so sick of people saying they want equality, when in reality they want special treatment and exceptions made for them.
Like one of the commentors said, undocumented students were having an action to hold Napolitano accountable. A couple weeks ago, she said that she will give undocumented students $5 million dollars financial aid–and the media lauded her for that, especially because of all the criticism she received after her appointment. It turns out though that the financial aid she has planned is more than likely going to be loans and not scholarships–and the media does not seem to know about this yet. Undocumented students are not asking to be treated “more specially,” but rather to be treated like everybody else–with respect and the ability to hold our educational leaders accountable.
“Everyone else” gets loans and is in debt up to their eyeballs. It’s offensive when people turn away loans when most people at UCLA who are lower and middle class have no other choice than to get loans. When people say “loans aren’t good enough”, you’re mocking the financial status of people who HAVE to get loans.