The student organization Eye Resist believes that no human being should be discriminated against. (courtesy of Eye Resist site)
Students pack into the small classroom, crowding the doorway and any open floor space. Desks thrust closely together. The swelling classroom buzzing with excitement and energy and as soon as the meeting begins, 90 people explode into clapping and screaming: “Viva la revolution!”
Eye Resist, a student group officially affiliated with CU’s Department of Ethnic Studies, was founded in the summer of 2009.
The organizers of Eye Resist at CU have been doing just that by working to bring about campus awareness of immigrant rights. According to the group’s Declaration of Educational Rights, Eye Resist is aiming to give undocumented high school graduates in-state tuition.
“In Colorado, current policy denies undocumented students access to in-state tuition for higher education,” the declaration says. “The University of Colorado can help to strengthen our local economy by providing access to in-state tuition for undocumented students.”
The group hosted a meeting to encourage students to join the cause and to offer a brief history of immigration in the United States.
Francisco Barbosa, a Latin American History professor at CU, spoke about the history of Latin American immigration to the United States, the status of Latin American immigrant communities, and myths and realities about immigrants.
Barbosa said that the myths about Latin American immigrants often drive policy but that they are generally false and unfounded.
“We don’t get the deadbeats,” he said. “The idea that these people come to this country to live off this land is a myth. In a sense, we are getting the most ambitious, the most driven, the most hard-working people, and the ones who are willing to risk absolutely everything to come here and work really hard so that their children will have an opportunity, not so that they can just sit here and do nothing.”
Brittni Hernandez, a 20-year-old junior ethnic studies major, is a co-organizer for Eye Resist. Hernandez said that allowing undocumented students to access in-state tuition is economically sensible for the state of Colorado and CU.
Hernandez said that Eye Resist’s proposed policy would be a way for the state to actually see the benefits of K-12 education, which undocumented students currently receive.
“We have invested all this money on their education from K-12 and all of a sudden, we’re cutting them off and saying, ‘sorry, you can’t go to the university’,” she said. “Whatever reason that people have for not wanting undocumented students to go to college- that’s fine- but you’re losing your investment that you just put in for 12 years. We’ve already been educating those students. We’re not capitalizing on our investment.”
J.T. Alexander, a 20-year-old junior civil engineering major said that he felt undocumented students shouldn’t receive in-state tuition.
“I don’t think they should be able to get in-state tuition if they don’t really have citizenship at all,” Alexander said. “I think if they want to go to college, they should go through the proper channels to get a green card or whatever similar students that come here to get in-state tuition.”
Annie Housman, a 21-year-old senior psychology and education major who is not a member of Eye Resist, said that she agrees with Eye Resist’s goal.
“I think that illegal immigrants should definitely receive in-state tuition if they live in and completed high school in-state,” Housman said. “How are they supposed to make their lives better if they cannot afford to go to college? By keeping illegal immigrants out of higher education, we are contributing to a vicious cycle of repression of people who are underprivileged.”
Hernandez said that all CU students can identify with this cause and that it is one that crosses political lines.
“I think that it’s important for everyone to realize that we all have a piece in this,” she said. “I continue to be inspired by the passion, the dedication, and the love that I see by the students at this university. Whether or not you agree with immigration, this isn’t an immigration issue only. This is an education issue, and this is a human rights issue. People may have been fooled by the lack of action that has been happening over the past few years, but the passion and the desire to make a difference is there, and students are ready.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Neda Habibi at Neda.habibi@colorado.edu and News Budget Editor Ellie Bean at Eleanore.bean@colorado.edu.
