This past weekend, April 10 and 11, over 1,200 Masters of Social Work (MSW) students throughout California, and 100 MSW students from CSULB alone, lobbied for passage of the Dream Act in Sacramento. If passed by the California Legislature, AB 131 would amend the Donahoe Higher Education Act as of July 2012 to allow undocumented students the same access to financial-aid programs as US citizens. Currently, undocumented college students, many of whom have lived in California most of their lives, are required to pay non-resident tuition, which costs more than three times the standard tuition.
AB 131 would permit undocumented students to pay the same fees as California residents. According to the UCLA Center for Labor and Research Education (2007), about 26,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools in California annually. These students, many of whom would be college-bound, experience difficulties accessing higher education and lifelong achievement. The aim of the annual Lobby Day weekend is to engage students in the political process and influence the California Legislature to pay attention to the needs of students and disenfranchised populations.
Cynthia Tejeda
Graduate social work student
CSULB
