FROMTHEFRONT
The Battalion I 2.5.15
IN-STATE TUITION CONTINUED
Gabriela Castillo, political science sophomore and
vice president of CMSA, said she fears her 13-year-old
brother would be one of many undocumented chil
dren to live in the shadow of the eradication of the
DREAM Act.
“How do I explain that to him? He’s been here
since he was 4-years-old; he’s'never been anywhere
else. Texas is his home,” Castillo said. “How do I ex
plain to him that college might be more expensive than
it is now and that our family will not be able to afford
it? It will prevent him from taking advantage of educa
tion. He’s never done anything wrong.”
Nery Guerrero, nutritional sciencesjunior and pres
ident of CMSA, said the movement against the in-state
tuition law seems to be an unwarranted attack.
“It’s not even a political issue, it’s a humanitarian
issue,” Guerrero said. “They’re attacking and general
izing the entire undocumented community, saying we
shouldn’t get an education. It’s very important that
Texas sees these faces and hears from them, because
you are taking education from deserving minds.”
Castillo said undocumented students receiving in
state tuition are required by the DREAM Act to sign
an affidavit stating that they will apply for citizenship
as soon as they are eligible.
“People think we’re getting a free ride with in-state
tuition, and we’re not,” Castillo said. “We have to
promise to apply for citizenship as soon as we can.”
House Bill 360, filed by Rep. Mark Keough (R-
The Woodlands) is the bill CMSA members are con
cerned with. Also known as the Texas Fair Tuition
Act, the bill states that any person filing for in-state
tuition must show proof of citizenship or legal resi
dency to be approved. This refutes the DREAM Act,
which does not require students to be citizens at the
time of application.
Melanie Garza, agricultural leadership and devel
opment junior and secretary of CMSA, said CMSA
has teamed up with several organizations around the
United States with the same goal through “United We
Dream” — the largest immigrant youth-led organi
zation in the nation advocating for fair treatment of
immigrant youth.
Garza said CMSA officers engage frequently in con
ference calls and attend meetings with other organiza
tions affiliated with United We Dream to discuss strat
egies, including engaging politicians on social media.
“Everyone has their affiliate leaders who target dif
ferent areas like social media,” Garza said. “We have
people in Austin doing research right next to the capi
tal about which politicians support us and who doesn’t,
and to the people who support us we tweet saying,
‘Will you support us again?’ and things like that.”
Castillo said in addition to a collaborative effort on
a nationwide level, CMSA is placing major focus on
informing students at Texas A&M about the benefits
of in-state tuition for undocumented students.
“In order for us to move effectively, we have to in
form the uninformed and encourage our community,”
Castillo said. “By doing this, our community will feel
like there’s someone that supports them.”
Guerrero said to provide this information, the
CMSA will put on several events, including a profes
sor’s panel on Feb. 17 featuring professors who will
advocate for the economic benefits of offering in-state
tuition to undocumented students.
Castillo said she is appalled that politicians seem to
be throwing around a topic of such importance.
“What upsets me most is the fact that such issues
that can affect so deeply the lives of people is being
used as a political issue that politicians can toss around
as freely as they please,” Castillo said. “They’re using
undocumented students and their life and their story
for their own political fight.”
OLMD CONTINUED
the interactions will include discussion
on issues relevant to the universities, such
as funding for higher education like the
Competitive Knowledge Fund.
Interaction between legislators and stu
dents was one of the main messages of the
day. Among A&M’s 19 student visitors was
Student Body President Kyle Kelly.
“There’s been a trend toward bringing
students to the Capitol for this day,” Kelly
said. “It started with A&M, they started to
bring more students and UT began to pick
up on it. When it comes down to it, it’s
about the students. It’s about those being
educated and those that are becoming ac
tive in institutions. It’s a great way to raise
awareness and to build relationships.”
Kelly said one issue he wanted to address
in funding was tuition and fees.
“We have specific talking points that our
Association, Texas Exes and the adminis
tration has been working on for months,”
Kelly said. “They have to do with mainly
funding. We saw a tuition and fee increase
at A&M this year. It’s been less of an in
crease than we’ve seen at other institutions
in our state; which I think is extremely
positive.”
Kelly said Student Government Associa
tion representatives would like to see state
funding levels similar to those before 2011.
“We want to keep tuition and fees and
costs low for students,” Kelly said. “When
there’s less state funding, the university has
to pick up the bill. That falls on students
and donors.”
Kathryn Greenwade, vice president of
Jennifer Reiley — THE BATTALION
Executive director and CEO of Texas Exes Leslie Cedar, Chair of the Board of
Directors in the Texas A&M Association of Former Students Bo Bradbury, Chair of the
University of Texas Development Board Charles Matthews and Texas A&M Interim
President Mark Hussey stand on the Senate floor during Wednesday's recognition of
Orange and Maroon Legislative Day.
the Association of Former Students, said
OMLD promotes awareness and commu
nication between the flagship universities
and legislators.
“We want to remind elected officials the
important contributions that both univer
sities make,” Greenwade said. “We don’t
want them to be taken for granted nor have
legislators forget the two gems Texas has in
these universities.”
On a day filled with news of national
signing day, Kelly said it was nice to come
together with a common purpose with stu
dents and alumni from UT.
“It’s funny that this lands on Signing
Day,” Kelly said. “We’ve all been watch
ing the feeds and the recruits that each of
us are getting committed to A&M and UT.
It’s a fun day because we have a rivalry but
then we’ve got a common goal as well.”
DREAM ACT
CONTINUED
lived in the state for three years
and must sign documentation
stating they are seeking legal
residency.
The act was passed in 2001
with bipartisan support, making
Texas the first state to pass a
law relating to in-state tuition
and undocumented students.
However, since the signing of
the law, Republican legisla
tors have attempted to repeal
the act. The current bill on file
dealing with the DREAM Act
is House Bill 360, filed in No
vember by Republican Rep.
Mark Keough. The bill, while
not explicitly mentioning the
DREAM Act, would effec
tively kill the law by requiring
applicants for in-state tuition to
have already become a citizen.
“Residents, who are unable
to provide verifiable proof of
citizenship or lawful residency
are prohibited from obtain
ing in-state tuition rates for
any semesters until which time
proof or verifiable status can be
obtained,” the bill reads.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has
made it clear in a number of
interviews that he is actively
working to repeal the DREAM
Act. Even if the bill by Keough
passes the legislature, it must
be approved by Gov. Greg
Abbott. However, advocates
of the DREAM Act shouldn’t
get their hopes up too high, as
Abbott was quoted during his
gubernatorial campaign saying
he would be willing to sign any
bill to repeal the law.
While he isn’t against the act
on principle, Abbott has con
cerns that the current act needs
to be fixed. In an interview
with KXAN television station
in January, Abbott told report
ers he believes the way the law
is structured is ‘flawed’ and ‘has
to be fixed.’
Flowever, the political
environment has changed since
the days of2001. Both houses
of the Texas Legislature have
a Republican majority, and
anyone who has seen the most
recent party platform objectives
of the Republican Party won’t
be encouraged by what they
have to say about the DREAM
Act. It states that a goal is to
stop in-state tuition for un
documented students.
If HB 360 is passed, the
chances of the act coming back
into law soon just doesn’t seem
likely. The bipartisanship that
passed the DREAM Act bill is
gone, and while reform may
be an option, it will likely take
some time for both sides of the
political line to find a solution
both can be happy with.
Advocates of the DREAM
Act are making their support
known. Rep. Rafael An-
chia (D-Dallas) filed a house
concurrent resolution listing
the benefits that the DREAM
Act has had so far for undocu
mented students and for the
state of Texas in general. In
the resolution, Anchia lists
several reasons, both economic
and social, as to why the state
legislature should uphold the
DREAM Act.
“In the 2010 fiscal year,
close to 16,500 undocumented,
immigrant students qualified
for in-state tuition, and the
students themselves paid $32.7
million in tuition and related
expenses; were these students
to be deprived of the incentives
offered by the Texas DREAM
Act, the loss to the Texas econ
omy would be considerable,”
Anchia said in the resolution.
For now, advocates and op
ponents of the DREAM Act can
communicate with their repre
sentatives and wait to see what
the 84th Legislative Session has
in store for higher education.
Jennifer Reiley is a
communication senior and assistant
managing editor for
The Battalion.
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Newsday Crossword
ACROSS
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first sees a
ghost
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68 Graphic artist's
stock
DOWN
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IN AGREEMENT by Billie Truitt
Edited by Stanley Newman
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Aggieland2015
It’s not too late
to order your copy of the
2015 Aggieiand yearbook.
The 113th edition of Texas
A&M's official yearbook will
chronicle the 2014-2015
school year - traditions,
academics, athletics, the
other education, the Corps,
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campus organizations, and
student portraits. Distribution
will be in Fall 2015.
By credit card go online to
http://aggieland.tamu.edu
or call 979-845-2613. Or
drop by the Student Media
office in Suite L400
of the MSC.
Aggieland2015