The Cal Sate Long Beach Assembly Bill 540 task force is working with CSULB administration to take the necessary steps in order to turn the Dream Resource Center into a reality, but it’s taking a bit of time.
Some students backing the DRC blame the administration for dragging their feet in making the center a priority. We feel that the presence of a DRC in the CSU will come with huge benefits, therefore its implementation should take priority.
AB 540 task force student representative and Associated Students Inc. Senator-at-Large Erika Suarez said that the administration needs to stand by the AB 540 students to help them succeed.
We agree with Suarez that there is an urgency to get the DRC moving in order to ensure the success for AB 540 university students. It’s important to take notice of the makeup in our student body: every individual counts in creating a fair and balanced university where all student needs are met.
AB 540, passed in 2001, was meant to provide undocumented students the ability to attend a California college, if they met the following criteria, which included: attendance in a California high school for at least 3 years, and motivation to graduate. Aren’t these the same qualities that all students share within the public school system?
It’s hard to pinpoint potential pitfalls of creating a DRC at universities. We don’t see why the resource center would be a bad thing if it would do so many things for AB 540 students like providing scholarship opportunities, tutoring services, financial aid and creating a community for one another.
For a lot of students in the CSU, these kinds of opportunities are so plentiful that we may take them for granted. For AB 540 students, that is not the case.
We find it unfair that not all students are given the same opportunities based on their citizenship. Cal State Universities provide higher education at an affordable price, but it’s easy to forget about how high tuition rates are for the AB 540 students.
Just because AB 540 students are undocumented, nothing stops them from being active members in the student body, maybe even more so than the rest of us.
With the growing number of AB 540 students, many are heavily involved in the university, such as ASI. So, why not give them a place to be surrounded by support and also give AB 540 students the same resources that the rest of us have on campus right now?
The only negative result that we can predict is the effect a DRC may have on taxpayers, assuming that it would be funded by the state.
However, we feel that if taxes are raised for this kind of project, the benefits of bringing a DRC to universities far outweigh any small financial dip. DRC is a resource for accommodating a growing economy.
There are already groups on campus that tailor towards minority students, and having DRC as official group is the next logical step.
Since there is no DRC on a CSU campus yet, we say The Beach should lead the wave.