Student group advocates for financial aid reforms on behalf of undocumented students

Michael, an undocumented first-year student who could not give his real name for security purposes, takes five buses every day to get to campus from his hometown of Duarte, a commute that often takes over five hours per day.

He spends no money while on campus, which often means he goes the entire day without eating.

Once he gets home at night, sometimes after 9 p.m., Michael has to spend time helping his single mother, who works long days and has problems with anxiety, depression and insomnia. This means that he often goes nights without sleeping so he can find the time to study, before waking up at 5 a.m. to start his commute to school.

“I’m making the best of it, but I have to deal with a lot,” said Michael of his experiences.

Michael’s mother makes just $12,000 a year, but his status as an undocumented student makes him ineligible for financial aid.

To address this problem, the student group Improving Dreams, Education, Access and Success, a support network for undocumented students, developed the Institutional Aid Resolution, which was designed to gain the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s support in an effort to make undocumented students eligible for institutional financial aid, said Sofia Campos, advocacy chair for IDEAS.

Currently, 30 percent of each undocumented student’s student fees go into the institutional aid pool, like all students. However, undocumented students are not eligible to benefit from this aid in the form of financial aid, grants, or scholarships because of their legal status, Campos said.

“We see that as a huge injustice,” she added.

Nancy Meza, external representative for IDEAS, said the group has been working with the office of USAC President Cinthia Flores to develop the resolution and to establish awareness of the circumstances faced by undocumented students.

“They are a very important constituency, they are some of the most outstanding scholars here, and it’s very important that they are able to stay in school,” Flores said of her office’s involvement.

She continued to say that her office and the undergraduate council as a whole will work towards establishing institutional aid eligibility, as well as providing general support for undocumented students by making sure that similar resolutions are passed at other campuses and that key administration officials at UCLA are in support of the resolution.

However, Facilities Commissioner Tim Mullins, who voted against the resolution, expressed concern that it did not address the most important issues regarding undocumented students.

Mullins said the resolution did not address the issue of legalization for students, and that council should focus on support of other legislation that does address this core issue, such as the Federal DREAM Act.

“I certainly respect the merits of the resolution, but the reason I voted “˜no’ is that it didn’t go far enough,” Mullins said.

Andrew Kreitz, former chair of Bruin Republicans, said he would be a proponent of the scholarship as long as it did not reduce the pool of money available to students who are citizens, suggesting the scholarship could be merit-based for undocumented students.

“On the whole, there really is not any strong opposition to the DREAM Act,” Kreitz said. “The United States is a land of opportunity; it’s best for (undocumented students), and best for our nation as a whole if they are able to get an education and contribute to society.”

Campos said many undocumented students face great difficulty in funding their education, and would benefit greatly from being given access to these funds.

Many of them, like Michael, make long commutes because they are unable to pay for housing, and many work long hours at one or more jobs in able to pay their own student fees, Campos said.

These jobs are often temporary, under-the-table positions that leave students in circumstances of further instability, she added.

Campos said undocumented students have been facing even greater challenges in the face of the current student fee hikes, and that many have been forced to drop out for financial reasons.

Campos said she understands how trying it is for other undocumented students to be forced to drop out, as she herself had to leave UCLA during fall quarter last year because she was unable to pay her fees.

During her quarter away, Campos said she worked full time and took community college courses at night, as many undocumented students do in hopes of earning enough money to return to school.

“You feel like maybe you’re a failure, and it reminds you that you’re not like everyone else,” Campos said.

Eder Gaona, co-chair of IDEAS, said that of the 60 to 70 active members of the group, 15 to 20 have had to drop out this quarter.

“And that’s just the students we have access to,” Gaona said, “we know there are others.”

Like Campos and Gaona, Meza’s own experiences are her motivation for fighting to improve circumstances for undocumented students in the future.

Meza said she attended community college for three years and saved money to come to UCLA, finally applying once she had earned enough to pay for one quarter.

Meza eventually earned a scholarship for her tuition fees, but said that her future is still far from set.

She plans to attend law school, but does not know how she will pay for it, and is unsure of whether she will be able to put her degree to use after she graduates.

“I could end up graduating law school and still be undocumented … that’s just how broken our system is,” Meza said.

Because of this, Meza said she was glad to see the resolution passed by the council.

“It showed that the majority of our student government is supportive,” Meza said. “As an undocumented student, that meant a lot to me.”