Posted on 12/14/2012 2:21:43 AM PST by equaviator
With red tape over their mouths, roughly 100 University of Michigan students wearing maize T-shirts pushed their chairs aside and sat on the ground during a Board of Regents meeting Thursday.
The students were silently protesting against current tuition practices at the university, which don't offer illegal immigrants who attended Michigan high schools in-state tuition.
[ University Students, Faculty and Staff Receive 5% off purchases of $25 or more. ]
For more than a year, a large group of students have petitioned U-M for tuition equality.
"What's happening isn't right. Undocumented students unfairly have a barrier," said John D'Adamo, a U-M junior and a member of the U-M Coalition for Tuition Equality who protested during the 4 p.m. regents meeting. "They're often discouraged from coming to the University of Michigan."
Tuition equality would allow illegal immigrants who attended Michigan high schools to attend the college for in-state rates, which are $12,994 for underclassmen this year. Currently, illegal immigrants would pay $39,122, the out-of-state rate for underclassmen.
Michigan student Curdit Suri holds a sign as he address University of Michigan regents in support of tuition equality during a board of regents meeting at the Michigan Union on Thursday. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
The tuition difference, equality supporters say, puts U-M out of financial reach for most illegal immigrants that grew up in Michigan.
During the public comments session, Curdit Suri —red duct tape over his mouth— stood before regents while a recording of his message played. Suri talked about his grandfather, who attended the university decades ago.
"He is ashamed that the University of Michigan fails to lead on tuition equality, that the university deprives bright undocumented students the same transformative opportunity that has allowed him to attend here," Suri said in the recording.
Added Maria Cotera, a faculty member speaking on behalf of the Latino studies program at the school: "We are very surprised that the university is placing barriers to qualified resident students who have show great resilience and drive... and who, but for a lack of a social security number, would likely make important contributions to the betterment of the state."
U-M task force looking into tuition equality
This semester, a task force assembled by U-M Provost Philip Hanlon began meeting biweekly to establish recommendations for tuition equality at the school. The group will present a final report of recommendations to U-M President Mary Sue Coleman, although the group is lagging behind the end-of-the-semester deadline originally set by Hanlon.
"So far the working group hasn't come up with a anything and the administration has refused to make public comments on the issue," said D'Adamo, a U-M junior. "This [protest] is essentially to try to show the administrators and others that there are a lot of students on this campus that are for tuition equality."
Hanlon said the university isn't offering any statements on tuition equality until the task force finishes its report.
"We want to hear what they have to say," Hanlon said in an interview.
Hanlon said the task force is composed of three students and three administrators, each group writing different sections of the report. The group recently visited two flagship universities in California that have tuition provisions for illegal immigrants.
"The group did take trips out to University of California at Los Angeles and Berkley... They talked to people out there about how they did things," Hanlon said. "I thought that was important because those are two institutions that are comparable in many ways, in quality and being public."
Hanlon expects the report to be completed in January, he said.
Other schools
Students in attendance criticized U-M for being slow to change its tuition practices. They cited other schools, nationally and locally, that have more immigrant-friendly policies.
"We all believe everyone deserves an equal opportunity," said junior Rachel Oakford, who attended the protest. Fellow attendee freshman Connie Gao called tuition equality "a human issue."
Tuition equality varies throughout the state, although multiple student bodies are rallying college administrators to establish an equality policy.
Eastern Michigan University's Board of Regents earlier this year determined that the school could not offer undocumented students in-state tuition rates because doing so, administrators found, could violate federal grant and funding requirements.
The school is, however, looking into establishing a scholarship fund that would offer illegal immigrants grants that would reduce their tuition to in-state levels.
Western Michigan University students who can prove in-state residency are awarded in-state tuition, regardless of their citizenship status.
Massachusetts also announced a plan in November to allow illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates at public colleges. A form of tuition equality was recently legalized by voters in Maryland. In that state, illegal immigrants can attend in-state colleges for free after proving they've attended state high schools and spent two years in a state community college.
One illegal immigrant spoke to regents during their public comments session. She said she grew up in Michigan and wanted to attend U-M as an undergraduate, but couldn't afford the out-of-state rate she would need to pay.
"I am here putting a face to this issue. I am only one of 29,000 undocumented students that are here in the state of Michigan and that are affected by this policy," said Xochitl Cossyleon. "Be on the right side of history and be the leaders and the best on this issue."
Same article, slightly different title:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2968555/posts
Undocumented. Heaven forbid, the media would call them ILLEGALS.
We don’t want to offend, you know.
(Spit)
You know...it would be interesting to track down where the term ‘undocumented’ started. I don’t think I ever heard the word until the Bush era.
Heck, if I was college age I wouldn't even be able to afford the resident tuition rates........I'd probably do the first two years at a community college.
I think that the students who protested should be given the bills for tuition and legal representation required by the illegals. Maybe then they would see the importance of not simply putting out your hand and expecting it to be filled with cash.
What’s happening isn’t right.
But being Illegal is ok? Guess if its a vote for Democrats all is ok.
They are illegals.
Here are some alternatives for those “undocumented” students to consider:
Instituto Politécnico Nacional
Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora
Universidad de Colima
Universidad de Guanajuato
Universidad de Quintana Roo
Universidad de Sonora
Universidad de Guadalajara
Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango
Universidad Veracruzana
Instituto Tecnológico de Aguascalientes
Instituto Tecnológico de Acapulco
Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya
Instituto Tecnológico de Chetumal
Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez
Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Madero
Instituto Tecnológico de Chihuahua
Instituto Tecnológico de Chihuahua II
Instituto Tecnológico de Culiacán
Instituto Tecnológico de Durango (ITD)
Instituto Tecnológico de Ensenada (ITE)
Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo
Instituto Tecnologico de La Piedad
Instituto Tecnologico de La Laguna
Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali (ITM)
Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia (ITM)
Instituto Tecnológico de Oaxaca (ITO)
Instituto Tecnológico de Puebla (ITO)
Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Puerto Penasco
Instituto Tecnológico de Querétaro (ITQ)
Instituto Tecnológico de Saltillo
Instituto Tecnológico de Tepic (ITT)
Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana (ITT)
Instituto Tecnológico de Toluca
Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtepec
Instituto Tecnológico de Veracruz
Instituto Tecnológico de Villahermosa
Instituto Tecnológico de Zacatepec
Instituto Tecnológico del Valle de Oaxaca
Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Cajeme
Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Ciudad Constitución
Instituto Tecnológico Superior del Sur de Guanajuato
Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Zacapoaxtla
Instituto Tecnológico Superior Zacatecas Occidente
Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca
Universidad Autónoma de Campeche
Universidad Autónoma del Carmen
Universidad Autónoma Chapingo
Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas
Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua
Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México
Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Universidad Autónoma de Durango
Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara
Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero
Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí
Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa
Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas
Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala
Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán
Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana
Universidad Autonoma de Veracruz Villa Rica
Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior
Centro de Estudios Universitarios Xochicalco
Centro Universitario México
Centro Universitario Grupo Sol
Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Tamaulipas
Escuela Libre de Derecho
Pontifical University of Mexico
Seminario Teológico Juan Calvino
Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara
Universidad Anáhuac del Sur / Universidad Anáhuac del Norte
Universidad Casa Blanca
Universidad Cristobal Colon
Universidad Anáhuac
Universidad de las Americas
Universidad de las Américas Puebla
Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana
Universidad Humanitas
Universidad del Noroeste
Universidad del Valle de México
Universidad del Nuevo Mundo
Universidad de Montemorelos
Universidad de Monterrey
Universidad de Navojoa
Universidad España
Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México
Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla
Universidad Intercontinental
Universidad La Salle
Universidad Latina de América
Universidad Latina de Mexico
Universidad Latinoamericana
Universidad Linda Vista
Universidad Motolinía
Universidad Panamericana Sede Guadalajara
Universidad Panamericana Sede México
Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
Universidad Regiomontana
Universidad TecMilenio (U
Universidad Tecnológica de México
Universidad del Golfo de México
Universidad del Valle de México
Universidad Mexico Internacional,
Universidad La Salle
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
What few people realize, even those who are against DREAM ACT-style Illegal Alien Amnesty, is that In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens comes out of your pocket....YOUR TAX DOLLARS will pay for Illegal Aliens to go to government-funded schools (while you struggle to send your own children)
Think about that every time you claim Pro-Amnesty Liberals and DREAM ACTers like Marco Rubio are “conservative”
DREAM ACT Amnesty is a total diss to real International Students...who are required to pay full non-resident tuition, must have a Student Visa, required to have US Health Insurance (pre-ObamaCare law), and are limited to 19 hrs work per week. And, remember, International Students ENTERED THE US LEGALLY...unlike Illegal Aliens
I am tired of subsidizing Illegal Aliens.
The full subtext is globalist Quisling traitors trying to destroy the USA as a sovereign superpower.
And they looked just DAHLING in their red tape mouths (giggle) and their maize T shirts, sweetie.
“They are illegals.”
Foreigners of the worst kind.
Why would anyone want to start off as a fraud in the United States of America?
This is madness. They are criminals. Have a meeting to hear their complaints and arrest them all.
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