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Students rally at Capitol for California Dream Act
By Susan Ferriss - Bee Staff Writer
Published 7:24 pm PDT Monday, October 1, 2007
Student leaders from across the state rallied in Sacramento on Monday, urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill that would allow undocumented students who grew up here to apply for some grants and community-college tuition waivers.
"Do the right thing! Do the right thing!" chanted about 70 students -- many of them leaders of campus associations -- as they marched at the Capitol in favor of a bill known as the California Dream Act.
The University of California Student Association, the California State Student Association and other groups that organized Monday's rally are trying to build momentum to pressure the governor to sign the bill into law before an Oct. 14 deadline.
Undocumented students who attended California high schools for at least three years are allowed to pay in-state tuition, but are barred from loans or grants helping those from low-income families afford to attend school.
Every year, an estimated 65,000 undocumented kids graduate from high schools nationwide and are qualified to attend college. California is thought to be home to the biggest concentration of those students, with about 25,000 graduates a year.
A state cannot grant students legal status. But supporters of the California Dream Act say a state law could serve as a stopgap measure to educate kids who have no home other than the United States and should not be punished for their parents' decisions.
The bill before the governor -- authored by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles -- passed the Legislature in September. It would limit undocumented students to receiving tuition breaks for community colleges, and non-competitive entitlement grants to aid low-income students. Competitive Cal Grants would be off limits.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor's office is reviewing the bill, "but at this point the governor does not have a position."
For a complete story, see Tuesday's Bee.
About the writer:
- The Bee's Susan Ferriss can be reached at (916) 321-1267 or sferriss@sacbee.com.
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