UC Berkeley has started fundraising for a scholarship pool earmarked for the campus’ undocumented students.
The philanthropy campaign was started by UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau shortly after Gov. Jerry Brown signed the first part of the California DREAM Act — AB 130 — in July, which allows undocumented students at California colleges and universities to receive non-state-funded scholarships.
At a press conference on Aug. 24, Birgeneau said that he was optimistic about receiving support from national foundations for financial aid for undocumented students.
“I was in New York two weeks ago meeting with a foundation, talking to them about the opportunity AB 130 provides to make a political statement about support of undocumented students, and I’m optimistic about that,” he said.
The fundraising program is still in a preliminary planning phase, so a specific scholarship fund for undocumented students has not yet been set up, said David Blinder, associate chancellor for university relations.
According to Blinder, once created, the fund would be no different from any other scholarship fund within the financial aid office. Donors will be able to specify that their donation goes into the specific scholarship fund for undocumented students.
Like the scholarships that UC Berkeley already administers, the AB 130-specific scholarship money would be endowment-funded once a minimum of $50,000 worth of donations have been made into the fund.
Every year, the UC Berkeley Foundation decides to award between 4 and 6 percent of the amount in the scholarship fund, setting a payout figure of endowments that may vary from year to year.
Andy Lynch, program officer of the scholarship program at the Bernard Osher Foundation — a foundation that provides grants for higher education and the arts — said that while the foundation will continue to support UC Berkeley students through the Osher Reentry Scholarship Program and Incentive Awards Program, the foundation may not provide funds specifically for the campus’s undocumented students because it does not meet the criteria of programs the foundation wants to fund.
“Right now, our board is looking to fund scholarships for nontraditional, reentry students and for highly promising high school students,” he said. “While our programs don’t fund undocumented students specifically, if they qualify for one of the scholarships we are already funding, then we will support them.”
Jessica Lopez, co-chair of Rising Immigrant Scholars through Education, a campus organization for undocumented students, said that AB 130 prevents students from dropping out due to a lack of financial support.
“We cannot get financial aid, we cannot legally work, we have limited scholarship opportunities, cannot open loans,” said Ju Hong, an ASUC senator and an undocumented student. “AB 130 is a really great start for all of us to continue to have the same opportunities.”
State Assemblymember Gil Cedillo, of the 45th District and co-author of the California Dream Act, said that the second half of the act — AB 131 — will be heard in the state Senate within the next two days and return to the state Assembly by Friday for a vote. If passed by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, AB 131 will allow undocumented students at California colleges and universities to apply for over $38 million in state-funded financial aid, according to Cedillo.
“We want students to achieve an optimum level because they we can now say to them honestly that they are equal in the field of education,” Cedillo said.
He said that once AB 131 has been signed into law, he will be visiting several UC campuses to advocate for the funding of undocumented students.
Yet Lopez said that while providing financial support to undocumented students will help ease the financial burden, she and other students still face the emotional burden and stigma attached to being an undocumented student that a law cannot change.
“Sometimes education is not your priority number one because people just need to survive,” she said. “There are also institutional barriers, programs that we don’t qualify for and research opportunities that we can’t take. The talent and interest is there, but the one thing that is disqualifying us is a piece of paper.”
Amruta Trivedi covers academics and administration.
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America is founded with the Motto ” give me your poor and tired… ” Please do not be cynical and narrow minded when our finest Public University is able to offer the hope and opportunity to some of less fortunate people, students. Have we ever stopped to think “what sacrifice they may have made to stay here ” illegally” ? And be humiliated and be discriminated time and again!
And what is less dangerous: to let the “illegal” people get power of knowledge and shower them with the goodness of our institution or throw them either in jail or back to where they came from in their drug cartel run country where they will either get kiiled or be a part of the gang?
Chancellor Birgeneau should simply abolish the entire Campus Code of Student Conduct. After all, if students can’t be required to abide by U.S. immigration law then why should students be required to abide by the Code of Student Conduct?
At a press conference on Aug. 24, Birgeneau said that he was optimistic about receiving support from national foundations for financial aid for undocumented students.
“I was in New York two weeks ago meeting with a foundation, talking to them about the opportunity AB 130 provides to make a political statement about support of undocumented students, and I’m optimistic about that,” he said.
LOL, what a clown.
How sad the depths that a once great university has fallen to.
Supporting criminal illegal aliens above legal citizens and immigrants is a horrible slap in the face.
I used to be opposed to cutting the budget of the UC system, now I support cuts and deep ones at that. Sometimes bankruptcy can be the best medicine.
Careful. Vengeance can be a troublesome thing. Destroying a great university out of spite isn’t at all wise.
“Donors will be able to specify that their donation goes into the specific scholarship fund for undocumented students.”
You mean these scholarships will be available ONLY to illegal migrants? I thought the plan was to allow them to apply for privately funded scholarships on the same basis as everyone else.
The point here is that if the dream act will pass as a law then it will help cover fees of those who can’t afford to go to school and other purposes. It’s not about citizens vs. non citizens.
The point here is that California taxpayers will subsidize the education of non-citizens. Many would not want to do that.
The point here is that California taxpayers, including non-citizen tax payers HAVE been subsidizing the k-12 education of BOTH non-citizen and citizen children. It seems ridiculous to end this now when the students are able to earn a degree, get a better job, and pay BACK for this subsidized education through their ability to earn higher incomes than those who have achieved only a high school degree.
K-12 education is subsidized because it’s mandatory. Higher education is optional. There’s no entitlement. And I think you’re being untruthful when you claim that illegal immigrants can “get a better job.” They won’t be able to register for Social Security, get a driver’s license, apply for a passport, or pass a security check. Who will employ them at a high salary, drug cartels?
You’re treating the Dream Act as a preliminary to amnesty; it makes no sense as anything else.
[The point here is that California taxpayers, including non-citizen tax
payers HAVE been subsidizing the k-12 education of BOTH non-citizen and
citizen children.]
So that’s your excuse for providing even MORE incentive for these people to break the law?
Did you know that Californians applying to UC Berkeley are second class. Cal chancellor Birgeneau displaces qualified for public university education at Cal Californians with $50,600 foreign and out of state students.
Cal – ranked # 70 Forbes- is now the most expensive public university in USA
email you opinion to UC Board of regents [email protected]
@ucop:disqus
Make you opiniom count!
Did you know that NO WHERE in the college applications process are you EVER asked about your US citizenship? If you got in, its because you were more QUALIFIED than someone else, not because you are displacing someone.
Californians are displaced from public university education by $50,600 FOREIGN students.
Foreign students have a foreign address
Californians have a California address
UC Berkeley is now he most expensive public university in the use
email opinions to uc board of regents [email protected]
Rosa, did you know the UC’s utilize the “Comprehensive Review” approach when they evaluate an application? That means when you talk about how difficult your life has been living as an illegal alien (in your essay), the fact that you’re the first in your family to go to college, etc. gets preference over legal students. So no, you are not always academically more qualified and yes, you are displacing someone.
corrected email address for uc board of regents [email protected]
When legal citizens who are academically qualified can’t attend Cal for financial reasons, why are people raising money for ILLEGALS? This is a slap in the face to our own citizens. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?
Are you referring to 40% of high school students hailing from California’s middle
class families with an income between $80,000 and $120,000 who qualify
for no grant based financial aid and as a result only make up 7.5% of
students in the entire University of California system.
http://i51.tinypic.com/1zlydfc.jpg
email your opinion to UC Board of regents [email protected]
email your opinion to UC Board of regents [email protected]
corrected email address for ucboard of regents [email protected]
email your opinions to the uc board of regents [email protected]
“the one thing that is disqualifying us is a piece of paper”This attempt to trivialize the matter of citizenship and illegal migration is in bad taste; those who have citizenship or have applied for it legally do not want it reduced to nonsense. “The only difference between me and Warren Buffet is a few pieces of paper.”
email your opinion to uc board of regents [email protected]
corrected email address uc board of regents [email protected]
If you were actually versed in anything pertaining to immigration policy you would understand the point of the arbitrariness of “papers” Jessica was making. Particularly the process and how it affects undocumented students who were brought here as children. Because we did not leave our families and the US at the age of 17 we now face a 10 year bar before we can even APPLY for citizenship. For the time we are here even though they speak, read, and write English, attend top tier universities, have embraced and love both our native and American cultures, the only thing that says we are not “American” is a piece of documentation, a stamp on paper, a signature.
The only thing that says you’re not American is your citizenship in another country. You should migrate; your parents did. And you’d be more welcome in your own country than you are here. You have creamed off years of benefits from American taxpayers; now leave.
[If you were actually versed in anything pertaining to immigration policy
you would understand the point of the arbitrariness of "papers" Jessica
was making. Particularly the process and how it affects undocumented
students who were brought here as children. Because we did not leave our
families and the US at the age of 17 we now face a 10 year bar before
we can even APPLY for citizenship.]
Good, that’s the way it SHOULD be. You break the law, you lose your place in line. NO special favors for people breaking the law.
Great article. Beautifully written. =D
Undocumented students seeking financial aid may find this link helpful: http://bit.ly/qcCPz3.
or this: http://www.ice.gov/
Captain Morgan,
You might find this helpful
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Do you