As election season nears, students had the opportunity to learn more about the immigration debate as part of the Courageous Voices series, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
The Courageous Voices series aims to “focus on fostering constructive dialogue about some of society’s most contentious issues, including but not limited to: race, religion, sexual orientation and conflicts throughout the world.”
Although the program had been put on in the past, it was resurrected a year ago by Luz-Colon Rodriguez, Assistant Director for Outreach & Programming in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Each month, Ms. Rodriguez works with a different student group in order to hold a discussion on a controversial topic of their choosing.
Last year, Rodriguez said she organized about five or six Courageous Voices events. “We usually do topics that maybe have caused a stir in the public,” Ms. Rodriguez said.
This year, Rodriguez says she hopes to put on about one Courageous Voices talk each month. The Multicultural Student Health Organization helped run last month’s discussion, which revolved around racial disparities in health care.
The Latino Law Student Association and the Latino Student Association helped put on the immigration debate, entitled “The DREAM Act vs. the Deferred Action Policy”.
The discussion primarily focused on the differences between the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the executive order put forth by President Barack Obama.
Jose Rodriguez, the President of the Latino Law Student Association, and one of the students who led the event, helped explain the essential differences between the two.
“For the most part the DREAM Act would be a six-year permanent residence which would be a path to citizenship; DACA on the other hand is not,” Mr. Rodriguez said.
While the event primarily focused on dialogue, the groups also held an activity to simulate the different experiences illegal immigrants can face in the U.S.
One group of students sat in a circle, talking about the presidential debate, while another group of students sat directly outside the circle, where they could participate in the discussion somewhat, but were still not fully in the circle. The last group of students sat in the farthest possible corner away from the circle, where they could see the circle and hear part of their discussion, but could not participate it.
Mr. Rodriguez said the activity meant to represent the different levels of participation illegal immigrants can have in American society. He also said that this is one thing that makes solving immigration problems difficult, because there since every immigrant has a different background and a different level of involvement in society, “there is no one clear-cut solution.”
Overall, Mr. Rodriguez thought the event went well. In particular, he was surprised by how much the students who came to the event knew about immigration.
“For the most part, everyone knew something about it”, Mr. Rodriguez said.
While the immigration discussion was a one-time topic, the Courageous Voices program will be holding an event next month concerning the regulation of alcohol in the town of White Clay near in the Pine Ridge Reservation in Nebraska. Ms. Rodriguez also said she is looking for other student groups to host Courageous Voices programs next semester. Any interested groups can contact her or the Office of Multicultural Affairs.