The Chico State Dream Center welcomed DREAM students on Friday at Sylvester’s Cafe. The goal was to provide students with knowledge on the resources available to them on campus.
The DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act provides a way to grant residency for people who came to America as minors.
A wide variety of organizations attended the reception, informing students about their services on campus. Some were general services to Chico State students, such as academic advising and financial aid, while others were more specific for Dreamers, such as the Dream Center and a student organization called LEAD, which stands for Leaders Education for the Advancement of Dreamers.
The goal of the organization is to provide support for undocumented students on campus, according to Maryann Estrada, the club historian. Members include both undocumented students and the people who support them.
LEAD provides many resources to students, such as hosting conferences, having guest speakers, holding workshops on topics such as financial aid, as well as “know your rights” workshops.
The club focuses on the well-being of their members, Estrada said. They aim to accomplish this through study groups with their members, as well as Sunday soccer games to provide a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
At the event, LEAD handed out red cards which had information on constitutional rights. The card, according to Estrada, is for when people encounter an ICE agent so they can know their rights in that situation.
LEAD is also a big advocate for the Dream Center here on campus, which they had a hand in establishing two years ago. The group proposed the need for a center on campus, which led to the making of the Dream Center.
The reception also had a table for a new major through the Multicultural Gender studies department called Intersectional Chicanx/Latinx studies, which started this fall. The bachelor’s degree in this program, according to the major description, is “an in depth and interdisciplinary analysis of United States Latinx communities in all their diversity.” The degree only has 75 spots available.
The Dream Center announced at the reception that they will be starting an internship program. Applications for the internship will be available soon on Handshake.
The Dream Center is located in Meriam Library, room 162, and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Jessie Imhoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JessieReports
