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Check out this video that some students from Hunter College High School in New York City put together, explaining why we support the NY DREAM Act. Once you've watched it, make sure to sign the petition!
The New York State DREAM Act promotes equal access to education by extending eligibility for state financial aid to undocumented students.
Children who have grown up in New York and graduated from our high schools are being denied a fair chance. According to state law they are not able to qualify for financial aid, and thus attending college becomes a financial impossibility for undocumented children.
The most common criticism of the bill is that it will take away "our" opportunities. But who is the us? The us that we high schoolers know are the people we grow up with, the peers we study with, and the teammates we play basketball with. Undocumented students are a part of our us. We all go to school together.
We, the high schoolers, believe that everyone deserves a fair chance, and it pains us to see some of our classmates denied the same opportunities that we have.
Officials estimate that extending financial aid would cost the state under $20 million yearly. That's how much New York City spends fixing its potholes every five weeks. For a small cost, the New York State DREAM Act could create a more educated population. In the long run this would likely reduce the budget deficit, since the college-educated tend to be less of strain on social support programs and to contribute more in tax revenue. Furthermore, obtaining a college education could be a path to citizenship for many undocumented teenagers, many of whom were brought to the United States as very small children.
The DREAM Act passed in the Assembly. It was supposed to go to a vote in the State Senate on April 1st. But on March 17th, the Senate, in a surprise move, took it to the floor—a political maneuver to kill the bill before pro-DREAM supporters had an adequate chance to rally for its cause. The vote—30 yeas and 29 nays—fell just two votes short of the 32 required for passage. But although the State Senate has already voted, the fight for equal access to New York State education is not over.
Let's start not just thinking about fixing our old potholes, but planning for our state's future. The state budget will be passed this Tuesday, April 1st, and with your support, the DREAM Act will make it in.
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