For all my life, I have felt as though I need to fight to be heard. I have been resisting the subtle and not subtle forms of discrimination and oppression. I spent the majority of my high school years, being an “activist.” But I found that more than anything I was talking, rather than acting. I left high school tired. Constantly educating and correcting people, was mentally exasperating. So when I entered college I made it a goal to take a step back.

However this past week, I was welcomed back into the world of activism. I had the opportunity to sit down with a group of motivated and proactive groups of student activist on campus.  We spent the majority of our time discussing the hurdles and obstacles that DREAM Cornell (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) and allies face with Cornell administration and students’ disposition. On many accounts, these students don’t feel heard or acknowledged. The reoccurring theme I gathered from this conversation was that undocumented students want to have dignity. And I pose the question all those reading: is that too much to ask for?

There is such a deep stigma attached to being undocumented in America. Cornell’s campus is not excluded. One of the student panelist shared that being undocumented isn’t shameful in her community. But once she leave the bubble of home, she was plagued with constant fear. While Cornell may be relatively safe for undocumented students, my fellow classmates still hold the fear that someone may report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that there are illegal immigrants living in the Latino living center.

I was surprised to learn that for sometime undocumented students were categorized as international students. And while this isn’t the case anymore, DREAM Cornell still feels an obligation as well as connection with their fellow students. When the University announced that they would discontinue need-blind admission to International students, DREAM protested in solidarity. Activism doesn’t have to be loud. And the DREAM cornell displayed that accurately when they entered the student union with butterflies wings in order to emphasize the power of action compared to words.

Student activism begins by listening. It begins by welcoming all bodies in whatever form they come in. Activism isn’t productive without inclusion and intersectionality. And I agree with many of panelist when I say, as a collective body we move nowhere when sectors of our groups are further disenfranchised and forgotten.

For the undocumented students of Cornell University and beyond, please know that I am listening. Your concerns and issues will always been heard by me. Thank you for sharing your story. 

Growing up, I had a contradictory view on what activism meant. One the one hand, activism was the source of my freedom as an African American. On the other hand, activism was something not in line with the respectability politics I had been taught. For many years, I have carried respectability politics with me. Part of the reason has to do with being raised by a generation of African Americans, who grew up during the process of integration. They were taught to not draw too much attention to themselves, to dress and act “properly,” and to not put themselves in positions that would target them. Never in a million years would I ask to be raised differently.

I have no intentions of changing the respectability politics with which I operate. Instead, I do two things: 1) I make sure that my respectability politics do not hinder me addressing problematic statements and acts that are direct threats to my well being, and 2) I attend events like the Students in Activism workshop which helps me to gain perspective and support/change my personal positions on subject matter.

For instance, the workshop was focused on immigration. I consider immigration to be one of those topics – the touchy ones. The topics that you do not address because you do not have all of the facts. The topics that you do not address because your bias may prevent you from being fair, because you do not have experience with the subject matter. However, being in the workshop helped to further a perspective that I seldom hear: The prospective of the undocumented student. Some of my thoughts were debunked, while others were affirmed. Ultimately I enjoyed attending the workshop and engaging with students who had experiences that no one in my living families have ever experienced.

However, the workshop reminded me of a few key things that I have come to terms with in college. Activism has many faces. It can show its face in protests or addressing problematic statements in class discussion. Activism is not tied to just the actions made by movement leaders, but also the undocumented students who break barriers. All in all, this workshop helped to highlight the importance of deciding which role one would like to play, and to understand the short- and long- effects.

Last week, I went to the student activism event thinking that it would be structured more as a conventional leadership workshop. I’ve been to about 10 of these workshops and while they do preach important messages, they get to be very “cookie cutter” after a while. This event was different. We did not sit down and talk about networking or handshaking; we talked about an issue specifically relevant to Cornell campus (an issue I really never thought about before). We talked about undocumented students. We talked about the fact that the US government ultimately is looking for reasons to deport them out of the country; we talked about how they work so much harder for fundamental rights most of us seem to take for granted; and most importantly, we talked about what people are doing to combat the negative stereotypes surrounding undocumented students.

In fact, we were introduced to a a panel of students who formed a club to combat these negative stereotypes. They work to create a welcoming community for others facing the same situation. And honestly, I cannot see why they must be labeled differently from the rest of us. If nobody told me about the stereotype, I probably would not have known about it. These students are no different from the rest of us–They attend college. They value education. They work hard. They are people too. Is it even necessary to label them as “undocumented?” Does it matter whether or not they are officially labeled to inhabit a specific region of land in this entire world? We are all people. Isn’t it enough that their parents worked so hard to get into this country and they’ve worked so hard to get to the place they are right now? I guess I think this is a much bigger problem than it needs to be, and these students are paying for it. It’s just plain unfair. Our country preaches equality and justice, but I guess it’s important to consider the qualification: equality and justice for whom?

Before this week I did not know what the dream team even was. I am so happy that I went to this discussion this week because I learned a lot about the struggles that undocumented students face and how every aspect of their life is affected. I thought it was great that the group of students are bringing awareness to others and are working to help other students going through such an experience. They are also looking to make a difference by influencing policies at Cornell. I think something needs to be done to help students and their families that have been here for years be able to gain access to the same resources that all citizens have. I was moved by how empowering each story was about dealing with the realization of being undocumented and what that means. The most important take away was that these students speak about their own stories in order to help others by letting them know they are not alone. There is also an amazing network that is working to help undocumented individuals navigate legal documents in order to be able to get a driver’s license and get into college.

On Wednesday, I had the chance to hear from the Cornell Dream Team, a student activist team for undocumented students at Cornell University.

Learning about the Dream Team, as a former undocumented student, was incredible. I knew they were a club on campus but I did not necessarily know what they did. I was always kind of hesitant to get involved but after the event, I think I will go out to one of their meetings.

They spoke of things familiar to me: the hurdles students have to overcome to get to college, the fear of deportation, the inequity of tuition, the inaccessibility of financial aid, and their personal stories. As they spoke, I thought of all of my family that has been deported. I thought of the times I have had to renew my visa without knowing if it would or would not get accepted. I remember crossing the border in fear of not being let into the place I call home.

It was a great event– an emotional one too. So thank you Dream Team and thank you Rose.

this is a more difficult to write about than most. i didn’t know anything about the issues that undocumented students face before we had our discussion about it, and i feel like the there’s still quite a lot that i don’t know. it was interesting to hear the perspectives of people who are actually in that situation though. the dream team explained there are many more students here who undocumented than one might think who are afraid to come out as such, for fear of getting in trouble or being looked down on. beyond that, undocumented students have to worry about their parents potentially being deported, or suddenly not having any way to pay for their education. i definitely took for granted until now the fact that i don’t have to worry about those things. i guess the two big takeaways i got from this discussion in light of that would be 1. to always be appreciative of how fortunate i am, and 2. to pay more attention to those around me, and to always try to be supportive and open-minded. i’d give this event a 10/10.

The presentation by the Dream Cornell Students was not actually one of my favorite events, but it was still very interesting. This may be because I fundamentally disagree with a few of the things the students said. I agree one hundred percent that we need immigration reform in America, and that it isn’t fair the way undocumented students are treated. They should not have to live in constant fear of deportation, and they should be able to seek help when they need it without fear of retribution. However, I disagree with some of the arguments they were making. I do think a path to citizenship should be easier, but I don’t think it’s fair to say that just because your parents are good people automatically means they should be citizens. I am not trying to be rude or disrespectful to anyone’s parents, and I do believe they worked hard to get you here, but it seems very ungrateful to say that if you gain citizenship through acts like the Dream Act, then your parents deserve automatic citizenship too, because they made you who you are and gave you everything. I think we need to make it easier for adults to become citizens, but I don’t think it’s fair to disparage the act, which is certainly a step in the right direction, because it doesn’t cover everything you want.

One thing I did completely agree with the Dream students on is the treatment of international students. The University has recently decided that DOCA students will start getting federal financial aid, while international students will no longer be accepted on a need blind basis. This is absolutely not a fair tradeoff, and I am glad the Dream students are acting in solidarity with international students instead of just accepting this advance as a win for them.