DREAM Week promotes awareness at A&M

The DREAM Act Group at Texas A&M and the Honduran Student Association have collaborated to present DREAM Week through Friday.

Various events have been planned and implemented during the week to raise awareness of the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.

Events completed so far during the week include a vigil at All Faiths Chapel and a panel discussion in Rudder.

“DREAM Week is an entire week where we are giving information about the DREAM Act. We’re just trying to bring awareness to Texas A&M about this issue,” said supporter Jose Zelaya.

The DREAM Act was introduced in 2009 as a bill that would provide opportunity for qualifying high school graduates a chance to earn conditional permanent residency. This would in turn allow them to go to college or join the military.

“The DREAM Act is one of those things that every college campus and student should be aware of,” said act supporter and senior communication major Luis Gonzales. “Events like the ones showcased during DREAM Week only strengthen a campus' perception of the legislation, who it affects, and why it is salient to anyone in higher education.”

The week has been co-hosted with various other student organizations including Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Society of Mexican American Engineers & Scientists, and Destino.

“We’re just trying to keep momentum so this bill can pass,” said supporter and organizer for the event, Greisa Martinez. “We plan to reach those people who may not know much about the Act. We want people to know this is not just a Latino issue, it affects all of us all Aggies.”

The DREAM Act has a few requirements in order for students to obtain conditional permanent residency. The student must have arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16; must have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 consecutive years; must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of the bill enactment; must have graduated from an American high school or obtained a GED and must have “good moral character.”

“We just want people to know the hard situations that undocumented students go through,” Zelaya said. “We want them to know that it’s not easy for students like this. That’s one of the main reasons why people drop out of school, because they don’t have a goal and can’t go to college.”

The national movement, United We Dream, designated the last week in February as the week for this, but the DREAM Act group at A&M decided to keep the momentum going and continue it in March.

“Hopefully by the end of this week, people know more about [DREAM Act],” Martinez said. “We just want to create a discussion about it. Some people are not going to agree we us no matter how much they know, but at the end of the day, we don’t want people to say they didn’t know.”

The DREAM Act group also does various events throughout the semester to bring awareness about the act. The group has presentations and tries to find organizations both in and outside of Texas A&M to support their cause.

Events for Thursday and Friday include a documentary screening and a field day in Anderson Park.

“The Act is not about politics because DREAM is bipartisan legislation,” Gonzales said. “If anything, it’s the right thing to do, it’s just, and it’s necessary.”