Yet another thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Here is a statement sent out today to all University of Arizona students and employees regarding students covered under DACA, the Dreamers:
To: UA campus community
From: Ann Weaver Hart, president
Date: Thursday, November 24, 2016
Re: Our University of Arizona Dreamers
The University of Arizona has long been a proponent of the impact of higher education and the difference it makes in the lives of our citizens and our communities. That includes supporting our students who are working to create a better life for themselves and their families and who are able to attend the UA only because of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Our support for them is unequivocal and we have reiterated that in a statement we shared Wednesday with news media covering the possibility of a retraction of DACA benefits.
The UA statement publicly stakes out our position on protecting DACA student information, providing advice and counsel for those students and ensuring any educational aspiration underway at the UA can be successfully completed regardless of events.
The University of Arizona support for DACA students
“The University of Arizona has welcomed and provided DACA students with all the support we can within our authority.
Much of what the writers ask for in the letter is already in place at the University of Arizona. Student privacy is assured by federal law, and it applies to all students regardless of residency status. That includes safeguarding their personal information, academic record, counseling services and any information the students want to withhold from the student directory. There already is an Immigrant Student Resource Center, funded by student fees that assists DACA and other students. Online degree programs are available and the cost is the same for all students regardless of residency or immigration status.
As for tuition, the Arizona Board of Regents sets tuition for the state’s public universities. In 2015, the Board decided to interpret its tuition policies in accordance with a Superior Court decision that determined that DACA students who meet residency requirements may qualify for resident tuition. That interpretation has not changed.
The University of Arizona is open to all qualified students and we value a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and people. Immigration status is not a question either our campus police or our admissions staff would ask.”
This is a strong statement and one that will hopefully make a real impact in protecting these brave and vulnerable students from the cruel deportation policies being proposed.