During the Sept. 18 Student Senate meeting, representative council members affirmed their dedication to the student body, and solidarity with all students as updated research information on DACA was described in preparation for their panel discussion at the following afternoon’s town hall.
Puente Project Counselor, Sandra Genera, said, “ Wow! Thank you very much, representatives. It’s been very nice to see your leadership grow here at Chabot, and to know how prepared you are by coming and presenting during the Chabot Town Hall.”
Sept. 19 was this school year’s first Student Senate sponsored Town Hall. In a notice to the entire campus via email, SSCC President Zaheer Ebtikar emphasized that the focus for this town hall would be Chabot’s response to the DACA program announcement, updates on SSCC projects, resources and information available on campus, and getting input from the students on current issues.
President Ebtikar kicked it off by updating all in the room on DACA related information at the state level. Ebtikar referenced Governor Brown’s $30 million earmarked for financial aid and legal services, “to help young people brought into this country illegally as children,” in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement regarding the DACA program.
Ebtikar also compared the DREAM Act to the American HOPE act of 2017, emphasizing the benefits of the Hope act. The American HOPE was introduced by Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois, with 116 sponsors. “The DREAM Act requires that Dreamers graduate from or complete two years of a higher education program, complete at least two years of military service, or be employed for at least three years to become lawful permanent residents. The American Hope Act has no such requirement,” says Christian Penichet-Paul, Policy and Advocacy Associate for the National Immigration Forum.
The SSCC with President Ebtikar, followed by members of the representative council including Valeria Diaz, Jeremy Yu, Lesly Avendano, Tatiana Howard, and Kirsten Fraser all showed their commitment, dedication and solidarity with the student body of Chabot College and those affected by immigration reform directly or indirectly. According to the SSCC during their Sept. 18 meeting, there will be a follow up to this in the form of a drafted resolution for Chabot College in response to DACA and the tragedy in Charlottesville. The resolution is said to cover free speech and expression over hate speech and violence, and to declare solidarity with all Chabot students.