As a high school senior, Rodrigo Velasquez said some universities would not accept his application because he was an undocumented immigrant from Bolivia.
Despite gaining permanent residency a year ago, he said he still faces prejudice, more so, he believes, because of the divisive rhetoric coming out of the presidential campaign.
That is why the George Mason University senior, the president of Mason DREAMers, is looking forward to attending the Clinton Global Initiative University April 2 in Berkeley, Calif. Attending with him will be junior Ana Tobar, the DREAMers’ internal vice president.
“Being able to do this,” Velasquez said, “shows the hard work our team has put in.”
Velasquez, a communication major, and Tobar, majoring in communication and global affairs, are two of 14 George Mason students invited to CGIU, which brings together students, university representatives and topic experts to develop solutions to social problems. Funding for the trip is provided by the Center for Advancement of Well-Being, University Life, and the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities and Research.
Mason students will present ideas for, among other things, clean water initiatives in the Amazon, refugee health and promoting nonviolence in Burundi.
Velasquez and Tobar will talk about the Northeast DREAMers Collegiate Alliance, the Mason DREAMers’ plan to create a coalition of universities that, as Velasquez said, “will work together to change institutional policies within our universities to be more accepting of undocumented students.”
“A lot of student leaders are undocumented and a lot of faculty and staff don’t know that,” Tobar said. “To be able to show what they are doing toward bettering the community is a great counter argument.”
To help make that argument, Mason DREAMers use the UndocuAlly program that, according to its website, “helps participants better understand the history, legislation and realities of the undocumented community.”
Within the Northeast DREAMers Collegiate Alliance, Velasquez hopes to see what he called a rapid response team to react quickly to changing legislation.
“Given the political environment, we need mass mobilization,” he said, “something effective that isn’t just hosted at Mason.”
DREAMers groups from the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Marymount and Columbia are already committed, Velasquez said.
“This is so important,” said Jennifer Crewalk, assistant director of Mason’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Education. “When we build a coalition across universities, it helps people feel they have a place of belonging that they may not have currently to look to. The success of one campus or one university really impacts what others want to do.”
As can a few committed DREAMers.
Other Mason students invited to attend CGIU:
Rebecca Dooley, sophomore, global affairs; Catriona Gates, senior, community health; Sameen Yusuf, junior, bioengineering: Refugee Health Campaign.
Ethan Ellert, senior, global affairs; Christine Figan, senior, environmental science; Ashley Fortner, junior, applied global conservation: Amazon Water Sanitation and Hygiene Project.
Hana Hanfi, senior, global health; Zeinab Safi, junior, neuroscience: Hargeisa (Somalia) Health Initiative.
Yafreisy Carrero, MS candidate, civil engineering: Landscape Mathematics Project.
Sixte Vigny Nimuraba, PhD candidate, conflict resolution: Promoting Nonviolence in Burundi.
Janna Van der Hoven, junior, global health: Exchange program for victims of female genital mutilation.
Courtney Woodard, junior, government and international politics, English: Regaining Worldwide Free Speech.