Students Start their own University
For Immediate Release Media Contact: Deivid Ribeiro
July 14th 508-292-5163
Students Start their own University
Boston, MA-
The Student Immigrant Movement reaffirms its commitment to doing everything possible to pass the DREAM Act. In a move bigger than the successful MassHope2010 Vigil in front of the MA State House, SIM plans to join DREAM University, an indefinite school organized by United We Dream in front of the US Capitol to remind Washington legislators that passing the DREAM Act shouldn’t be about partisan politics. It should be about sound education policy.
“This is bigger than the vigil this is bigger than anything we have done before,” said Deivid Ribeiro, Communications Associate from SIM. “We have been denied equal and just access to education, and we can’t wait any longer. We will make our own school, a university founded on the principle that expanding the right to higher education to all in this country regardless of nation, creed, or status, is long overdue.”
Because access to the education world has long been limited for so many, DREAMers are bringing the educators to everyone. Beginning on July 14 and continuing throughout the summer, SIM and United We Dream will welcome the inaugural class of “DREAM University,” where participants don’t have to show citizenship status in order to attend free lectures by academics, organizers, and other thought leaders. Activities will take place on public grounds near the U.S. Capitol and White House.
“We will stay there as long as it takes. This is about more than just immigration status; we are students working for education and equality. We’ve been here all our lives, we’ve worked hard, and were constantly told no, but we will continue. We will build our own university and we will never give up.”
For more information, please contact Deivid Ribeiro at 508-292-5163 or contact http://www.simforus.com
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The Student Immigrant Movement is a nonprofit organization led and made up of immigrant students around Massachusetts. SIM recently held a constant vigil in front of the MA State house for 18 days, 24/7, in which students braved rain, hot days and cold nights to remove Anti-Immigrant amendments from the state budget. SIM was successful and has gained local notoriety since. Based out of Boston, SIM has a leadership team spread around the state, including Cape Cod, Worcester and New Bedford. SIM advocates for the DREAM Act, a bill that would grant a new pathway to permanent residency by attending college for 2 years or joining the armed forces for 2 years for minors who were brought to the United States before the age of 16. SIM provides youth leadership training and develops youth leaders who are invested in improving their communities.
The United We Dream Network (UWD) is a national youth-led network devoted to achieving equal access to higher education for all people, regardless of immigration status. UWD is dedicated to the passage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a bipartisan legislation that would permit a select group of undocumented students, conditional legal status and eventual citizenship in the U.S. For more information on the DREAM Act, visit UWD’s website http://www.unitedwedream.org/