By John Newton, La Voz Latina, Savannah, Ga.
The human brain is hard-wired for fairness.
Behavioral scientists have demonstrated conclusively that even very young children react strongly when their elemental sense of fair play is violated.
This is why violent protests have rocked the streets of Ferguson, Missouri.
In a city where nearly 70% of the population is African-American, only three members of the 53-officer police department are black. To be sure, the lawless actions of some Ferguson protestors have tainted their message but, regardless of whether or not the ongoing investigation ultimately justifies the actions of the police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teen, a substantial majority of black citizens in the US today feel they are not treated fairly by our country’s criminal justice system.
A similar cry for fairness is why SUYA was formed last fall in Savannah.
The Savannah Undocumented Youth Alliance or SUYA is a grassroots collective composed of undocumented youth who live in the Savannah area. For many of them, President Obama’s deferred action policy (or DACA) enacted in the fall of 2012 was a game-changer. Through this policy change, they were granted legal status and given work permits, a driver’s license and a social security number– all the tools needed to lead productive lives in the place where they have lived the majority of their lives. And while DACA provides a renewable two-year protection from deportation, it does not provide a pathway to citizenship.
SUYA is working to end the Georgia Board of Regents Policy 4.1.6, which prohibits undocumented students from applying to the top five universities in the state of Georgia. They are also pressuring the Regents to grant in-state tuition to students who have gained lawful presence through the DACA program. SUYA students attending Armstrong State University pay an average of $9,000 per semester versus the $3,000 paid by students with residency status.
These students are committed to changing the hearts and minds of mainstream US citizens who may be aware of their situation generally but have no personal context for understanding the devastating financial impact the Regent’s policy has on their educational goals.
Tom Kohler has been the Coordinator and Executive Director for the Chatham-Savannah Citizen Advocacy for the past 31 years. His organization initiates and supports one-to-one citizen advocacy matches between people who have developmental disabilities and local citizens.
“I got involved with SUYA because I was asked to meet with two students and hear what they were doing,” Kohler said. “Both were under 21 years old, were working almost full time, going to Armstrong, making great grades, one aiming for medical school, the other for law school. One of the students told a story about her local high school teachers helping raise money to get her into college after they realized that she would not be able to receive the HOPE scholarship, or pay in-state tuition. Having just sent two daughters through college using HOPE and in-state tuition, I felt like these two young people, and others like them should have the same chance. We need to create opportunity, not roadblocks, for them to be part of America. I know that it will not always be easy, but it was not always easy for the Irish, the Eastern European, and other immigrants who came to and have been incorporated into the American experience.”
Felix Montanez is a local, bilingual attorney who also supports SUYA’s efforts. “I’ve volunteered to help SUYA in my free time because, in my view, DACA beneficiaries are being treated unfairly,” he said. “Most DACA beneficiaries whom I have met are extraordinarily committed to furthering their education, to helping others, and to being successful members of society. They are lawfully present. Their demand for equal access to higher education is eminently right and reasonable. I think societies are judged by how they treat their most vulnerable members. Georgians have a choice of whether to continue marginalizing and stigmatizing DACA beneficiaries or whether to accept and recognize them as integral to the state’s future. I choose the latter.”