the extracurriculars

So racing soda cans using electrostatic attraction in the hallway in front of Freddy's office turned out to be a good thing: Freddy offered his help to start a jam session on Friday afternoons for our students. It's revived my floundering Guitar Club and really enthused some students. On our first gathering, we worked on "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and last week, we introduced "Wagon Wheel". "Brown Eyed Girl" is this Friday.

It's funny how many times being a teacher has already put me on the spot: I don't ever play guitar or sing in public, but my students still look to me to lead, so it's forced me to. And then they tell me I'm good, and it inflates my ego and builds my confidence, and I'm glad, honestly. I'm getting my calluses back.

Last Thursday, Matt and I took two students to Asheville to Nuestro Suenos, a photography exhibit/documentary/discussion centered around access to higher education for undocumented students.





Here we are writing postcards to our congressmen in support of opening college to all students, regardless of their immigration status. Currently in NC, 4-year universities are open to undocumented students, but 2-year community colleges decide themselves whether or not they will be. (Unfortunately, the campus I teach on does not.) There are a couple bills in the NC Congress right now to make it law that colleges are not open.

Undocumented students already pay out-of-state tuition. (Supporting students once they are in college is a later issue. We're only talking about can they even go.) So how can they be excluded when we let international students and other permanent residents attend our colleges and universities? That's making different laws for different groups of people.

Plus, a more educated society means a better society. These undocumented students mostly grew up in the United States and they plan on working and living here, too. This is home. What is the overall benefit of blocking them from college? Are we trying to get back at them for a decision that they didn't make (whether because their parents made that decision or they were driven here by hardship)? Is our reasoning that if we make life in the United States harder less of them will try to come (like if prison wasn't so cush, less people would commit crimes)?

I know people are worried that our institutions are overtaxed just trying to provide education to citizens. To that I say that education is always an investment in our future. If we don't invest in education of all students, one day it will burden other programs funded by our government (e.g. law enforcement, welfare, social services). I'm not saying to make all students go to college, not at all. I'm just saying that if someone has that desire and is willing to work for it, why deny them? Higher education is for the willing.

Other countries struggle with the brain drain dilemma (their best and brightest graduates leave to emigrate to more developed countries), but the United States does not. Knowing that our graduates will stay, we're still trying to block them from college?! Even when they pay out-of-state tuition?