Letter to the Editor: Response to "Dreamers"

I oppose the course of action the Jesuits choose to take on spending their money. After reading the article "Dreamers" I grew very disappointed with this university. I immediately thought of a variety of my peers that "dreamed" of going to Santa Clara that worked hard through high school, got jobs, paid taxes and Social Security, but were prevented from enrolling because they could not afford the price tag. These American citizens were forbidden from attending an appropriate institution of higher education because of financial strains.  

Here at Santa Clara, somewhere among us are 25 students that are given the opportunity to attend our fine school for free. The article focuses on their hardships in dealing with racial slurs and the quest to belong. It seems to me, however, that many students deal with these same problems in journeying to college and receive no financial aid for it. How about Santa Clara opens up the door of opportunity to those American citizens that dream to go to this fine institution?

A friend of mine from Australia pays for his student visa, and undergoes countless hours of headaches to study in California legally. Guess what? He pays full price to attend this university. Should he rather forgo reapplying for his visa and petition for this "undocumented" immigrants scholarship?  

I conclude with the story of the Jack-in-the-Box employee, who, nearly four years after attending college as an illegal immigrant, is fed up with her current position. Yet, after all these years living in our country, she has yet to gain citizenship. How does she expect to gain a job that is "suitable to her merits" if she fails to accomplish this preliminary step? She committed fraud simply to gain her job at a fast food restaurant! I understand that the process of citizenship is no cakewalk, but it is not nearly as hard as most people claim. With Jerry Brown's signing of the Dream Act on Saturday it seems as though this problem will simply compound. Let's hope Santa Clara will stop at 25 if they must have illegal immigrants.      

Daniel Gherardi

Chairman, Santa Clara College Republicans