Senators coming together and voting for the resolution to send bill AB2586 to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 18. Executive Vice President Matt Melendrez counted all votes before making it an official agreement. Photo credit: Lauren Benson
By The Associated Students, Inc.’s Senate is working to get California Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill allowing undocumented students more educational opportunities.
The bill, AB2586, would allow undocumented students from all California college systems access to more opportunities without facing discrimination based on their immigration status.
“What this bill will do is allow any student on CSU, UC, or even community college campus to not get denied from any opportunity solely based on their immigration status,” Carlos Orozco, Senate vice chair, said. “If that is the reason that students get denied, then that would not be allowed after this bill is signed.”
The bill is scheduled to be sent to the governor on Sept. 25, and ASI members are hopeful they will have it signed by the Sept. 30 deadline.
During their Sept. 18 ASI Senate meeting, members of student government also said they would allocate $9,000 in addition to the $5,000 already allocated to the Dream Success Center for book grants.
This money will cover the cost of textbooks for all students, including undocumented students who can apply and receive their books from the DSC.
“This will be a total of $14,000 coming from ASI…we made that decision after an agreement to allocate $9,000 to the Dream Success Center,” Matt Melendrez, ASI executive vice president, said.
After the resolutions were discussed, leaders from different clubs spoke about what they had accomplished since the beginning of the semester and what they planned to do in the future.
Andre Achacon, ASI vice president of finance, said 277 students have attended their meetings to become new officers since the start of the semester, with the goal being 500.
“The last time I gave a report about our officers, the numbers increased by 90 people, so we are making progress by making sure officers are attending and getting the information they need,” Achacon said.
