UO Dreamers Working Group
Political Discussion Networks, Political Engagement, and the Latino Electorate
| January 23, 2020 | ||
| 4:00 pm |
Knight Library, Browsing Room
Marisa Abrajano is professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests are in American politics, particularly in developing ways to increase politics participation and civic engagement amongst racial/ethnic minorities. Her most recent book is White Backlash: Immigration, Race and American Politics (with Zoltan Hajnal, 2015).
Sponsored by the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics. Cosponsored by the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies.
Dreamers Working Group: 2019 Impact Report
2019 Impact Report: Dreamers Working Group
From the report:
“Thanks to the generosity of donors, the support of the UO Advancement team, and the determination of DWG staff, UO Dreamer Scholarships are now available to undocumented & Dreamer Ducks! The Opportunity Through Excellence, or Fund the Dream Scholarship as it is known through our outreach efforts, aims to bridge the gap for those undocumented, DACA, and Dreamer students who are not able to complete a FAFSA and obtain federally-funded financial aid. These students are not able to access scholarships such as Pathway Oregon and grants such as the Pell Grant. Thanks to the generosity of our donors we have been able to offer, for the first time, scholarships to students beginning in spring 2019.”
Feather J. Crawford, CLLAS event planner & project manager, is also a staff member of the Dreamers Working Group.
The UO Dreamers Working Group is supported by the Office of the President, the Office of the Dean of Students, the Division of Equity and Inclusion, Undergraduate Education and Student Success, and the Division of Global Engagement. EO/AA/ADA Institution; Committed to Cultural Diversity.
2019-19 Dreamers Working Group Update
May 8, 2019—The Dreamers Working Group (DWG) includes staff, faculty, graduate students, and community members committed to creating a community of welcome and support for undocumented and Dreamer students, students with DACA, and students in mixed-status families.
One way the DWG builds this support and community is through education and training outreach on the UO campus. Working in collaboration with CLLAS, UO professor Ellen McWhirter (counseling psychology) developed an hour-long info-session to build understanding of the realities faced by students with precarious status. DWG volunteers have led approximately 40 info-sessions since winter 2017, offering these educational opportunity units all over campus and beyond. Julie Weise, associate professor of history, created the Dreamers Ally Training initiative in fall 2017. Since then the DWG has held six robust, four-hour training sessions, training almost 400 staff, faculty, and graduate employees as allies.
As director of Multicultural and Identity-based Support Services and chair of the DWG, Justine Carpenter focuses on direct student support and access and prioritizes student-facing work. The successful Duck Funder campaign—and other fundraising activities that created a scholarship for undocumented & Dreamer students—has been at the center of this work. Nine students received scholarships for spring 2019 and six to nine scholarships will be awarded for AY 2019-2020. The UO Dreamers webpage has also been reoriented toward student access and includes useful information on financial aid, scholarships, wellness, and student support and resources.
The DWG is ready to build upon the foundation of volunteerism, ally membership, and administrative support to institutionalize strides taken in education, training and outreach for campus partners and access and advocacy for student success. New initiatives include: 1) community outreach to bridge the divide between campus and the Eugene-Springfield community; and 2) development of more effective legal support for undocumented and Dreamer students, students with DACA, and students from mixed-status families. The DWG has made progress toward the first goal of community outreach with a committee dedicated to connecting more effectively with community leaders and Eugene/Springfield school districts and libraries, and welcoming community members to campus more effectively with projects like creating a Spanish-language map of the UO, planning a community reception, and sharing the Latino Roots exhibit.
The DWG needs the help of allies and experts in pursuit of the second goal of developing more effective legal support for our students, however. Please email feather@uoregon.edu to volunteer.
— Feather Crawford, the CLLAS event & program coordinator, also works as a part-time coordinator for the Dreamers Working Group.
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