A3 • THE METROPOLITAN • October 1, 2009

NEWS
“It is merely my belief that labeling or
herding people into a category is the wrong
way to go about having a discussion.”
- COLIN SEGER on A10

CAITLIN GIBBONS • NEWS EDITOR • cgibbon4@mscd.edu

Immigrants THIS WEEK

ask for equal EVENTS

tuition rights 10.1

Motivational
Speaker: Jinsoo
By Alex Vaughn Terry
avaughn5@mscd.edu Jinsoo uses humor
and music to help
Students filled the Tivoli student people acknowledge
lounge Sept. 23 to raise awareness for and respect
a proposed bill to allow illegal immi- differences while
grants equal access to college. fostering cross-
The Development, Relief and Edu- cultural solutions in
cation for Alien Minors Act, DREAM, the global world.
would give qualified students access to 1 p.m. Tivoli Multi-
affordable higher education and a path Cultural Lounge
to citizenship.
Under current immigration regu-
lations, children who immigrated to 10.6 “Abby’s
the U.S. from another country can Voice” - Kathryn
only obtain permanent status through Robertson
their parents and not independently, On Dec. 11, 2007,
according to the DREAM Act web site. Metro student
Upon graduation they are not allowed Abby Robertson
to attend college in many states. With- was murdered by
out proof of legal immigration status, her boyfriend. Her
such children are generally not issued mother has taken on
driver’s licenses, Social Security cards the task to educate
and cannot legally work. the community
The DREAM Act would allow ille- about the horrors
gal immigrants who have completed of intimate-partner
k-12 in U.S. schools, who are eligible violence, and share
for college, to pay in-state tuition and her daughter’s story.
provide a path to citizenship. 11:30 a.m.
A student enrolled in 18 credit Tivoli Multi-Cultural
hours at Metro in 2009 will pay Lounge
$1,636, with the Colorado Opportu-
nity Fund stipend. An undocumented
student who enrolls for the same
INDEX
amount of credit hours but pays out- INSIGHT ... A10
of-state tuition will pay $5,990 per se- METROSPECTIVE ... B1
mester, a difference of $4,354. AUDIOFILES ... B6
The bill would allow conditional SPORTS ... A13
legal status for six years. Once the fol- TIMEOUT ... A18
lowing requirements are fulfilled the
legal status of the participants would
become permanent: Two years in the
Executive Director of New Era Colorado Steve Fenberg, right, helps Francesca Polito finalize her voter WEATHER
registration form Sept. 29 at the Campus Village Courtyard. Photo by Ryan Martin • martirya@mscd.edu
U.S. military, a 2-year or 4-year de-

Voters thinking locally

gree from a college or university, or
maintained good academic standings
while working on a bachelor’s degree
or higher.
Padres and Jovenes Unidos, a
group working to obtain equal rights
for immigrants, helped co-sponsor
the Auraria event with Escuela Tlate-
lolco, Metro Organizations for People,
MEChA of Metropolitan State College,
the Colorado Progressive Coalition and
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.
As a supporter of education for
undocumented students, Chair of the
Metro Chicano Studies Ramon Del
Castillo spoke at the press conference.
“If it’s true that education is the
great equalizer then all of you [undoc-
umented students] getting educated
will create a healthier, more humane,
just and democratic society,”
CONTINUED ON A7
Volunteers focus
on campuswide
registration drive
By Andrew Flohr Spence
spencand@mscd.edu
With Election Day 2009 loom-
ing one month away, Auraria’s civic-
minded are busy registering and in-
forming fellow students, urging them
to get out and vote.
A week-long, campuswide voter
registration drive, backed by Auraria’s
three student governments and several
student organizations, hopes to give
students a last chance to register be-
fore the Oct. 5 deadline, organizers say.
The drive kicked off Monday with
disc jockeys from Metro’s student-run
radio station, Met Radio spinning hip-
hop records atop New Era Colorado’s
1983 classic Greyhound bus parked
on the Tivoli Commons.
During the week, volunteers
dressed as fake doctors to discuss
health care issues. Barbecues were
planned at student housing. All fo-
cused around politics. And just as im-
portant, said organizers, is the events
are, “student-centric.”
“Presentation is important to us,”
said Rob DuRay, lead organizer in Den-
ver of the non-profit New Era Colora-
do. Founded in 2006 as 501(C) 4 non-
10.1 • Chance of Rain
High: 52/Low: 39
10.2 • Partly Cloudy
High: 60/Low: 34
10.3 • Mostly Sunny
profit focused on civic engagement
High: 63/Low: 36
10.4 • Partly Cloudy
among young adults, New Era Colora- High: 68/Low: 39
do is a member of the Bus Federation,
a group of similar state-focused non-
10.5 • Chance of Rain
High: 70/Low: 43
profits that share buses and other re- 10.6 • Mostly Sunny
sources, to organize nationally if need- High: 72/Low: 45
ed, the group’s web site says. Speaking 10.7 • Partly Cloudy
the students’ “language” and finding High: 75/Low: 47
creative ways to engage young voters By Kendell LaRoche
is the group’s mission.
A mission, easier said than done. CORRECTIONS
Metro freshman Sam Read said
despite enjoying the music and being
asked three times by the volunteers, To notify The Metropolitan of
she doesn’t intend to vote. an error in any of our reports,
please contact Editor-in-Chief
CONTINUED ON A9 Dominic Graziano at dgra-
zia1@mscd.edu