Group hosts series of virtual events for UndocuWeek
CHICO >> The Chico State group Leaders Educating for the Advancement of Dreamers is teaming up with a pair of organizations to host two workshops on Tuesday as part of its fourth annual UndocuWeek.
Today, the financial aid and scholarship office at Chico State will host a California Dream Act Application workshop from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. to help answer questions for Chico State students. A “Know Your Rights” workshop, hosted by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, will be held from 5 to 6 p.m.
On Monday, Chico Leaders Educating for the Advancement of Dreamers began the series of virtual events focusing on raising awareness and empowering the undocumented community through workshops, guest speakers and other activities.
The organization began festivities Monday with an event called “UndocuAlly Reunion” hosted by the Chico State Dream Center, which often works together with the host group.
Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. a event entitled “dreamer grad school workshop” will be hosted by Chico State’s Adelante program. On Thursday, Leaders Educating for the Advancement of Dreamers and the Chico State Dream Center will host a showing of the film “Don’t Tell Anyone” followed by a question and answer with the film’s lead Angy Rivera at 5 p.m. The week will conclude with Rivera speaking once more on Friday as the week’s keynote speaker.
All events are free, and a Zoom link can be accessible following a brief questionnaire at https://docs. google. com/ forms/d/e/ 1F AIpQLSfuRqtUQfM4dilBe5SStEbqskRXdxH2tV WGGnN7lEFnjCmMsQ/ viewform.
Chico State Leaders Educating for the Advancement of Dreamers is led by student Karina Mauricio. The group’s president said that tonight’s “Know Your Rights” workshop is the one she has her eye on, saying that there are a lot of changes going on and it is important for her colleagues to stay informed.
“I know a lot of the times when we talk about the undocumented community, it’s behind the shadows,” Mauricio said. “UndocuWeek for us is a time for us to not only continue our activism but also make sure our students can have a voice on campus and be more familiar with more opportunities that we have no matter if there’s legal status or not.”
Mauricio said that the group was started by a couple of alumni who wanted to create a space for undocumented students at Chico State to not only receive more resources, but also to be able to be scene and heard. For Maurcio it was a fear of speaking out and a uncertainty on who to trust that challenged her.
She has enjoyed getting put into a position for a group whose goal is to provide is for our student safety and to continue our fight for immigrant rights.
“As much as we hope for others to reach out and say ‘ I support you,’ you have to find courage in yourself because we are in a country of opportunities,” Mauricio said. ” Although we are here we may find a lot of struggles but if you put yourself out there and challenge yourself, put yourself in an opportunity to not only open new doors but find out who your community is.”
For Mauricio she said she has found that with the group.
“If anyone out there is hesitant about joining (Leaders Educating for the Advancement of Dreamers) or any of the events, one of the things that we are very strong about is confidentiality,” Mauricio said. “Although we are very active and open, we make sure that our members are comfortable first, and we also have space for anyone that wants to learn about the undocumented community.”