Let Students DREAM National concern over the issue of immigration has grown recently, after a tragic event left immigrants from 8 countries dead at a naturalization-tutoring center in Binghamton, New York. The victims of this tragedy were enrolled in classes that would help them gain citizenship. However, naturalization centers like the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York, are vulnerable to hate crimes. Immigrants are all at risk and this is precisely why it is imperative that we join together to promote immigration reform, in order to allow people to achieve their dreams while ridding our nation of the negativity that has caused unfortunate events for immigrants through hate crimes. If the Emerson Channel helps to promote immigration reform throughout the Emerson College community, students could continue to dream. If our government reforms the current system to help students, who are working to try to make a living in this country, they could be given the opportunity to remain in the States while avoiding deportation. Many illegal immigrants are also students who were raised in the States from a young age. Due to a lack of citizenship they often cannot continue their studies due to the financial difficulties of a college education. Students also live in fear of being deported, despite having worked, lived, and grown accustomed to their communities. These people are all around us, especially in the Boston area. In order to promote scholastic growth on a national level, it is important that we raise awareness about the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, also known as the DREAM Act. This bill, which was recently proposed to Congress last month, would help illegal students gain citizenship because the government would recognize them as citizens if they enroll in a college. According to the 2006 Census Bureau, over 250,000 illegal immigrants currently reside in the state of Massachusetts. In the United States, over 12 million immigrants have arrived since the year 2000. This number will continue to increase, and many illegal students will end their studies after high school, because of the lack of financial aid, and resources needed to complete a college education. The federal DREAM Act will provide undocumented immigrant youth in the United States with conditional residency and a pathway to citizenship provided they came here before the age of 16 and maintained continuous residence for 5 years, graduate from high school or obtain a GED, attend 2 years of college or join the military and have no criminal records. The Dream Act organization estimated that 65,000 students could benefit from the DREAM Act, which would allow them to acquire a degree from any university or college in America. If we can raise awareness throughout college campuses in the area, we could potentially inform the public about the need to convince our government to pass the bill. The Emerson Channel would help inform the student body about legislation that could potentially affect them or someone they know, in a positive way. If we begin informing students on a local level, throughout campus, we could potentially spread the message to other universities, which would advance our cause to bring about change. The public advocacy campaign that will jumpstart increased awareness of the DREAM Act in and around the Emerson College community, was created after one of its founding members, Carla Gualdron, dealt with the flawed immigration system after her uncle was deported back to Colombia. Despite having lived in the United States for over twenty years, holding a steady job work everyday, raised a family, and held a clean record; he was considered a criminal in the eyes of our government. Yet, he was sent back to Colombia where he will now have to find a job and start a new life without his two, young daughters or wife. The idea for the public advocacy campaign stemmed from Carla’s experiences dealing with the grief of losing her uncle. We realized that immigration reform would not only help people like her uncle, of good moral character, but it would also help younger individuals who had no control as to whether they would enter the Unites States illegally or not. If we could inform college students about the need for reform in our government, it would be easier to bring about change by educating voters. Since college students tend to be more open minded about issues like immigration, especially at a liberal institution like Emerson College, it would be easier to raise awareness about how some students are prevented from obtaining a degree. It would also be easier for students to connect with the stories of many of the victims of the flawed immigration system. Therefore, if the Emerson Channel airs our public advocacy campaign video, we could potentially influence the masses and help other college students achieve their dreams. Our public advocacy campaign would target college students in order to help them make informed decisions regarding immigration in America. By airing our campaign video on the Emerson Channel, our message would reach voters who would learn about ways to influence the government. If we could inform students about the bill, it would be easier to influence policy makers in their states. By doing this, we could spread our influence and promote Congress’s passage of the DREAM ACT. The actual video we would produce in conjunction with the help of the Emerson Channel would involve a video or photomontage, describing the stories of immigration into the United States. By using our own stories it would be easier for students to visualize and understand how immigration hits close to home for many people. Using voice-overs to describe what the pictures mean would also help narrate our message which would end with a note about how to learn more about supporting the DREAM Act. A 30 second slideshow would allow us to explain how the current situation regarding immigration in this country prevents students from succeeding.