In the days leading up to the night the media announced that Maryland voters passed the Dream Act, student supporters rallied together to make a last-effort push to increase voter awareness on the issue.
After a full day of classes on Oct. 25, many culturally diverse students gathered at the Nyumburu Amphitheater on a chilly Thursday afternoon in support of the Dream Act.
The rally, sponsored by a host of on-campus organizations including Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy (MICA) and the Asian American Student Union, was headlined by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md), who was re-elected to a second term on Nov. 6.
“Are we ready to make a difference with Question 4?” Cardin asked an enthusiastic crowd who answered with loud cheers and thunderous applause.
The Dream Act was a proposed law that would enable undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States under the age of 16 and have attained a high school diploma to attend college at in-state tuition rates. Maryland first passed the Dream Act in May 2011 but after petitioning from opponents, the law was placed on the ballot as Question 4.
Many supporters of the rally wore shirts that read “I have a DREAM,” alluding to the famous equality speech Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave in 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the American civil rights movement.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that each one of us can help bring about a better life for others, but if we work together collectively, we can bring about change,” Cardin said. “We’re going to bring about change in Maryland. We’re going to pass Question 4!”
After Cardin, several state delegates spoke, including Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-Montgomery), Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s) and Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery). There were also several self-proclaimed “Dreamers,” undocumented and legal immigrants, who spoke for the cause.
Among those dreamers was Francisco Cartagena, one of the founding members of Justice for Students in America, which is a youth movement dedicated to restructuring the immigration system and equalizing educational opportunities for all students.
Cartagena came to America with his family from El Salvador at the age of 10 with the hope of finding a better life. It was not until his senior year of high school, when Cartagena applied for financial aid and was denied for not having a social security number, that he realized he was an undocumented immigrant.
“You have to be my voice, because I don’t have a [social security] number, and I can’t vote,” Cartagena said to the crowd. “I can give a hundred speeches and tell you all how I felt, and all my struggles, but if you don’t go out and vote, it means nothing.”
On election day, Cartagena’s dream became a reality. According to the unofficial election results on Maryland State Board of Elections website, Question 4 passed with 58.3% of the vote.
Freshman undecided major Nadia Turner supports the Dream Act, saying that many immigrants were brought to this country by their parents at a young age and had no clue of the difficult situation they would be placed in.
“I don’t think it’s fair that we raise these ‘illegal immigrants’ to be citizens of our community, only to tell them that all of their hard work was for nothing because you can’t go to college,” said Turner. “You can do nothing with what you’ve learned.”
Luis Cortes, a junior psychology and Spanish double major, doesn’t see the harm in allowing undocumented immigrants the chance to better themselves and contribute positively to society.
“What’s the big threat?” said Cortes. “They [undocumented immigrants] come here as kids, looking for opportunity and who are we to stop them?”
