Undocumented students grapple with lost scholarship

Students without legal status, who no longer qualify for state-funded resident tuition, face one less funding option

 by Claudia Koerner
 published on Tuesday, February 19, 2008

After working to get legal status for eight years, Juan, a finance and marketing junior, received his permanent resident card in January. He found out it had come just in time.

Juan, along with more than 200 ASU students who did not provide ASU with proof of legal residency, received a phone call more than a week ago informing him that his scholarship would not be available next fall.

The Sunburst Scholarship, a private scholarship through the ASU Foundation to fund undocumented students denied public money by Proposition 300, has run out of funding, ASU officials said.

Seventy-one percent of voters passed Proposition 300 in November 2006, which requires students to pay out-of-state tuition at all public universities and colleges. The law also prohibits using public funds as scholarships for these students.

"I just think it's sad that there are so many obstacles to students who are trying to better themselves," said Juan, who was formerly an illegal immigrant and did not want to disclose his last name.

After gaining legal status, Juan was able to change his residency with ASU, making him eligible for in-state tuition and federally-funded scholarships.

He added that many of his friends were not as lucky as he was.

The money required to fund their Sunburst scholarships proved to be impossible to raise, said Virgil Renzulli, ASU vice president of public affairs.

"We're talking about millions of dollars," Renzulli said.

Renzulli said money for undocumented students during the 2007-2008 school year came entirely from private donors.

But the donations were not enough to extend the scholarship for another year.

The news of the demise of the program came as a shock to members of Chicanos por la Causa, a community organization that worked to coordinate the donations.

"We have not met with President [Michael] Crow to find out what is different now," said Edmundo Hidalgo, president and CEO of the group.

Hidalgo said he was notified about the program's ending two weeks ago.

"Our understanding is that we had more time to raise the resources needed in order to continue these scholarships," Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo estimated that it would cost between $3 and $3.5 million to continue the 200 students' scholarships for two semesters. However, Hidalgo said the group expected to have more than another year's time to fundraise.

"We need to go back and re-evaluate," Hidalgo said, adding that finding the millions of dollars necessary is "a huge uphill battle."

ASU said the future of the program is still undetermined.

"If additional funding became available, it would be reinstated," Renzulli said.

Though Hidalgo said he remains optimistic that the community will come together to help undocumented students pay for school, he is less sure of the Sunburst Scholarship's continuing at ASU.

"I would be very surprised with the lack of focus that a future initiative would be successful," Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo attributes the end of the program to "pressures" on President Crow from state politicians, including Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who publicly supported Proposition 300.

Pearce could not be reached by deadline for comment.

Juan said he thinks the negative political reaction to the scholarship led to the end of the program.

"When people knew the ASU Foundation was funding undocumented students, a lot of people were angry," Juan said.

State politicians criticized the ASU Foundation for offering the scholarship, but Foundation spokesman Renzulli said the lack of funding had nothing to do with its controversy.

"We weren't afraid," Renzulli said in response to opponents' claims that the program violated Proposition 300.

Juan said the public support of the ASU Foundation for undocumented students despite political disapproval was impressive.

"I give props to Michael Crow," Juan said. "He's been fighting it."

And, despite the abrupt ending of the program, Juan said he expected undocumented students to find other community resources to continue their education.

"They'll find a way," Juan said. "They got this far. All these laws are affecting the wrong people."

Reach the reporter at: claudia.koerner@asu.edu.