United Interfaith Action (UIA) holds Public Action in support of In-State Tuition legislation

January 23, 2012

United Interfaith Action held a public action yesterday afternoon to support the In-State Tuition legislation in Massachusetts. State Representatives Kevin Aguiar, Paul Schmid and David Sullivan participated in the event, as well as Dr. Jean MacCormack, Chancellor of UMass Dartmouth, and Dr. John Sbrega, President of Bristol Community College.

Both Chancellor MacCormack and President Sbrega were supportive of the In-State Tuition bill. “Equal access to higher education is a matter of justice”, said Dr. Sbrega, who made a reference to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. anniversary just observed. “My father was a mechanic and my mother was a waitress”, said Chancellor MacCormack, “and they taught their children to always aspire to more than we were, and I am sure these young people trying to enter higher education have learned the same from their parents”, she concluded.

Despite the cold weather, more than 100 individuals participated in the event, which took place at the Parish Hall at Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. Six high school youth and one parent gave first hand testimony about the need for the In-State Tuition bill. All of them talked about being faced with paying two or three times the tuition that their peers pay after entering college, and about the almost impossible situation that this creates.

Mr. Felix Gonzalez, a member of Saint Mary’s Catholic Cathedral and the Facilitator of the event, explained that the In-State Tuition is not proposing free tuition for undocumented students, but that they would need to pay the same tuition as their peers after entering college, attend a Massachusetts high school for three years before graduating, and that they actually graduate from a high school in Massachusetts. Mr. Gonzalez explained that the bill also stipulates that these students would not have access to scholarships or financial aid.

State Representative Kevin Aguiar stated publicly his readiness to support the bill when and if it comes for a vote. He said he was a member of the Higher Education Committee in the House of Representatives and is very familiar with the bill. He reiterated that the bill is not offering anything for free to undocumented students, and that they would not be eligible for scholarships or financial aid. “Students receive education from K to 12 grade, no questions asked”, he said, “and they should also be able to enter higher education with no questions asked”.

State Representatives Schmid and Sullivan were not ready to support the bill at the present time, but were willing to work with the group to clarify the confusion around the issue and to educate their constituencies.

United Interfaith Action (UIA), the convener of the event, is a membership based organization with 17 organizational member, 16 Christian churches of different denominations and 1 Jewish Synagogue. The combined membership of these faith-based institutions is approximately 20,000 people, located in New Bedford and Fall River. For several years now, United Interfaith Action has been organizing among the immigrant communities in the region, including Central and South Americans, Brazilians, and Portuguese speaking individuals from the Azores Islands and Cape Verde. UIA remains committed to supporting education equality in Massachusetts.